Prologue: Somewhat a continuation from the previous post so read on!
So,
yes.
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| I mentioned the other on my previous post about Yes4G by YTL Group is doing a roadshow in USM this week to promote their product. But why USM? |
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| Apparently, USM is one of the partner universities for Yes4G's Education Partner Programme (refer to the link yourself to see other partner higher education institutions). What they offer for students of their partner institutions free 300mb of data usage every month. All we need to do is to login to our Campusonline portal to retrieve our login id and password for the Yes4G account registered for us by the university, activate it over the portal and voila! 300mb is all yours. But wait a second. What are we gonna do with that 300mb or rather how are we going to use that 300mb? And that's where the catch comes in. (There's always a catch. Always.) |
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| There're two ways to use that free 300mb: one is two download their Yes Life software which is sort of like Instant messaging thing and use your Yes4G id to login and utilize their service. I am not exactly sure about their functionality on using it to call other number (oh btw, Yes4G comes with a mobile phone number thing that starts with 018!) but it definitely gonna suck if I can't do that. That's one method there. If you want to utilise Yes4G for internet/to go online, you have to purchase their Go 4G Dongle worth RM99. So in the end I am gonna pay up something after all! But the advantage of Yes4G is that you pay as much as you use (or rather, you use as much as you pay as I discover further that Yes4G functions like Prepaid except that they never expire unless you used all of it.) and when compared to other 3G Telco network (Maxis, disguised as "H" and Digi disguised as "D" in the flyers) by a margin especially at the lower end of bandwidth usage. |
So in the end after contemplating and balancing cost and spending (I believe most of you already know how much time I spent outside at B&O and such.) and such, I've made my decision.
I said YES to YES4G.
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| So earlier in the afternoon, I dropped by their booth over DK H, indicated my interest in getting the Go dongle, went through the typical process of activating and updating account and payment and registration of device etc and such and I am all done. Got this neat little bag for the dongle and receipt. Luckily the registration fee is waived (RM50) so I only paid for the device (RM99) and credit (RM10) in order to participate in the lucky draw. |
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| So, here's the packaging of the dongle. Unwrapped it... |
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| ...to reveal the real thing. Small, slick and black, complete with Yes. |
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| As you can see from here, it's basically plug and play. One thing though: the hinge (which can rotate/move for your own convenience) feels kinda flimsy though and the instruction book do mention about don't force it in. Looks like it might just snap under the heavy hand of mine! |
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| Indeed, it was pretty scary when plugging it in into to USB port and I was pretty scared that I might just snap it right before I got the chance to use it! Anyway, plugged in it goes. |
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| Auto-prompt. Time to install! |
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| How many of you actually read the license agreement. Tips to plebs from translator: the devil is in the detail, especially when it comes contract and agreement. Legal documents are teeming with nooks and crannies complete with indecipherable jargon for the uninitiated. As far as I can say this time though, I didn't read it. YOU MAD? |
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| Installing... |
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| Voila! Your 4G experience begins now! |
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| So this is how the Network Manager looks like: just type in your Yes4G id and your password, click "connect" and you're on the go! |
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| Look! I am connected. Signal's pretty decent! |
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| With Yes4G, I can go to Facebook and open applications which was blocked by the nefarious but free USMhotspots! |
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| I can even login to my Cityville and manage my city! (By the way, game developed by Zynga is destined to be very, very annoying. Every little event and we can post about it? Need friend to help upgrade and level up? Despite these peeves, I still play it. Pfft.) |
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| I can go on to Youtube, another website blocked by USMhotspot to maintain their bandwidth from exploding due to bored student watching Youtube. |
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| In the end after onlining, Cityville and watching numerous clips of RMR and all, it all added up to this. About 250mb of (downloaded) bandwidth gone in one sitting. Told ya I am gonna blow the free 300mb in one sitting! |
So what's the verdict? The connection speed's pretty stable and fast, most of the time on par with what I had over Pelita or Istimewa in their optimal time and on certain moment, faster than what I usually I had. Though loading into Cityville is kinda inconsistent in which there are a couple of instances which I need to refresh the page to give it a nudge before I can login. Otherwise, it's satisfactory.
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| The instruction booklet of the Yes Go dongle is adorned with this tagline that you can get connected anywhere. Advertising ploy indeed and how exactly "everywhere" is "everywhere". Just to check this notion, I went over to their main website to check their coverage. |
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| Penang is pretty well covered in which the blue smudge concentrated alone the densely populated centre along the Strait of Penang. For those who live at Teluk Bahang or somewhere in the middle of rice field over Kepala Batas, they have to wait a litle bit longer. Like any other huge company in Malaysia, they always start their business across Peninsula and it's indeed true for Yes4G looking at their coverage. Population centres from JB to Malacca and Seremban, huge smudge over Klang valley, moving on to Ipoh, reaching Penang and moved further north to cover Sungai Petani and Alor Setar. The coverage is much more spotty over east coast of Peninsula which only cover Kuantan and oddly Temerloh or something. Kota Bharu and Kuala Terengganu? Keep on waiting. |
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| As I browse over to my beloved hometown Kuching, there's no blue smudge on the screen. Nada. Once again, the people over Malaysian Borneo has been neglected. Hopefully expansion to Malaysia Borneo is in the pipeline or I will scream discrimination! |
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| Back to Yes4G roadshow in USM, for every purchase of Yes4G device, we'll be entitled for a lucky draw. I got a lanyard that shamelessly proclaim their stuff. Not just that and a further testament on how eager Yes4G want to push their promotion (and subsequently sucking our money...slowly.), they give me a card which can be stamped if I bring my friend over to activate their Yes4G account (remember, it's free to activate but the dongle is not free) and each stamp will make me eligible for another round of lucky draw. Their grand lucky draw prize which is the Ipad, Ipod etc is on friday. Should I become shameless and drag people to do so? |
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| In a nutshell, yes I am satisfied with Yes4G. Looks like I am going to be deeply rooted in my room now that Yes4G negated any need for me to off campus to online. Now I am really turning into hikikomori (引き篭もり). |
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| Good bye B&O over Istimewa, Pelita. Goodbye shameless online session over McDonald and Marrybrown. Goodbye expensive L&O over Roti Bakar and other miscellany outlets that rise and fallen over the years over Ivory Plaza. All the spending that I used over these session will be concentrated in feeding Yes4G credit and I will try to make it worth it! The only thing right now: wait for their new outlet in USM to open. I am sure YTL Group spent shitload of investment in getting us to be their corporate slaves. |
Epilogue: Another thing related to spending and such: printing. Printing document and journal can really eat up plenty of paper! I scoured all the leftover A4 paper that I picked up here and there for the past three year and it's almost all gone by the 4th printing order! While I understood that my act will certainly increase my carbon footprint to BLASPHEMOUS level but those papers are relevant and I can read it even after I turned off my laptop! Looks like I am gonna spent some money in getting more A4 paper...
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