BELLAMYBUDIMAN

How Acer Manages to Fuck Itself Up Even Further

Friday, August 12, 2011

My close friends and perhaps several of my followers in Twitter would probably know by now that I loath Acer big time. Not because I’m a Apple fan boy (like they said, and believe me I’m not, but this is not what we’re discussing right now), but because of first hand experience that Acer products are simply shit.

Back in the days, my Dad used to have this small Acer Tablet PC. I completely forgot the name or model because Acer, just like most computer manufacturers love numbers and codes instead of product names. This tablet PC is so shit that it made Dad asked me each day “what the fuck is wrong with this thing that it hangs when doing anything?” and it is so shit that it cannot level itself perfectly on a table with the battery attached.

Over the years, I have yet to see that improvement from Acer, not in quality, not in durability. They are all, in my opinion, still plasticky, and shit.

Now, recently, Acer announced that they wanted to be more like Apple, and they restructured themselves to make that happen. And seriously, who would’ve thought that in the process of being more like Apple, they decided to ape the MacBook Air and came out with this:

So do you think Acer deserves my loathe? Yes, just because I hate plagiarists. What’s next on your to-do list, Acer? An Aspire that looks like a Mac Pro? A Z5 that looks like an iMac? Or maybe an Iconia that looks like an iPhone? Or maybe, just maybe, a CEO that looks like Steve Jobs?

Posted in apple, gadgets and electronics, rants | 1 Comment »
Tags: acer, apple, rants

The Incident at Shell

Monday, July 25, 2011

No, it’s not a major incident, nor an incident that causes damage to my car whatsoever. The story goes like this. I went to Shell Karawaci to top up my fuel, left the car there and told the attendant that I want it to be filled up until it reaches the nozzle sensor. Then I went to the restroom.

When I returned, there was this huge pool of gasoline underneath my car. The supervisor in charge told me that the nozzle sensor didn’t register itself, and the fuel leaked out. I suspected that there was around 3 liters of fuel down there.

I then gave the guy my credit card to pay for the fuel, and the supervisor said that everything was free of charge. It was a pure incident, and they don’t know how much fuel exactly went in to the tank, and how much was wasted. So even when I insisted, the supervisor insisted back that it was free fuel day for me today.

I must say that this is the first time this thing ever happened to me, and I really do admire the supervisor’s swift decision making when handling incidents like this. Incidentally or not, should this happened in Pertamina, I’m pretty sure that they would ask me to pay for every bit of fuel that’s on the floor.

Good job, Shell. Nice to see a company here with good service.

Posted in auto, life | Comments Off
Tags: fuel, shell

Consumer Fights Back Part 1: KTA Bank Asing

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Yes, as we all know, we’re pretty much familiar with the text message above. Appearing randomly and annoyingly at times that made us want to smash our phones with rage (although it’s not its fault). Today, I received an SMS from Mbak Nisa, an installment loan salesperson. I usually just curse the goddamned salesperson right away, but I decided to do something different today. I was in a good mood.

Coincidentally, I am currently (and seriously) playing Tiny Tower. My tower is quite high, and today I just spend 200k worth of credits to build a new floor, and I’m around 50 tower bux short until I’m able to upgrade my tower’s elevator. AND YES, I NEED TO STAY IN THE COMPETITION. That is what Game Center is all about. Therefore… I replied the SMS and Mbak Nisa went on with the conversation…

Unfortunately, Mbak Nisa didn’t reply for quite some time. Feeling impatient, I went on to fire another text message on the other number she provided me with:

After a while, I think Mbak Nisa realized that I was making fun of her, so she stopped replying. No fun, Mbak Nisa, no fun at all. I was expecting that you’d be a joker with a higher degree of integrity. I mean, don’t you play Tiny Tower? Everyone does, Mbak Nisa! Do you realize the complexity of this matter and the implications to national security?!?!

Posted in life | 2 Comments »
Tags: installment loan, prank, tiny tower

Do People Actually Still Fall for This Trick?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

So my reply has not been answered yet, and the question remains:

“APAKAH BAPAK GEORGE BAKER INI SEORANG PEMANGGANG ROTI?”

