IT Plaza

Post by **trubrit** » July 23, 2012, 5:10 pm

The new It Plaza complex is set to open next week with a range of Thai pop stars performing every day . It also includes a new Ciniplex cinema but It's not clear if this is opening yet .
http://www.itplaza.co.th/hotnews_detail ... 682&page=1

Post by **Prenders88** » July 24, 2012, 9:29 am

Looking at the vast size of it, I fear the traffic along Tanon Thong Yai will be a killer.

Post by **parrot** » July 30, 2012, 7:46 pm

I was told the Nevada Complex opened up over the past weekend (maybe a soft opening). Anybody go?
Some info from:
http://www.udon108.com/board/index.php?topic=194163.0

parking for 150-200 vehicles on second floor
Three theaters due to open initially, with a total of 8 scheduled to open in mid-September. Ticket prices will start at 60 Baht.
Dolby digital surround sound at 4000Watts.

Post by **Prenders88** » August 2, 2012, 4:42 pm

Open today but not at full steam yet, the tenants of some shops have not moved in.
Looks good, and plenty of gear for PC builders, and cheap prices.
Another feather in Udon's cap.

Post by **FrazeeDK** » August 2, 2012, 7:49 pm

.. One large ground floor with perhaps 60 stores/booths. The IT focus makes you wonder if the IT booths over in Central Plaza will or have moved to IT Plaza.. The Multiplex entrance WILL be on the 2nd floor evidently but it is not open yet. Lots of movie posters pointing the way up.... Construction still going on...

Post by **BobHelm** » August 7, 2012, 11:54 am

I went today for a look & very much as Prenders says.
Still not full, but worth going for all that. It is undoubtedly, by far, the best place to go in Udon for anyone looking for low cost Desktops, Laptops or Printers, with a couple of places selling replacement inkjet & laser refills as well.

Thank goodness the outlets do appear to be different to each other & not all trying to be all things to all people & all failing in the process.
Also as Prenders says a good place to start looking if you like upgrading or replacing bits on your own computer.

I must admit that I rather envisaged a replica of the Complex with rows of identical stalls selling phones & so was pleasantly surprised. In saying that, it is possible to buy a phone in there..

Post by **trubrit** » August 7, 2012, 2:03 pm

Yes I was in there Monday. Bit like a ghost town at present with acres of space unoccupied and many units still vacant. Entering from the second floor car park was quite eerie, total darkness and blinds up round , presumably the cinema complex. The emphasise does seem to be on computers rather than phones although there were a few of the latter. A coffee shop located at the front but no food area as such .Was surprised I was unable to find a genuine Windows 7 but was offered one that said"No verification code neccessary, just load and play" Presumably that would have been a copy?
Also had many others similar. I was under the impression that 7 & 8 couldn't be pirated? I find it difficult too imagine that an area that size could be filled by just IT retailers especially as one person I spoke to told me her rent will be 20k a month after the opening period .For me I can't envisage thev place as a "shopping experience" rather a quick nip in to buy an item and out again. I may be wrong, wouldn't put my money on it though . :-"

Post by **lee** » August 7, 2012, 2:17 pm

I was at Central Plaza yesterday and the IT section was almost deserted. Could it be IT shops have reached saturation point? And there's more in the pipeline when Tuk Com mall eventually opens. How many IT and mobile shops does a town really need?

Post by **Prenders88** » August 7, 2012, 2:56 pm

A snide copy of Windows 7, will you get the updates?
J.I.B. sell real copies of Windows 7.

Post by **BobHelm** » August 7, 2012, 3:18 pm

Bit off topic, so please excuse...

There are 3 main ways of obtaining illegal Windows 7 software & keeping it running.
First is just have a copy & manually stop the Microsoft authenticity program getting on your computer. Not especially effective as Windows can be sneaky with what they actually call it. Also some 'add ons' from Windows won't load unless it can see a copy of the program on your PC. Security updates are added though.
Second is that the copy contains a program that 'defeats' the authenticity check program. So it fools Microsoft into thinking you have a genuine version. Microsoft is aware of these programs & alters its check to prevent them working. But equally the 'defeat programmers' are aware & so on... a battle of wills & wits that might leave the buyer of the software with a program identified as illegal.
Thirdly an OEM copy of the software that also contains the OEM's code number to show the program as valid to Microsoft. Will last for ever, or as long as Microsoft support Windows 7 anyway..
When Microsoft spots software as being pirated it does not stop it working, just refuses to update it & tries to embarrass the user into buying a good copy & causes delays in start up etc.... Inconvenience rather than removal.

