Singapore in 1956 Found this interesting Youtube video. Singapore in 1956 taken using a 8mm film. Interesting. Too bad there isn’t any sound. Do you recongnise all the places? Some of the buildings still exist today. Your candle’s burned out long before Your legend ever will Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) First Look: Windows Phone 7 I had a first look at the upcoming Microsoft Windows Phone 7 a few weeks ago at Microsoft Singapore office. Let me just state first that this is still not the final built. But I guess the final released version will be more or less the same. And also, I don’t have any information about the hardware yet. I only know that the phone we tried is a LG phone with a landscape slideout keyboard. Oh well, the focus is on the OS anyway. Firstly, the Windows Phone 7 is a complete rewrite from the Windows Mobile 6.5. There is no similarity between Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile 6.5. (No more START button. Yippie!!!) Which is something good. Microsoft made the right move by reseting the entire mobile OS. Windows Mobile 6.5 belongs to the PalmOS era. The Windows Phone 7 is able to let Microsoft compete better with other mobile OS like iOS and Android. The home screen consists of “live tiles” which are dynamic icons. Interface is pretty straight forward and easy to use. Microsoft does not allow phone makers to slap another layer of user interface on top of the existing Windows Phone 7 interface. I don’t really mind that since the Windows Phone 7 interface is pretty good. But I wonder how are phone makers going to compete against each other if they can’t customize the home screen. Microsoft also make it a must for all Windows Phone 7 maker to include 3 physical button on their phone. These 3 buttons are Back Button, Window Button and Search button. Phone makers can, however, add more buttons if they wish to. I’m expecting lots of phone makers to have the dial and hang up button too. But honestly, I think the Back, Window and search button is good enough. Oh ya, the camera button is also a must for all Windows Phone 7. WAIT! Does that means all Windows Phone must come with camera? Hmmmm….. Let me get back to you on this. There is quite a bit of facebook integration on the Windows Phone 7 platform. You can synchronize your contact book with facebook contacts. Strangely, there isn’t any integration for Twitter yet. But not to worry, I’m sure someone will write an app for that. And yes, the Windows Phone 7 does come with an app store. That’s the default thing for most smart mobile OSes. Right? I didn’t get a chance to look at how the App Store looks like. There is also no information on whether Singapore will have paid apps or not during Windows Phone 7 launch. I’m praying that there will be. It’s always good to have a wide selection of free and paid apps. Office suite comes installed on all Windows Phone 7. I’m pretty impressed with the One Note which allows you to take note easily. There is also Word and Excel on the Windows Phone 7. There is also a Zune music player. From what I understand, the interface is the same as the Zune MP3 player. Users can synchronize and transfer music and audio files between their phone and PC using the Zune PC software as long as there is no Digital Rights Management restrictions. I don’t have information on whether Singapore will have Zune Marketplace. My guess is no. It’s just like iTunes Store. We just don’t get it here in Singapore. I didn’t get a chance to try out the Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 because it was not ready when I test out the phone. But there is already a long list of games that Windows Phone 7 users can expect to see on their phone. You have Bejeweled LIVE, Fruit Ninja, Guitar Hero 5, Mini Squadron, Real Soccer 2, Star Wars: Battle for Hoth etc etc etc…… There’s too many for me to list everything down here. If you are interested, hop over to Microsoft’s website for the full list. The Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 will also offer try-before-you-buy demos, Xbox LIVE leaderboards, turn-based multiplayer modes and achievements. Windows Phone 7 is looking pretty exciting. Can’t wait to see the first phone running Windows Phone 7. It would be interesting to see Microsoft using Windows Phone 7 to compete with other Mobile Phone OS like iOS, Android and BlackBerry. We should be expecting to see Windows Phone 7 be out in the market by end of the year. Tech65 Party 2010 Thank You Video Been busy lately. Will try my best to resume the usual blog entries soon. Lots of gadgets and tech news I wanted to blog about but don’t have the time. Anyway, Tech65 had a small party over the weekend to thank all our friends and supporters. Here is the video we made for the party. Enjoy. 突然好想你 五月天 – 突然好想你 最怕空氣突然安靜 最怕朋友突然的關心 最怕回憶突然翻滾絞痛著不平息 最怕突然聽到你的消息 想念如果會有聲音 不愿那是悲傷的哭泣 事到如今終於讓自已屬於我自已 只剩眼淚還騙不過自己 突然好想你你會在哪里 過的快樂或委屈 突然好想你突然鋒利的回憶 突然模糊的眼睛 我們像一首最美麗的歌曲 變成兩部悲傷的電影 為什麼你帶我走過最難忘的旅行 然後留下最痛的紀念品 我們那麼甜那麼美那麼相信 那麼瘋那麼熱烈的曾經 為何我們還是要奔向 各自的幸福和遺憾中老去 突然好想你你會在哪里 過的快樂或委屈 突然好想你突然鋒利的回憶 突然模糊的眼睛 最怕空氣突然安靜 最怕朋友突然的關心 最怕回憶突然翻滾絞痛著不平息 最怕突然聽到你的消息 最怕此生已經決定自己過 沒有你卻又突然聽到你的消息 Win a trip to F1 Japan Grand Prix with Singha ambassadors Singha Beer has recently joined the F1 Redbull team in the race to win the coveted trophy. As a partner of the team, Singha will be sending a lucky winner and a companion to the F1 race in Japan, accompanied by the Singha Beer ambassadors – Oli Pettigrew and Linda Black. All that is required is to purchase a 6-pack of Singha Beer, submit the cutout coupon at the bottom of the pack and stand a chance to spend 5 days and 4 nights in Japan with Oli and Linda and to watch the F1 Japan Grand Prix with exclusive VIP Paddock Passes. Not only that, there are many other prizes to be won, including a pair of Gold Grand Stand tickets to the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. So Cheers!!! Windows 95 turns 15 years old Oops, almost forgot about this. Happy Belated Birthday Windows 95! Windows 95 was launched on 24 August 1995. It is a significant change from the older Windows 3.1. I still remember