I don’t know how many of you are going to Computex this year but inspired by bytebot’s post, I’ve decided to write a first timer’s guide.  I know I’ve only been there once but having a guide is better than not having one right?

First things first, Computex is held anually in Taipei and since last year, there are two venues, Taipei World Trade Center, which is at the Taipei 101 building, and TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall.  Both venues are far away from each other and you won’t be able to walk from one to the other.

Let’s start!
Before You Go
The most important thing before you go is to book your hotel rooms and flight tickets.  Everyone in the world will be going to Computex, go figure.

Go to Computex’s official site, register yourself.  You can register at the venue itself but why do it last minute?

If you can, register for a Press Tag.  You’ll get more goodies with it.

Language
If possible, stick to someone who knows the language, i.e. mandarin and Hokkien (they call it the Taiwanese language but it’s Hokkien).  While I’m pretty sure you’ll have no problems during the expo but when you want to get out at night after all the work is done, you’ll need it to get around. Start learning some simple phrases if you can.

Getting Around
Taxi is not as cheap as the ones in KL but for it’s still considerably cheaper compared to places like Tokyo and London. My most expensive taxi fare was about RM20 for a 20 minute drive, including traffic jams.

There are shuttle busses shuttling between Taipei World Trade center and TWTC Nangang during the expo, just make sure you get onto the right one.  There will also be shuttle busses from major areas (where most hotels are) shuttling you guys to the expo.

The MRT system (or whatever they call it) is very comprehensive in Taipei.  Just read the map and you’ll be fine.  Oh yeah, don’t forget to grab a map from the airport.

Get your hotel’s card as well or write it down some where so that you can show it to the cab driver when you are lost.

What To Bring?
Bring comfy shoes. Trust me, you’ll need them as you’ll be doing A LOT of walking.

Bring a laptop, or better, a netbook.  If you can, bring a portable DVD drive as well (if you are bringing a netbook).  You’ll be getting PLENTY of press releases and they usually include softcopy versions of the press releases.  Copy them into your computer and you’ll safe some luggage space when you go home.  Most hotels last year provide free WiFi or LAN in the room so you’ll be ok when you need the internet.  Bring an Ethernet cable with you as well.

Bring a bigger bag, not just one that fits all your clothes.  You’ll be getting SWAGs (Stuff We All Get) when you visit booths.  Some of these SWAGs are really bulky, like the casino chip set I got from XFX last year.

You’ll need a power plug convertor.  Check this site for more info.  If you can charge your mobile phones, gadgets and stuff using your laptop, bring the cables and leave the chargers at home.  It’ll save you a lot of luggage space.

Bring your camera with plenty of memory cards.  I don’t know about you guys but I brought my DSLR with 4GB memory last year and it lasted me 1 day JUST NICE.  So bring more memory! If you are planing to bring your DSLR, a flash gun isn’t necessary as unlike the PC Fair in KL Convention Center, the halls are very well lit.  I’ll be bringing mine anyway, just in case.

Bring a backpack along with you to the expo.  It’ll come in handy for all the press releases.

Plan Your Itinerary
Just imagine, there are two venues and thousands of booths to go.  You’ll need to plan your time there well.  Depending on your agenda (some of us have sponsors’ events that we have to go), find out which booth you want to go to before hand.  You can get a directory at the venue itself, spend 30 minutes or so and study where are the booths that you are supposed to go.  Time is very limited and there are plenty of stuff to do!

There will be dancers around Computex and girls promoting their clients’ stuff, don’t just stand and stare at them, remember, you don’t have time!

You will get time to yourself (depending if you have and sponsored dinners or not), so you can go to some local night markets to do some shopping.  Make sure you don’t sleep too late as the next day is another full force expo ahead!

Currency
The currency in Taiwan is New Taiwan Dollars (NT).  Make sure the ones you bring are NT.  Last year I got conned by the money changer in Bangsar.  He gave me a combination of old and new notes and he said both can be used.  I found out that the old notes can no longer be used anymore, although they are worth more for collectors just like our old notes.  You’ll have to go to the Taiwan Bank to get it changed if you have the old ones.  Taiwan Bank is not like Bank Negara, they have branches every where but it’s not easy to spot one, kinda like Standard Charted Bank here.

Things are not really expensive in Taiwan, a little like in KL city.  A decent meal will cost you about NT200-300.  So just estimate how much you are going to use.  Bring more, just in case.

