moving finally - feb 2014 aus questions.

[Mukik]

so. a few things come to mind. but the first is. power conversions. I know with the power supply I can get a cable and set the switch to 220w?

I was curoius about monitors. is there a way to find out if your monitor is adaptable to the australian power supply vs us?

[Ddrak]

Most modern PCs have auto-switching power supplies - if there's no switch, check the compliance info and it probably will say 110-240V or something.

Same with monitors - the compliance panel will tell you but all the ones I had were the standard 3-prong IEC plug and happily accepted 110-240V. Routers/switches/etc. tended to fare less well and only supported 110 and needed a transformer (or just replacement).

Dd

[Mukik]

We are getting settled , and I was wondering if there is an equivalent to fry's or microcenter over here? I may need to get the youngin a laptop for school , or give her mine and upgrade mine. I found the good guys, and harvey normans to be like best buy and maybe target electronics.

I love the food, is ironic a normal grocer's quality - woolworths or coles,is what you have to hunt for at like whole foods / sprouts. we do have a 'green' grocer close by as well whos prices arent a 50% mark up like you see back in denver.

[Taxious]

we do have a 'green' grocer close by as well whos prices arent a 50% mark up like you see back in denver.

That must be nice! Frugal me hates going into those places here.

[Minute]

Spiders & Snakes everywhere. BURN THAT COUNTRY DOWN & START NEW!

[Mukik]

in the month we have been here I have seen one huntsman which was out of the ordinary, otherwise its been daddy long legs. there was a cockroach that looked like it could haul off a baby, and no snakes yet.


Minute: Mica said you plzdieinafire for that .

[Ddrak]

We are getting settled , and I was wondering if there is an equivalent to fry's or microcenter over here? I may need to get the youngin a laptop for school , or give her mine and upgrade mine. I found the good guys, and harvey normans to be like best buy and maybe target electronics.

I love the food, is ironic a normal grocer's quality - woolworths or coles,is what you have to hunt for at like whole foods / sprouts. we do have a 'green' grocer close by as well whos prices arent a 50% mark up like you see back in denver.

No Fry's or Microcenter, sadly. Best bet is maybe something like umart.com.au, or there's a ton of independent small computer shops around. Can also try kogan.com.au if you're into grey market imports.

Gotten used to tax being added before the register yet? Or got yourself almost killed crossing the road?

Dd

[Minute]

There is an upside.

bZH3GNo[1].jpg

[Mukik]

And I found nerd central . Work is off george st by the asian marketplace - aka chinatown? Theres this building full of computer stores.

[Mukik]

Im waiting on my optus broadband to be activated , the date passing and am getting this gut feeling I am dealing with the australian version of comcast or uswest....ugh

[Ddrak]

Broadband takes forever to activate. Doesn't matter who you go with, it just takes forever. Welcome to Australia. :/

I'm with Telstra, but only to have the same provider/bill for cellphone, landline and broadband. Remember over here cell calls are only charged outgoing, not incoming.

Dd

[Mukik]

ok so next noob question.


we buy something on ebay and the disclaimer says - you are responsible for the imporation taxes, etc if it comes from china.

whats this about and
is it even worth bidding on

[Ddrak]

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resou ... netWEB.pdf

Essentially, if you're not importing alcohol or tobacco and the value is less than $1000 then you don't pay duty or GST. Above that and you get slugged for 5% import duty and 10% GST on pretty much the whole price including shipping and customs is nice and friendly and holds the stuff for you until you pay.

Dd