using Windows 95 for the first time in my Secondary School’s library. Took me some time for me to figure out how to use it. Before that, I was using MSDOS and Windows 3.1. Little did I know that 15 years later, some of the things that were on the Windows 95 are still seen in the latest Windows 7. Like start button and recycle bin. I wonder who is still using Windows 95 now. Personally, I prefer Windows 98 which is much more stable than Win 95. Happy 15th Birthday Windows 95. You still haven’t reach the legal drinking age yet. Haha. Oh, here is some promotional videos done by Microsoft 15 years ago. They look kinda cheezy now. Maybe it is popular back then. Or maybe it’s already considered cheezy back then. Enjoy!!!! I don’t know about you, but somehow this reminds me of the Window 7 party video. Some things doesn’t change. Paid Apps arrive in Singapore BlackBerry App World Good news for all Singapore BlackBerry users. You can finally buy Apps from the BlackBerry App World! FINALLY Lor. I’ve been hearing news that paid apps is coming to Singapore BlackBerry App World since late last year. I’m so glad that it is finally here. Well, to be fair, they aren’t exactly that late. Note that you still can’t purchase apps on Android Marketplace. Apps can start as low as US$0.99. Payment for apps can be made via PayPal and Credit Cards. BlackBerry App World have a feature to charge your purchase to your next Telco bill. But this feature is not yet available in Singapore as no arrangement has been made between RIM and the 3 telcos. Let’s hope talks are in the way and we’ll be able to charge purchases to our Telco bill soon. As much as I love free apps, sometimes you can’t deny the fact that paid apps usually have higher quality. So having a paid app section is always good for the mobile OS ecosystem.Let’s hope developers will make full use of this App World and start developing quality apps for BlackBerry. BlackBerry also released their App World 2.0. The biggest improvement that I can see on the BlackBerry App World 2.0 is the addition of BlackBerry ID. BlackBerry ID let’s you manage app easily and seamlessly transfer all apps when switching to a new BlackBerry smartphone. If you have a BlackBerry, why not try it out? Share your @LaptopFail stories and win What do you do if your Laptop failed on you? Send it for repair? Buy a new one? How about sharing your stories with @LaptopFail on Twitter? Just follow @LaptopFail on Twitter, tell them your laptop fail stories and you might stand a chance to win in the weekly prize giveaways of $100 gift vouchers and the attractive grand prize of a brand new laptop. Interesting contest. But sadly, I haven’t got any epic laptop fail story to share. Wait… how about this? I fail to have a epic laptop fail story to share with @LaptopFail. FML, can’t stand a chance to win a new laptop. Hmmmmm….. nah…. this will not work. I need to try harder. PS: Join the facebook group too. Tokyo Square – Within You’ll Remain I’m sure most of us have heard of this song. Do you know that Tokyo Square is a band from Singapore? Surprised right? Within You’ll Remain was originally performed by a Hong Kong band called Chyna. But Tokyo Square rearranged the song and popularised it. Enjoy! Tokyo Square – Within You’ll Remain Facing the world with the empty heart I could disappear into the dark And you were the one and you were the who could make my dreams come true My dear, it’s you When you’re not around My heart stood still Within you’ll remain and always will Illusion says there is another man who would interfere into my plan Wao Ai Ni, I love you Wao Ai Ni, I need you More than I ever did anyone I’ve never felt like this before Wao Ai Ni, I want you Wao Ai Ni, I need you We could be two lovers from the past And the future is our chance When you’re not around My heart stood still Within you’ll remain and always will Little Man – The way girls are Here is an interesting short film. Enjoy. I actually sort of guessed the ending. But still, very interesting to watch. The science behind the Youth Olympic Games Cauldron I’m sure you have seen the impressive Youth Olympic Games Cauldron. Have you ever wonder how they make that Fire Tornado? Well, here is a video explaining the science behind it. Clever huh? The Cauldron looks great. Speaking of the Cauldron, I love this photo from the YOG opening ceremony. That’s Darren Choy running toward the Youth Olympics Cauldron. First Look: Nokia E5 Got a quick look at the budget Nokia E5 recently. Before we start, let’s get our expectation sorted out first. This is a budget phone. You won’t get any fanciful specs. Just a low end and cheap phone. But being cheap doesn’t mean that it have to look cheap. Some how the Nokia E5 looks rather decent and feels pretty solid. I’ve seen some budget phone that scream “I’m a cheap phone!!!” when you use it. The Nokia E5 isn’t one of them. In fact, you might be able to fool people into thinking that this phone is rather expensive. Besides the looks, the keyboard is pretty responsive and nice to type with. I’m surprised that it is not a El-Cheapo keyboard. This keyboard is pretty decent. But then, of course you can’t compare it with the expensive phones like Nokia E72 or BlackBerry 9700 keyboard. It’s a different league. At this price point, I would say I’m impressed with the keyboard. The Nokia E5 runs on Symbian OS (No prize for guessing this correct). I quite like the main screen where you can add up to 25 contacts for quick access. Nokia seems to be positioning the Nokia E5 as a budget messaging device. Setting up emails account is a breeze. The Nokia E5 come pre-installed with the Facebook app. One application that caught my attention is the Microsoft Communicator Mobile. Microsoft Communicator allows you to check the availability of your colleagues through the company directory and message them. Quite a number of companies are using Microsoft Communicator Mobile. It’s like an internal MSN. My company is using it too. Although it is good to have that application on the phone, I wonder if I can ever get my IT dept to approve me to use Microsoft