Others
If you are using a prepaid number, make sure you load enough money into it.  If you are on a post paid plan, get roaming activated.  You’ll need your phone to be working when you are in a foreign place, whether or not you use it is a different story.  I used mine last year sparingly and Maxis charged me about RM15, which is not too bad.

One of the exhibitors told me last year that it rains every Computex.  It rained last year at Computex as well and I guess it will rain this year too.  So if you want to, bring an umbrella.  You can buy it there (it was NT100, about RM10, at the night market last year) but I broke mine, on the same day I bought it.  So bring one if you need it but you’ll be indoors most of the time.

I don’t know what else to add but when I think of more, I’ll update the list.

Drop a comment if you need more info.

I’ve been following Wendy Cheng (XiaXue) and Dawn Yang’s feud on the blogosphere recently and to be honest, I’ve expected it.  Both are famous and have a decent loyalist to their blogs.  I am not going to comment on what I think as I don’t want to be famous for flaming them.

Wendy deleted her first post because of some law suit thingy from Dawn and plenty of people didn’t get to read it.  Some hate site did manage to screen capture the post but it was in the form of 10 JPEG files.  So to make life easier for the bloggers who want to screen cap a whole page in one single file, I’ll teach you how to do it.  It might come in handy someday.

Print Screen a whole page

1. You’ll need FireFox.  Download it here.

2. Install FireFox

3. Download FireFox plugin – ScreenGrab!

4. Install ScreenGrab!

5. Go to the page you want to”grab”

6. Right click on the page.

7. Select ScreenGrab!> Save> Complete Page/Frame

8. Select the place to save it.

9. DONE!

Is that easy? So bloggers, do yout thang and ScreeGrab! those controversial stuff.

A sample of XiaXue’s deleted post saved using ScreenGrab! here.

Will be using this entry for my first innit entry as well.

UPDATE: I have updated this entry with comments from readers. Please read through it.

I recently renewed my passport for a trip to Singapore.  Prior to renewing my passport, I went to the Immigration Department’s website to look for a guide in renewing my passport, but I couldn’t find any.  So that sparked a tiny thought in my head, why not create a guide in my blog and teach the people how to renew it.  If the government department can’t do it, I’ll do it! This will also mark a new category in my blog, where I post up guides and stuff, hoping to benefit the readers out there, all 10 of you guys!

Renewing a Malaysian Passport

Things to prepare before going to the Immigration Department

• Photo copy of your MyKad, both sides (1 copy on a piece of A4 paper)
• Passport sized photo. Bring a recent one and most importantly, bring one that is different from your old passport.  (1 piece, bring more just in case, there is a photo booth at the immigration department)
• Your old passport
• MyKad
• RM300 in cash (for 32 pages)
• Your thumb

Go to the machine renewal counters, take an envelop from the counter, write your name, IC and contact number.

Go to the machine, put in your passport and slot in your MyKad then follow the on screen instructions.  You’ll be asked to select either a 64 page or 32 page passport.  You’ll also be asked to place your thumb on the fingerprint reader.  Pay the machine RM300/RM600, one note at a time.  After that, put your old passport, photo copy of your MyKad and passport size photo in the envelope, slot it into the machine.  The envelope will be very thick but just put it in nevertheless. You will then be issued a receipt that will tell you when and where (which counter) to collect your passport.

You’re done! The process usually takes about 5 minutes or less.  Your passport will be ready in 2 hours, 3 if the lunch hour is in between.

P.S. This guide is only for those with a working MyKad and also a working Malaysian passport with a microchip embedded at the back cover.

P.P.S. Neither me nor justinkoh.net will held responsible if you are stranded in a foreign country or miss your flight because of an expired passport.  Always renew your passport when you are expected to travel.

UPDATE:

One of my readers, Shasha, used this guide and renewed her passport.  I’ll also update this guide base on her comments:

This happened to Shasha at the beginning of November 2008.  So if you are reading this after a few months, it might not be valid.

Shasha’s suggestion: Renew your passport before you travel.  It only takes 2 minutes to do it and 2 hours to collect it.

Thanks Shasha.

UPDATE 2:

Another reader, A Syed, provided some very useful information. His comment answers the most popular question – If my passport expires in less than 6 months, will I still be able to travel? A Syed commented on 22 Jan 2010 and according to his comment, he traveled last month, which is December 2009. If this is too dated when you read it, it might be too old. So have a valid passport when you are expected to travel.