As kind of a reminder for myself, but also for other people who are currently writing their thesis with latex:

Latex cheat sheet
http://stdout.org/~winston/latex/

SINGAPORE authorities have charged a couple with sedition after they distributed pamphlets that negatively portrayed Islam, court documents showed on Thursday........
Continue reading at http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080417/3/3i5zx.html

Important part: "The government of the ethnically mixed Southeast Asian city of 4.6 million is highly sensitive about race and religion. It says strict legislation and regulation of the media is needed to ensure peace."

Well, I was curious. I googled for "The Little Bride"+Chick.
First search result is what I was looking for: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1054/1054_01.asp

I tried to open the site, but I only got

The site you requested is not accessible.

For more information please check Media Development Authority.

For quite some time now I wanted to have a small device that would allow me to read e-books, especially PDF files, wherever I go. However, those devices that I saw so far were usually overpriced or overpowered.

Now that I have to read quite a lot for my thesis, I was looking for such a device again. Additionally, I wanted to have one that could not only read the PDF files, but also edit them. Currently, I am using the highlighter tool from the Foxit PDF reader to mark important text passages. Such a thing on a mobile device, together with a touchscreen for easy editing, would be just awesome.

 
I was looking at the Kohjinsha devices, but they are both overpowered and overpriced. The Asus EeePC doesn't have a touchscreen. This is when I was reminded of the Nokia Internet Tablets, the newest models are N800 and N810.

After some internet research they seemed to be exactly what I want. So I compared the internet prices and went to Sim Lim Square with the cost information (it is ALWAYS recommended to know the usual price of something before going there, they always overcharge you, especially if you're white). I knew that I could get it for around 400S$ from the US, or 470S$ from Hong Kong.

After walking through the whole SLS, I only found three N800. Here are my experiences with the different shops (conversations slightly reduced):

Shop 1
I come in, see the N800 packaging, ask for the price.
Sales guy takes out the calculator, starts calculating (they really love to do that!): 550$
Me: does it come with an extra memory card?
Sales guy unpacks the packaging, produces the 128MB card that comes with it: a 128MB card, but Nokia is currently having a promotion (here I was thinking of something like "send in the receipt and you get a free 1GB card")

Sales guy gets calculator: you can get a 2GB SD card for just 19.90 *types in 19.90*.
I look a bit confused, he continues: the standard price for it is 59.90 *types in 59.90*
Now I may not have known the exact prices for a 2GB SD card, but I knew that 19.90 is about the standard price and that you might get cheaper cards. Here I started to wonder if he thinks that I am an idiot.

I have a closer look at the device for 1-2 minutes. The sales guy knows that I am not convinced, so he comes up with a new offer (they always do that if you just don't say anything for a short while)
Sales guy: 550$ for the N800 and the SD card.
Me: I am not sure, it is still quite expensive. I can nearly get the N810 for that price (660 at another shop with normal prices, they didn't have the N800)

Sales guy: no, the N810 is only sold with a contract here in Singapore (no, it is not, I know that for sure. Think that it might not even be sold anywhere with a contract, as it is not a phone, and as it needs WLAN or another phone with bluetooth to connect to the internet)

Sales guy: I can ask my friend how much it is
Me: ok
Sales guy gets out his mobile and starts typing. After 30 seconds, he turns to me:
Sales guy: my friend says 900something dollars (can't remember the exact price) without a contract
Now this was the point where I thought that even if he went down with the price to a reasonable level, I wouldn't buy it. Does he think I am stupid? 30seconds of typing and his "friend" told him that price? And 900+$?

I said that I am not sure yet, he gave me his namecard and I left.
While leaving the shop I recognized it. It was the one where they once wanted to sell me an Olympus FL-50 flash for 300$ more than the usual price, after some further silence of me (silence trick, see above) it was only 200$ more...
Well, after 2 times I think I will now always recognize it.