Communicator on my mobile. There is a 5 megapixel camera without autofocus. Picture quality is normal but personally I’m not a fan of it. Either give me a camera with autofocus or none at all. Oh well. I’m not sure exactly how well the Nokia E5 will sell in Singapore. After all, we prefer higher end phones and don’t mind paying a bit extra. But it sure looks like a winner in the emerging markets. The Nokia E5 cost $398 without contract. Pretty attractive price point. Comes in Black or White. More colours will be available later this year. Did I mention that it comes with Ovi Map which has free turn by turn navigation? In short, the Nokia E5 is a cheap phone that doesn’t feel cheap. I’ll do a more detailed review when I get my hands on the review unit. YOG – Now is not the time Been reading a lot about the Youth Olympic Games lately. Most of them are negative. I posted 2 article that I found online which I think are from a different perspective and worth a read. If you haven’t read them, please take some time to read this and this. I hope these perspective from the other side would change your opinion about YOG. So here is my opinion about the Youth Olympic Games. At first, I don’t really care much. I’m not very supportive when it comes to sports simply because the scene is dominated by foreign talents. I hated the foreign talent scheme since day one. I felt that we should spend all those money and effort on our own citizen. Winning or losing isn’t really important. Most importantly, we are represented by real Singaporeans. To me, the foreign talents can only be winner but never a champion. They will not be able to inspire me. And I’m sure this applies to a lot of Singaporeans too. But my perspective of YOG changed when I read about that facebook note by Ridz’s friend. It strikes me that the YOG is not just about the foreign talents. It’s actually benefiting most of our youth in one way or another. I wouldn’t say all the youths benefited from YOG because some of them didn’t care about it. But for those who cared about it, they gained a priceless once in a lifetime experience. Something that none of us here is able to understand because there wasn’t a YOG when we were still young. I know there are a lot of problems with the YOG. The YOG spending has exceeded the budget by more than 3 times. Schools students are forced to buy tickets to watch the matches. Some school terms delayed because of YOG. Cars need to give way to YOG bus or face a fine. The public are not interested in the YOG activities. Volunteers’ food looks like dog food. Students forced to help out for YOG. Not enough international media coverage. Some people using YOG for their own political gains. Etc etc etc….. the list goes on and on and on. I guess you know more than me. I agree with some of the points being raised by Singaporeans. I will not go into details on which point I agree and which point I disagree because now is not the time. Now is not the time to point finger. Now is not the time to demand an explanation. Now is not the time to ask why the spending exceed 3 times the budget. Now is not the time to ask why our volunteers are being treated badly. Now is not the time to ask why there isn’t enough international media coverage. Now is not the time to ask if there is a need to issue fine to cars that doesn’t give way to the YOG bus. Now is not the time to ask who is responsible for all these. My fellow Singaporeans….. NOW is not the time. Now is the time for us to welcome the young athletes from all around the world. Now is the time to support our young athletes. Now is the time for us to be a good host. Now is the time to show the world what Singapore is capable of. Now is the time to give the young athletes a chance to perform. Now is the time for the young athletes to compete and share their experience. Now is the time for them to learn about sportmanship. Now is the time for them to compete in a fair manner without doping. Now is the time to let the world’s attention be placed on the sporting talents of our future generation and not those issues surrounding the whole Youth Olympic Games. I’m also unhappy with some of the things that the YOG committee did. For example, I know that they release balloon dove during the opening ceremony. If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know that balloon release is my pet peeve. I didn’t blog about it becuase NOW is not the time. I’m also very curious how did the spending exceed the budget more than 3 times. MORE than 3 times!! That’s a lot of money. Who is incharge of budgeting? And why didn’t the IOC get more international media attention for us? Why didn’t the YOG committee managed to get the general public to be more involved in the games. Why didn’t the organizing committee get better food and benefits for the hardworking volunteers? Someone have a lot of explaining to do. But now is not the time. There is a right time for everything. Now is not the time to ask who should be held responsible. Let’s not steal the media attention away from the young athletes. They trained hard for this moment. Give them 12 days to show the world what they are capable of. This is their time. This is their moment. This is their glory. For those who don’t support YOG, all I ask of you is to hold your complaint until the end of YOG. Don’t ruin the hard effort put in by others. For those who support YOG, please give all the young athletes your fullest support. They deserved it. Let’s make this the best Youth Olympic Games ever. Let’s set the Singapore standard for all future YOG country to follow. It is said that in the ancient times, countries at war would cease fire during Olympic period so that they can compete in the games. I hope the war of words will cease fire during this Youth Olympic period. We will settle the scores later. Now is not the time. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi deleted scene George Lucas recently announced that there are official plans to release the entire Star Wars Saga (episode 1 to 6) in a Blu-ray package. The new edition would also include a long lost deleted scene. In that scene, Darth Vader is trying to a contact Luke using the force and getting him to join him at the dark side. We then see Luke, concealed by a hood, building his lightsaber in what some sources say is Obi-Wan’s house. (Although it looks more like a normal cave to me) This scene is supposed to happen before C3PO and R2-D2 went to Jabba the Hutt’s palace. The cut scene was shown at Star Wars Celebration V. Fortunately for us, someone sneak a video camera in. BUT unfortunately for us, LucasArts has issued a take down notice and Youtube is taking down all the video they can find as we speak. So I don’t know how long will this video be available. If you can’t see it, that means it has been taken down. But but but….. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said that he don’t remember filming that part. Note that we can’t see the face clearly in the video. So there could be a chance that the video is shot using a body double. Or Mark did film that shot but he forgotten about it. Or some people are speculating that the shot is filmed recently to be included into the Blu-ray edition. You be the judge. But it’s amazing how many times George Lucas can release the same film over and over again and again. So what’s next after Blu-ray edition? 3D edition? Hmmm…. YOG – Another story from the other side Here is another blog entry on the Youth Olympic Games by a friend of mine. I guess I’ll share it here for all those who still doubt the need for Singapore to host YOG. Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games: Singapore, What Do You Want? Another one armed post, because my left arm is still in a cast, but also because I feel that this is an opinion I want to share, hopefully to offer a different point of view, and perhaps one that’s positive as well. I’m going to be talking about the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, so I’d better offer a full disclosure and disclaimer before we carry on: “I am one of the trainers conducting the Digital Media Workshop for the athletes and coaches as part of the Culture and Education Programme (CEP), and I enter the Youth Olympic Village and interact with athletes, coaches, volunteers and people part of the organising committee on a daily basis. These opinions expressed, are my own, and are by no means affiliated to my employers or the organising committee, and based solely on my personal experience and account. My identity is fully public, and I am currently unaware of any communications directives, but I am taking a risk on my personal reputation, because I believe my opinion matters to the public discourse.” I think there are many things to find inconvenient or uncomfortable about the Youth Olympic Games. It inconveniences us, our students are being forced to volunteer, crap food gets served, the budget blew itself by three times, we have to give way to the transport buses, there is little International coverage about the games, there is the unbalanced reporting done by our own mainstream press. Yes, these are all facts reported by alternative media in Singapore, and it really shows that the games are not as perfect as you might believe (but then again, nothing is), and definitely reasons for any concerned citizen to voice out. I myself as a contributing member of society, and the public, will of course hold the relevant parties to task by asking questions, but for the next 12 days, maybe I will just cool off. I’m going to at least try to make this about the athletes who have come to Singapore to compete, who have been given the opportunity as one of the best in their sports back home, to come out here and compete with the best from other countries. To me, there’s something special about seeing so many different cultures in one venue. To learn, to compete, to know what it means to fight, do your best, and also make friends. This is what I’ve seen when I was watching some highlights from the sports being played so far. Athletes doing their absolute best, giving their all and not giving up. Winning as individuals or teams, losing graciously but still with a fire in their eyes to improve, to make it for the next one, to know that even if they won, they are still not good enough, and want to get better. The camaraderie in teammates, the understanding that even if we’re all from different cultures, we’re all still together in one place, competing, making friends, understanding a little bit more about each other, hopefully working toward a future. And the excitement of the volunteers who wanted to be there! I mean, these kids WANTED to be part of the Youth Olympics! They wanted to meet athletes, they wanted to make friends, they wanted to learn, mingle, interact, share. I recognise that these volunteers are different from the ones who were forced into volunteering or making up numbers, but they are there nonetheless, and I simply think they deserve a bit more of our support. Maybe I’m taking things a little personally. Maybe. I know once the games end, my contract would have ended, and I’ll just go back to being ‘lil old me and be my usual snarky, overly critical self again. But maybe some of this ‘Olympic’ spirit has rubbed off on me, this belief that the human race can be something greater, can work together for something good, and that every time I read a cynical comment online, it almost seems like it’s telling the athletes and youth volunteers: “We wish you were never here. You caused so much inconvenience for us, and it would just have been simpler if the Youth Olympics never happened, or happened here.” But like I said, maybe I’m taking things too personally, it just sounds that way when I read the comments, and I really hope I’m wrong. I hope that despite the snarky, cynical comments we make about the games, we actually still believe in the youth. Those competing, those who chose to volunteer, and that maybe even those who were forced, can actually start reaping the benefits of this experience. It really is a global forum of 3,600 youths from around the world. How many of us can claim to have experienced that? Maybe for the next 12 