This is one of the reasons why software manufacturers are all so keen to move to 'Cloud Computing' where, in effect, you never own the software, just rent it while you are using it. over the internet.

Back on topic now...sorry..
I like wandering around good IT stores - yes I know, sad...

I don't think that Centra has ever been a good IT area, rather it is The Night Market in nicer surroundings.
I did think that IT Plaza had the makings of a good place to look at IT.
I must agree with Lee though that I am unsure if Udon can generate enough business to support Tuk Com & IT Plaza as well whatever standard they manage to reach..

Post by **Prenders88** » August 7, 2012, 4:42 pm

Hoardes of Lao in their top end SUV's will come and swamp the IT Plaza at weekends.
It will be years before they get something similar. Then a huge catchment area from Loei in the west to Sakon Nakhon Kin Maa in the east, Nong Khai to the North.

Post by **parrot** » August 7, 2012, 4:51 pm

On the subject of buying authentic Windows 7. I purchased mine at Hardware House in the complex (Central). Got all the CDs, paperwork that goes with it. The software has updated probably a hundred times in 2+ years, no problems. I'm not certain, but I think you need the real deal if you intend to use Microsoft Security Essentials.....it's my security blanket....free and kept me virus/spybot free for a few years as well.

On the subject of vacant space: I walked out of the Bangkok Bank (clock circle) last week and faced the back end of the yet-to-be-finished IT Mall.......6 or 7 stories, 40,000 sq meters of shopping space promised. A few hours later I was in Central, shopping for a pair of headsets. I walked into a half dozen computer stores......very few customers. I settled on a pair of headsets at Grand IT. When I went to pay, the cashier took my money and gave me my bag. I asked if the receipt was inside. She apologized......her two computers weren't working properly. I asked for a hand written receipt (in case of problems with the headsets). On a 3x3 sheet of paper, she wrote
"GRAND IT
หูฟัง Monster 590"

Technology.........it's great!

Post by **Svein66** » December 21, 2012, 10:04 pm

parrot wrote:I was told the Nevada Complex opened up over the past weekend (maybe a soft opening). Anybody go?
Some info from:
http://www.udon108.com/board/index.php?topic=194163.0

parking for 150-200 vehicles on second floor
Three theaters due to open initially, with a total of 8 scheduled to open in mid-September. Ticket prices will start at 60 Baht.
Dolby digital surround sound at 4000Watts.

Went to IT Plaza today. Many shops at the ground floor, none (I think) in the second floor yet. Nevada Multiplex is on the third floor, but sadly it only has thaidubbed movies.

http://www.nevadacomplex.com/Nevada-Udon-ShowTime

Post by **Nick@AUA** » July 18, 2013, 9:18 pm

1 year on and it looks like it's gone 'belly up'. I blame the traffic.

What's the opposite of 'A feather in your cap' btw?

Post by **semperfiguy** » July 18, 2013, 10:15 pm

Nick@AUA wrote:1 year on and it looks like it's gone 'belly up'. I blame the traffic.

What's the opposite of 'A feather in your cap' btw?

Traffic is definitely a problem, but more so the inconvenience of parking. Driving the narrow entrance and exit ramps to the parking garage is a nightmare, then once one enters the complex from the parking garage it's a walk and escalator ride to get down to the ground floor where all the shops are located. I generally know exactly what I'm looking for when and if I go there, and I don't want to be bothered with the parking garage. The street parking is always full but there are some nice "quick-in quick-out" parking spaces built in the front of the complex, but they no longer allow parking there. Instead they use it for a temporary selling area for outside vendors. IMO they just shot themselves in the foot when they did that. It's that same old narrow minded thinking...open a business anywhere...burn incense and offer fruit at the Buddha alter...and the people will come. Sorry, but it's just not that simple! The developers dupe themselves with that mindset, then the shopkeepers fill up the place and follow in their footsteps...the blind leading the blind...then six months later they're all out of business. Sad...very sad...but I see it happen over and over again.