Posted in life, rants | Comments Off
Tags: hoax, scam

Cars Worth Buying in Indonesia

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I have to admit that car prices in Indonesia suck monkey balls, and this is what mainly keeps us from having good cars like Volkswagens or BMWs anywhere near affordable. But in the midst of those horrendously-priced cars (even Avanzas are no longer “that” affordable now), Nyonyo and I have done a small research for the past couple of months. We tried to determine which cars are actually worth buying.

First and foremost, I won’t say that this is a scientific research of any kind. This is a research from a financial, design and an automotive-enthusiast point of view, given the conditions of living in Indonesia. So I’m not going to include cars that are priced more than 400 million into this list. For example, the latest BMW 520d or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class are exceptional cars in terms of performance, design, and usage, but they are so highly priced that most of regular Indonesians would have a hard time buying it.

So, here are the cars in mind, sorted from the cheapest to the most expensive:

Ford Fiesta Sport 1.6L A/T
Here’s why it’s worth buying: Even the Sport model is cheaper than a Honda Jazz, it has a better engine, dual-clutch transmission, and a good gas mileage of around 16 KM/L. On top of that, it sure looks better than its Japanese counterpart, the Mazda 2, or any Japanese hatchbacks of the same class available here, and it gives a bonus of a good interior quality with semi-bucket front seats. Something you won’t find in a Yaris, a Jazz, or a Swift.

Hyundai i20 GL A/T
Surprise, surprise. Hyundai has got it together nowadays. In fact, almost all of its lineup looks better than the Toyota, and some of the cars are engineered better, too. Why is it worth buying? First and foremost, it has a diesel option. Second, it’s still a CBU. Third, it’s still cheaper than even the Fiesta Sport.

Ford Focus 1.8S A/T
Performance of a Corolla with the price of a Honda Freed. It may not be the latest model, but at 241 million, it gives you the bang for the buck for a compact 5-door hatchback. Just don’t buy the TDCi version just yet, as it is 100 million Rupiahs more expensive.

Volkswagen Golf TSI
If you’re looking for the reason to buy this car, it’s easy. This is truly a proof of a good German engineering achievement. First of all, with a cheaper price than the cheapest Corolla Altis, you’ll get a solid German car with exceptional exterior and interior craftsmanship. Second, it has a dual-clutch gearbox, 7-speed, and a whopping 160 BHP power despite of it having a small 1.4 L engine, which also in return, gives you a 16 KM/L gas mileage. So, is it better than a Corolla? Yes. Is it better than a Civic? Most definitely.

There’s also one more car that you might want to consider if you’re looking for a family van. And no, it’s not the Volkswagen Caravelle (which is a shame, because it’s so highly-priced) and no, it’s not the Alphard, the Vellfire, or whatever unimportant iteration that Toyota has to offer. Besides, we have too many Alphards on the road anyway and it’s actually not a van. It is a Camry with a body of a van. The car I’m talking about here is the Hyundai H-1.

Surprising? Yes. Despite the lack of good looks, the Hyundai H-1 is actually engineered better than an Alphard. There are three reasons for this. It’s RWD, it has a diesel version, and if you’re looking for something way cheaper than the cheapest Alphard, this is the car for you.

So, why isn’t there any Japanese car in the list? Is it because I hate them? No. In fact, I’m still using a Japanese car for five years and running now. But I do hate the fact that most Japanese cars drive like crap, they lack the craftsmanship (something that a Japanese product should have), and most of them are simply beige cars. They are no longer exciting to drive and they lack the performance despite the notorious misleading advertisements.

I think it’s time to move on from praising Japanese cars and give them time to get themselves together. I also think that it’s time that we move away from the paradigm of buying a Japanese car solely because of its resale value. This is just pathetic. If we were to invest millions of Rupiahs for a car, we might as well get a good one, and use it until it is no longer useable. But not by selling it and buying a new one every 3 years. I thought we’re trying to become environmentally-friendly people, yet we keep piling up the carbon footprint behind us.

PS: For those asking me if the Toyota Prius is worth buying or not. Well,
FUCK NO.

Posted in auto | Comments Off
Tags: automotive