days, this is about them, not us. Maybe we don’t agree with how the party was planned, maybe we don’t like the host of the party we were invited to (Or rather, it feels more like our housemates organised a house party and didn’t bother to check with us), but if the other fact to the gawdy party decorations or cheesy music, is that people are genuinely having a good time, and making friends, are we the ones shortchanging ourselves by hating so much, and not seeing it from the point of view of the party guests? I know this is an unfair sentiment. I don’t think that if you were forced to volunteer when you didn’t want to, is by any means a justification of the powers and authorities over you to force you to do something you didn’t want to. But maybe, we can try to understand that not enough people stepped up to the plate. Maybe it would have been ideal that we would jump at the opportunity to volunteer or attend the games, but we didn’t. I know it’s not a reprieve, but it makes me ask myself that question. Why didn’t I? Why did I wait till I got a job to feel this way? I believe we share similar sentiments of not wanting to support the games at first, but to feel this support for the games is actually a recent phenomena for me as well. Now, I just want to do my part, and that’s why I’m putting this entry on the line, to get shot down by people who vehemently oppose the games. But to those of you who are open to being a part of this, who want to see the glass as half full (instead of half empty) I just encourage you to see for yourself, the spirit and heart of the athletes, volunteers and performers. This is something the $300+ million could not buy. You ask yourself what it means to be Singaporean? Well, it doesn’t mean you do everything your government tells you to do. It means you think for yourself, and decide what it means to be a Singaporean, and what differentiates you from the rest of the world. If you’re proud of your differences, shortcomings and triumphs, I think you can be proud that you are able to help host the dreams and aspirations of youth athletes the world over, that we were chosen to be a host, whether the world is watching or not, to be someone special to someone else. I’m dedicating this post to you. You who wanted to be here, to be part of something bigger than yourself, who wanted to experience something special in your life, who wanted to know there’s a whole world out there, who dared to dream big, who wanted to meet someone new, who sees defeat as a natural part of life, who wants to make a difference, who believes in a future. This is for you. I hope this blog entry, together with the previous note that I’ve posted, will change your point of view on the YOG. It has changed my point of view. Maybe I should blog about my own person opinion soon. OK. Maybe write it tonight. Pray I got the time. When all things fail, get 2 beers and jump Inspired by Flight Attendant Steven Slater who grab 2 beers and jump out of the emergency exit after an arguement with a passenger. There are some conflicting accounts of what exactly happened on the flight that day. Some say he was drunk at work. I don’t know man. Surprisingly, there’s quite a bit of support for him. I’m not supporting him for how he react to unreasonable passengers. But I must say that get 2 beers and jump sounds like a good solution to all problems in life. There’s even a song for that. So remember… When all things fail, get 2 beers and jump. Hmmm….. perhaps that explains why I got 2 bottle of Hoegaarden in my fridge. Not that I need them anytime soon….. Twitter Movie Trailer We should have expected this after the facebook movie trailer. It didn’t take long before someone create a spoof of the trailer. Check out the official trailer from The Social Network first before you watch this. Damn funny lah. If Twitter was as useless and as boring as they say , then somebody would have twittered it The baby just pooped. #turdalert YOG – The story from the other side Today is the opening ceremony of the first ever Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. I’ve lost count of the number complaints about YOG from Singaporeans. Some are unhappy that they need to give way to the YOG bus or face heavy fine. I never understand why the need to host YOG. Singapore is never strong in sports. Most of our athletes are foreign talents that we bought with money. So I never understand why we need to host the YOG. Until I saw this article written by Ridz’s friend. Giving way for 2 weeks – Thoughts about YOG I guess we have seen lots of complaints about the YOG everywhere. Be it on blogs, newspapers, ST forum, etc. What’s the big deal about YOG? Why is Singapore spending so much on it? Do we really care about it? Is it just another big wayang? Why must we give way to the YOG buses? And what’s with the Olympic lane? Aren’t our roads not congested enough? Frankly, from the day Singapore showed it’s bid for the YOG, I was a cynic. What’s the big deal? It is something for us to feel good about, since we can never be an Olympic host city? Hype? What hype? Over the past month, I was proven wrong slowly. For the past month, I’ve been attached to a secondary school. And it was then I begin to realise what YOG is doing to our youths. Many of them, I wish you could be there to see it for yourself. I wish you could be there to see how sports seem to have a greater relevance to the students now. Each school is twinned with a country for a few years already, and they have been having exchanges. My school, for example, hosted students from their twin country last year, and had a friendly match. Without this exchange, I doubt many of them will even know this country existed, and thought that the country is just “African”. I wish you could be there to see the pride the students have, when it is made known that 2 of the students are selected to be torch bearers of the Olympic flame. I do not know the torch bearers, nor have I met them. But when this news was announced to my students, I can’t describe the amount of pride they felt that their peers are holding such a