Shop 2
I enter, 3 sales guys are present, one of them currently talking to a customer. The other 2 don't seem to be interested in helping me (usually, when a white guy enters the shop (or even comes close to it), they get Dollar-signs in their eyes and are more than willing to help).
I look around for a minute and see the N800 packaging. The two sales guys still ignore me, so I approach one.
Me: How much is the N800?
Sales guy: 550.
Me: With a memory card?
Sales guy: No.

I think about it for a minute, they don't seem to be keen to help me any further, so I leave the shop to look for other places. 5 minutes later, another shop tells me to go to this particular shop, so I come back.
Me: How much lower can you go for the N800? I know that I can get it cheaper if I buy it online from overseas, but I prefer to buy it here directly.
Sales guy talks to other sales guy in Chinese (I wish I could understand it better, to eavesdrop on them, hehe). Takes calculator, starts calculating

Sales guy: The price is 580 (what? 30$ increase within 5 minutes??), with GST (Goods & Service Tax) it is (calculating) 600$.
Me: That's quite a lot. But my budget is lower, and I would really prefer to buy it in Singapore.
Sales guy: You are very smart! (What? Didn't know that! Thanks....) You want to know why?
I am quiet, waiting for his answer. He probably expects me to say something. After 20 seconds, he continues.
Sales guy: Because if you buiy overseas, they are locked, you can't used a SIM card here.
What the f**k? Does he really believe that? The N800 is NOT a phone, so it doesn"t need a SIM card.

Me: The N800 is not a phone, you can't put a SIM card inside.
Sales guy: No, you can't use overseas devices, they are locked. They don't work with a SIM card here.
At this point, I wasn't sure if this guy was just stupid or if he wanted to convince me to buy it no matter what.

Me: No, it is not a phone. It can't use a SIM card!
The sales guy did reply something again, but I forgot what it was exactly. But it convinced me that he had no clue about the N800. I said bye and left.

Shop 3
Just before I want to leave SLS I see another store I haven't visited yet and go in. They have the N800.
Me: How much is the N800?
Sales guy: 490.
Me: Sorry, how much? (couldn't believe it)
Sales guy: 490.
I take a closer look at the packaging and the contents, no phone inside.
Me: Can I have a look at it?
Sales guy gets the phone from the vitrine. I inspect it, looks good. Sales guy talks to another guy in Chinese (if only I could understand it well enough....). After a minute, he tells me:

Sales guy: my boss told me to give you a discount.
Starts calculating, comes up with a price.
Sales guy: 470.
I think this is a reasonable price, I could get it cheaper from overseas, but it would take quite a while and Idon't know how easy it easy to get stuff from the USA into Singapore. I think about it for a minute and agree. He wants me to pay in cash, I would prefer NETS (paying with my bank card). As there is a small charge on NETS transactions, we agree on 475S$. Another sales guy handles the payment (here I understood something, when the first sales guy tells this guy the price in Chinese. 四七五, si qi wu), and I go back to sales guy 1 to get my N800.

So far so good, then the payment sales guy starts talking to me.
Payment sales guy: Do you want an antivirus software for it? Only 50S$.
Hmmm, antivirus for a Linux based device. Interesting. He's got no f**king clue! Currently, there is no need for antivirus software on Linux. And as for mobile devices, the number of viruses is very limited (I wonder if there are any real ones out there or only proof-of-concept ones).

Me: No need.
Payment sales guy tells me a story how some guy he knows got a virus
Me: I didn't have a virus in more than 10 years. I know how to prevent getting one.
Payment sales guy: woah, you're a hacker
Yeah, sure. Not opening things from unknown sources and using antivirus software makes me a hacker.

I gave some dumb answer that I forgot.
Payment sales guy: can teach me?
Me: cannot.... (what is there to teach??)
Payment sales guy: very smart (if 2 people say it, it must be true!)
I leave the story with my N800.

 
In the next few days I will write a short review about it.