Post by **kopkei** » July 19, 2013, 6:47 am

went to IT plaza yesterday to buy a computer , the place start look like a ghost town, not many shops open and even than these shops did not have the amount of stock as usual , probably selling out en also relocating...
so my statement from before that they are overbuilding in udon must be correct...
we ended up buying a pc at central ( as i do not like landmark plaza ...no parking space) ....

Post by **richardlg** » July 19, 2013, 8:31 am

I use the IT Plaza opposite Tesco UD Town. Still have a good selection of IT shops including Banana and always plenty of parking on the 2nd level. (Have also been known to use the free parking there when visiting UD Town night market.)

On the subject of over building in Udon; walked past the Charoensi night market at Nong Prajak yesterday and looks like parts of it are be pulled down(or falling down) already.

Post by **RLTrader** » July 19, 2013, 3:31 pm

Shopping for IT in Udon, is %&$^*&^%

About a month or 2, found with no problem HD I wanted, price was fine, but didn't buy because couldn't find memory. Want to tear down Once.

Well got memory from america, finally, so went to buy the HD. After 3 hours, usual places came up empty.

Oh, did find out that there is Mac Service in town, if anyone needs. Of course its called iService and in UD Town row 5 3rd floor. And of course not busy.

KB_Texas · Post by **KB_Texas** » July 19, 2013, 4:39 pm

RLTrader wrote:Shopping for IT in Udon, is %&$^*&^%

About a month or 2, found with no problem HD I wanted, price was fine, but didn't buy because couldn't find memory. Want to tear down Once.

Well got memory from america, finally, so went to buy the HD. After 3 hours, usual places came up empty.

Oh, did find out that there is Mac Service in town, if anyone needs. Of course its called iService and in UD Town row 5 3rd floor. And of course not busy.

If you own a Mac, be VERY careful when taking it in for repair! I took my MacBook Pro in to the Apple place for a sticky cd drive that would not eject. The first thing the man did was go to my documents folder and was looking at the docs list. (has absolutely NOTHING--ZERO to do with a sticky CD!) I immediately shut the computer case and left, much to his consternation, and have not and will not go back. When I contacted Apple, I was told I needed to send the computer to BKK for service, and it would be 6-8 weeks before they repaired it, and they could not give me a cost estimate.

I ended up repairing it myself, and it took about 2 hours. No new hardware needed, and nothing wrong with what was there other than it was 'stuck'. Once I aligned the drive in the case again, it worked perfectly.

So, the moral of this story is DO NOT 'trust' the folks who work at these computer shops. It would have done them no good to get the data in my case, because all of my important documents are well protected by strong encryption. But I have no idea of what is on their networks, and the actions of this particular employee were quite suspicious. It would be easy to create a script on the network that started copying everything in your docs folder (or even the entire drive) as soon as your computer was hooked up to the network if the employee was there to ok it, and you were not paying attention. Be careful with your data! If I HAD to take the computer for repair, I would be sure to erase any 'sensitive' data before doing so if possible and it was stored on your internal drive. This taught me a lesson, and I now separate sensitive documents from normal docs, and store them on 2 external hard disks in their own encrypted areas.

KB

Post by **RLTrader** » July 19, 2013, 8:34 pm

Yes, but that could happen anywhere. #1 setup a Guest User Account, (my 5 yr old has used that for a couple of years, now). #2 encrypt your account docs.

This is a more professional shop from its looks, just a counter with 3 or 4 people when I was there. I asked and work is done there, not sent to BKK.

They carry nothing, but sent me to a couple of places to look for HD. They also asked if I wanted a cost estimate, to install.

I will assume that next month about this time, there will be tons of 500GB 2.5 SATA 3, 7,200RPM drives in every shop you enter.

No One Re-Stocks anything in Udon it seems.

Speaking of 5 yro's mine is bugging me, keep saying 5 mins, he ain't buying.