responsibility, even though many of them don’t know the torch bearers personally. I wish you could be there when the students were told that there are free tickets to the YOG games. Even though it is held on weekends, even though it wouldn’t be an excuse to miss school, I wish you could be there to see the excitement they have and how much they want to go for the event when given the opportunity to watch this events. This was even before they were told that they will receive a free commemorative EZ-link card to cover the transport cost for the day. How I wish there could be more tickets for them, as a total of around 100 tickets is given over 4-5 events for a school of 1400. Now you might think that YOG may have hyped up the sports, but what about the other students who are not interested or involved in sports? What about them, other than the cultural exchanges? I wish you could be there to see my students who are part of the Military Band. They have been selected to perform for the YOG opening ceremony. They pride the hold, the commitment they give to the long hours of practices and commute to the floating platform, the weekends burnt – you have to see it for yourself to know what I mean. I wish you could be there to see some of the FB exchanges, of my ex-students and kids, who are involved in the performances for the opening ceremony or YOG related events. Some of the things they love, such as cosplay, break-dancing, have been demonised and marginalised by their parents and other adults. Finally, they have a platform to show them that there is nothing wrong with it, and hopefully, let them have a better understanding of what their passion is about. I wish I could tell you more, and I’m sure you’ve heard of such non-sports exposure related to the YOG. But if it aren’t clear to you, YOG is a platform and a catalyst for many aspects of development for our youths. It gives them not just a platform to display, but a platform to learn, to show, to benchmark, and a platform to be proud of. And as I’ve shown, it’s not just for the sports people or the sports super-stars. I may be exaggerating, but this can very well be a monumental event for many of our youths in Singapore, regardless if they are involved directly, indirectly, or not at all. It could very well be the common memory of their generation. I guess sometimes, we adults use the acronym in YOG so much that we forgot what it stands for. YOG starts with the word YOUTH. How come we’ve forgotten that it is all about the YOUTH. If we adults don’t feel it, or feel the relevance of it, why should it be a surprise, since that it is mainly for our youths? And I’m not even talking about the cliché benefits, such as the Olympic values or those who are competing for from our youth volunteers interacting with different cultures around the world etc. And since it is for our youths, is it still asking for too much, to give way for the 2 weeks, in exchange of a catalyst, a platform, and a lifetime memory for our future generation? I know, cause my year-end holidays has been cut short by 2 weeks, and my school term has been pushed back by 1 month to host the YOG. As much as I grumble sometimes, I’m heartened by what I’m exchanging these for. Note that the note is a personal opinion by the author based on his observation. It is not written by me hor. So have your impression of YOG changed after reading this? I have. Kayak, Barrier and National Day Award I guess quite a number of you have seen the photos of someone kayaking at Rowell. For the uninitiated, Rowell is a road, not a river or pond. I’m glad that someone finally had the chance to do this. I was hoping someone would row a dragon boat down Orchard Road during the flood in June. Too bad it didn’t happen. The flooding at Rowell Road on 11 Aug 2010 wasn’t really serious. The flooding occur at the back alley and up to around knee height. But it is a constant reminder that something need to be done about all these freak accident that has been happening. I thought someone said it only happens once every 50 years? The owner of Liat Tower isn’t going to take things by chance. They intend to built a barrier that will lie flush against the pavement along the font of its mall and rise up during a flood. If you remember, Liat Tower is one of the worst hit building during the Orchard Road flood. It’s great that the owner of Liat Tower is taking action to protect their tenants. But I can’t help but wonder….. If Orchard Road don’t flood again, they won’t need to built such barrier. Right? But can PUB guarantee that Orchard Road won’t flood again? I don’t think so. Speaking of PUB, their Chairman, Mr Tan Gee Paw, topped the list of recipients of this year’s National Day awards. No doubt Mr Tan has contributed significantly to Singapore as the Chairman of PUB. Under his leadership, the PUB undertook major initiatives to ensure adequate supply of water for the long term. But a lot of people can’t help but feel that the timing of this award isn’t really that ideal. Do you think Mr Tan Gee Paw should receive this year’s Distinguished Service Order? Personally, I think Mr Tan should turn down the award to avoid making a mockery out of the whole National Day Award. Fix the flooding issue first before receiving the award. Review: Sony Ericsson X10 mini pro Before you start reading this review, I would advice you to read my review for Sony Ericsson X10 mini because these 2 phones are very similar. So I will not be a broken record and repeat those similar stuff. Instead, I’ll touch on the 2 main differences, the battery and the keyboard. Hmmm….. OK, actually there isn’t much to talk about the battery except the Sony Ericsson X10 mini pro has a removable battery. It’s not exactly a feature since we have such technology since my first handphone. But it’s always good to know that the Sony Ericsson X10 mini pro has removable battery. Not sure how useful will that be though. Oh well. Another difference is the slideout keyboard. The slideout keyboard isn’t exactly very spacious but still comfortable to type with. I find myself getting used to the keyboard very