How i almost lost my domain.

If you have been following my blog throughout all these years, you would know that last year i transited from my old blog link - youthinkicarewhatyousay.blogspot to what you guys are reading right now. I've been using my old link ever since my blogging "career" started during my poly days in 2007, and last year, i finally decided to move on and get a proper domain. It was quite a hard decision as there is this "sentimental value" since it's quite catchy and people do remember my blog because of the link. (Don't ask me, I have seriously no idea how i came up with it in the first place. LOL) There were always occasions when i met PRs, fellow bloggers, media etc during events and these people knowing that i'm a blogger, often like to start a conversation by asking - "So where do you blog at and what do you blog about?" 

I always hesitated answering.

Because i know that i would have to answer - "I blog at youthinkicarewhatyousay.blogspot.com and it's a lifestyle blog blah blah blah" Most people will forget the "what do you blog about" part and focus on the blog link. They will be like...

I know right.

That's when i decided. It's time to move on and get a proper domain. I wanted just a simple andystorm.com but it was taken (even till today) so i decided on imandystorm.com. At that time, blogger offered this "domain integration" thing meaning all you have to do is just pay for the domain and blogger will just settle everything for you. Super duper easy.

Unknowingly, one year has passed since i last changed to imandystorm.com and i never once looked back. I even did name cards with my new link printed on it and when people ask about my blog link, i would just casually reply - "Oh, it's imandystorm.com" Easy to remember and no weird stares from anyone. Just recently in Jan, i got a mail from google:

*play dramatic music*

Me being me did not bother much about the email since i still had some time left before it expires. Even on the day itself i totally forgot about the email. On February 15, it suddenly struck my mind that my domain should expired so i immediately went to check my blog. Nothing happened, still there ley. Guess i don't have to do anything about it, wee!

On 23rd of Feb, i woke up with a few whatsapp messages:

*play dramatic music*

This time i knew it was too late. Some advert took over my site and based on initial assessment, i couldn't get it back.

Had to rant on twitter because there was nowhere else. Even if i did a blog post on this issue that day and to tell everyone to use my old link for the time being till i resolve the issue, no one would have read it because everyone would be trying to access imandystorm.com. FML I was trying all kinds of ways to get my domain back, emailing google, emailing the domain host, ICANN (suggested by Angie but they revert with some lawsuit thing. Not helping at all.) Got Jayne from Nuffnang to help me get their technical team to take a look. I tried everything i can but still no solution :(

In the meantime, i thought of the worst case scenario and decided to buy "imandystorm.net"

Just in case. Yea, congrats. FML

Switched everything to .net and announced on twitter. That's all i could do. Throughout the whole week or so, there were still people asking me why they can't access my blog (because they weren't following me on twitter obviously...) I told them to either access my blog via the old link or use the .net for the time being while i try to resolve the issue...

The replies i got from the domain host was to go through google since i bought the domain from blogger. Google then replied asking me login to my google app account and renew my domain within 19 days from expiry. If not it will be gone forever, meaning i had till 2nd of Feb. The silly thing is, i don't even remember having a google app account -_-

Remember earlier in the post i mentioned all i had to do was to pay for the domain via blogger? Well, that's what i did and i don't remember having to create an account specially for it! It was all so called "integrated" what! Tried to log in to google app using my original blogger user and password but it failed. Create new account also no use, they even ask me to buy a new domain -__- I felt damn lost and almost to the point of giving up and just continue using the .net that i purchased just in case, hoping everything will be back to normal as i move on. Readership dropped drastically for that week, kinda expected since no one could access my site and probably no one would think of using back the old link, LOL

Last Friday, i decided to research online to see if there's anyone facing the same issue as me and i spent 3 whole hours reading up on domains, google, blogger, forums, threads and all sorts of related topics and...

Thank you guan yin ma.

My domain is now on auto renew meaning on 14th of Feb every year (coincidentally it's Valentines' Day, lol) google will auto deduct the renewal fee from my card until the day i decided to stop it. Felt really lucky to get it back all thanks to my perseverance and because of that, you are reading this blog post now. *flicks hair*

Having a blast with my new speakers!

As you can read from the title above, it's quite obvious what this post is gonna be all about but still,
What's the difference between the 2 photos below?

Well, it's quite obvious that it's my new speakers - the Sound Blaster Axx AXX200 from Creative!

The kind folks from Creative recently sent me their latest yet-to-be-launch in Singapore speakers (i'm not sure if it's already available in the SG market at this point of time because i took quite awhile to come up with this blog post, Opps.) After reading up on its whole wide range of built in features online, i was really excited to receive the product! There are already so many wireless speakers out there in the market but how does one really stand out from the others?

Before i go on with this post, i just wanna say that i'm not a professional tech blogger and probably won't be because i know nuts about all those processor, audio card blah blah blah but as a lifestyle blogger, what i really look for would be how a product can do what it's supposed to do but also enhance and bring accessibility into my life! So if you are looking for the technical specs of this speaker, i suggest you head to the official link and read up on it, LOL! Instead i will be sharing some of the cool features that i really like in this Creative Sound BlasterAxx AXX200 in this blog post! :D

Other than the fact that the Sound BlasterAxx AXX200 is a wireless speaker which you can connect your devices via bluetooth and play your audio wireless-ly, what i really like is that other than the "on" button, everything else can be controlled from your iOS/ android device! There are 3 apps which you can download for easy remote control.

The "SB Remote" app duplicates the physical touch screen buttons on the speaker right into your phone which allows you to control the main functions of speaker directly through the app! The SBX technology delivers outstanding audio play back for your music, movies and games! The "central" app (as the name suggests) allows you to have an overview and total control of speakers including the indication of battery life, SBX profile, in built music player and even an alarm clock! There is also this "Night mode" which minimizes abrupt volume changes and this speaker automatically adjust and equalize the volume of different audio tracks. Sounds pretty cool being able to remotely control everything har? :D

I love how i can just lie on my bed and look through my playlist then playing it through the speakers (:

If you do not wish to connect your photo to the speakers (for whatever reasons) you can play audio directly from a MicroSD card! If you use the one touch recording feature (Yes, you can record audio using this speaker too!) all the recordings such as audio calls, voice music will also be saved directly into the MicroSD card. Super convenient!

The last thing i would expect a speaker to do would be to be able to double up as a powerbank. It's capacity of 5200 mAh battery is able to provide up to 15 hours of playback time, can also allow you to charge your devices via usb!

The most fun part about this speaker would be the Megaphone function! Firstly, it can literally work as a megaphone (aka loudspeaker) or a microphone so you can have instant karaoke session anytime (and recording it at the same time!) and you get to change your voice instantly just by speaking through the microphone! There's a whole list of voice to change to such as Ore, Robot, Male to female, alien(?!) etc. Really super funny and amazed by how it works!!!

On top of the speaker, Creative also sent me a separate docking base that comes with a supplied universal power adaptor so that i don't have to plug in and out the cable whenever i need to charge the speaker! So thankful! :D

I'm pretty sure i covered the features which i really love about this Sound Blaster Axx AXX200 speaker. I liked the fact that it's so portable yet powerful, i'm so gonna bring it to my next staycation with my friends (and make weird voices with the VoiceFX function! HAHAHAHA) Just in case you are wondering on the price, according to the website, the price of the speaker is $375 and the docking base is $75. BUT i think there is a launch special - Both at $229! Consider maybe?