quickly. Although the X10 mini pro is small, you still get a good grip of the phone with the slide out keyboard. I do like the left and right button beside the SPACEBAR. They come in handy when you make some small typo. However, the up and down button is missing here. But I can understand the omission as there is space constrain. Well, you can always use the touchscreen or just press left/right button to move the cursor to the place you want. Not a deal breaker here. The slideout keyboard is pretty sturdy. But I’m not sure if it will remain this sturdy after prolong usage. One thing I do hope that Sony Ericsson would consider for future model is to include a Ctrl button. This will allow users to use the standard keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl-C or Ctrl-V. The Sony Ericsson X10 mini pro is 9.0 x 5.2 x 1.7 cm and weighs 120grams. Slightly bigger and heavier than the X10 mini. So which phone should you choose? Sony Ericsson X10 mini or X10 mini pro? It really depends on your phone usage. If you message a lot, then X10 mini pro is the obvious choice for you. But if you consume more than you create, then the X10 mini would be a good option. The X10 mini pro that I reviewed is still running on Android 1.6. The last time I heard from Sony Ericsson is that the Android 2.1 update will come in Q3 this year. For those using the X10, X10 mini and X10 mini pro now, this might be the longest quarter ever. In short: A small yet powerful phone, now with a slideout keyboard. Likes: Small form factor Simple and responsive user interface Sturdy slideout keyboard Dislikes: Android 1.6 (will be upgraded to 2.1 in Q3 2010) No Ctrl button Ryuichi Sakamoto – Rain This song has been keeping me company for the past few days. Putting it on repeat and using that to keep my company in office. Very nice. Ryuichi Sakamoto – Rain I don’t know about you, but I think his hair damn stylo. Especially at the beginning that part. But my colleague say that hairstyle is so 90s. hmmmmmm…… oh ya… If I not wrong, this video is recorded in 1996 or something. So ya…. THAT’s the 90s hairstyle. But still, damn stylo lah. There is a market for non camera phone After blogging about the HTC Touch2 non camera version, I received several emails and comment asking about the phone. I was expecting some interest in the phone, but didn’t expect the interest to be this big. And when I check my blog stats last Saturday, I discovered that there are quite a number of people googling for it. It’s actually no surprise that there is still a demand for non camera phone, especially in Singapore where every male citizen need to go thru 2 years of national service and 10 cycle of reservist. The influx of camera phones means our men in green have very limited options when shopping for handphone. I’m not sure if all these interest in the latest HTC Touch2 non camera edition translate to sales. But I’m pretty sure many NSmen/NSF/Regulars are eyeing on it. If the specs is good and the price is reasonable, I’m sure it will sell like hotcakes. I really hope more handphone makers will release a non camera version for their phones. There is definitely a market for non camera phone. Open letter to the 31st NUSSU EXCO (Balloon Release on NUS Rag Day 2010) Hi Jun Yi, Christopher, Jia Han, Ria, Jason, Michelle and Kenny I’m writing this open letter to all of you with regards to the NUS Rag Day 2010 opening ceremony that is organised by the 31st NUSSU EXCO. In case you all forgot what happen, here is a Youtube video. I’m not sure if you guys are aware of the harmful effects of balloon release. If you don’t, please spare a few minutes to read this website by Marine Conservation Society. I don’t know why is here a need to release balloon for a charity project like NUS Rag Day. Surely there are better way to mark the opening of a Charity Project. I hope that you guys understand the harmful effect of balloon release. Here is a small request from me. Please put a ban on balloon release in NUS. Write it down somewhere in the NUSSU constitution so that your future EXCO will not repeat the same mistake again. I hope I don’t have to write another open letter to the next NUSSU EXCO. Thank you for your time. Yours faithfully DK BlackBerry Torch RIM recently launched the BlackBerry Torch (aka Bold 9800) in the US with AT&T. The BlackBerry Torch didn’t come as a surprise actually. Leaked images and rumors of the device was circulating on the internet months before the launch. But the BlackBerry Torch is a first for RIM in many area. It is the first BlackBerry device with a slide out keyboard. It has a 3.2 inch screen and there is no way to fit the thumbpad without using a slideout keyboard. So far, reviews on the new slideout keyboard are pretty ok. I have to see it for myself to make comments on it. Another first for RIM is the use of touch screen. Capacitive touch screen to be exact. I know RIM has done touch screen BlackBerry in the past. But the BlackBerry Storm 1 and Storm 2 were using tactile feedback touch screen. I was kinda surprised that RIM is using capacitive touch screen for the BlackBerry Torch. I thought they would stick to the tactile feedback touch screen. I know some people hate it. But I kinda like it after trying out the BlackBerry Storm 2 for a while. But I guess there is no need for RIM to put a tactile feedback touch screen since most users will use the slideout keyboard to type. The BlackBerry Torch is also the first BlackBerry device to run the new BlackBerry OS 6. The new OS 6, as I mentioned previously, seems to be targeting the consumer market. The media player has been greatly improved. Social Feeds that combines all of your Facebook, Twitter, IM and RSS feeds in one place, just like the unified inbox. Universal search that allows you to search for anything from contact to application just by simply typing on the keyboard. And the most important changes from BlackBerry OS 6 is the browser. BlackBerry users can finally get a Webkit-based browser. Woohoo! The BlackBerry Torch (Bold 9800) is clearly targeted at the consumer market. Or corporate people who wants more consumer functions on their phone. I’m not sure if the BlackBerry Torch will attract more people to the BlackBerry platform. But I do know that most current BlackBerry users said that they like what they see so far. As for me, I’m not sure if I would like the BlackBerry Torch. I’m those type that is lazy to slide out a keyboard to type. The touchscreen is a welcomed feature on the BlackBerry but I personally think that BlackBerry is already very good without a touchscreen. Is there really a need for a touchscreen? Or can a keyboard with optical trackpad do everything that a BlackBerry user ever need? I guess I’ll need to try it out myself before making any judgement. No news on when the BlackBerry Torch will arrive Singapore yet. I’ll keep you updated when I got information. As for BlackBerry OS 6, I understand that BlackBerry Bold 9700 (aka Bold 2) is able to upgrade to OS 6. But that will be subjected to carrier certifications and I don’t have the exact date on when that will be. Let’s hope it’s soonish. One Voice, 2010 The Pledge We, the citizens of Singapore pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation. Majulah Singapura Mari kita rakyat Singapura Sama-sama menuju bahagia Cita-cita kita yang mulia Berjaya Singapura Marilah kita bersatu Dengan semangat yang baru Semua kita berseru Majulah Singapura Majulah Singapura ————— It’s National Day, 8:10pm. After the successful Pledge Moment last year, the NDP committee decided to do it again. This time round adding the national anthem. Which kinda make sense after all. Although I don’t know how many people will put down what they are doing and recite the pledge and sing the national anthem in public. Most of us are quite reserved and shy. But it doesn’t matter if you didn’t take part in the One Voice 2010. What matters most is that your heart is with Singapore. Google Doodle for Singapore’s 45 Birthday I blog about the Doodle 4 Google Singapore contest a few months ago. Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to hold a Doodle 4 Google (D4G) competition. The competition had received more than 30,000 entries from over 400 schools across Singapore, one of the highest participation rates in Asia. The winner of the Singapore’s first Doodle 4 Google competition is 17-year-old James Rotanson from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). James’ doodle titled “Colours of Singapore” was handpicked as the overall winner by original Google Doodler Dennis Hwang. It was selected for his exceptional depiction of Singaporean values and creative use of local icons. Visit Google Singapore today to check out James’ Doodle. Make it Our Singapore Almost a year ago, the Department of Statistics revealed that Singapore population has reached 4.99 million. (It should have crossed the 5m mark by now) We did not have a sudden baby boom. Nor was there a break thru in medical science which resulted in longer life expediency. What we had was over-immigration. I guess it wasn’t really a surprise to many Singaporeans. There is clearly an increase in the number of foreigners on this little red dot. But the real number is worrying. We only have 3.2 million Singaporeans. Of this 3.2 million Singaporeans, nobody really know how many of them just got their citizenship recently. How many of them are born Singaporeans? And every year, more and more new citizens are added to this island. Some are here to contribute. Others are here as a stepping stone, so that they could get citizenship in another country which they desire more. I’m always grateful to those who take up citizenship because they want to make Singapore their home and wishes to contribute to our country. I despise those who are here just to reap from the benefits that my forefather worked hard for us. The large influx of new citizen make nation building a lot more difficult. Does Singapore still have an identity? What does being Singaporean means? I still remember a conversation with a few Malaysian friends who visited Singapore for the first time. Their impression of Singaporean after taking the train is that Singaporeans speak excellent mandarin, just like those from China. Hmmmm….. I don’t think they really seen Singaporeans that day. It is most likely that they seen some new citizen and mistook them for real Singaporeans. And I can’t blame them. Everywhere I go, I’m sure to see foreigners. We even got Chinese Table Tennis players to represent us in Olympic. How do we define the Singapore identity if the nation is filled with new citizen? How do we make Singaporeans feel the sense of belonging here? How do we make this country Our Singapore instead of Your Singapore? This is one big challenge that we as a young nation need to take up now or we will lose our identity forever. Create the Singapore identity. Make it Our Singapore. The government told us many times that we are all descendant of immigrants. Indeed. And so is most of the people who are living in America, Australia etc etc. Do we see the Americans calling themselves descendant of immigrants repeatedly? Not that I remember. OK, maybe also because they have been independent for a very long time. I keep saying that we will never grow as a nation if we keep calling ourselves descendant of immigrants. We are descendant of immigrants but that is no longer important anymore. What is more important is that we are people of this nation. We are born here. We grew up here. And we want to make this country a better place for our next generation. And that is more important than anything. And in order for us to achieve that, we need to build an identity for ourselves. A Singapore identity. A sense of belonging. A common direction that all 3.2 million Singaporeans are heading towards together. So when is the right time to stop calling ourselves descendant of immigrants? When is the right time to call ourselves people of this nation? I say 45 years after independence is a good time to start. This is the right time to build a national identity. This is the right time to make it Our Singapore. Happy 45th Birthday Singapore. Time lapse – SFMRIOLWEN Here the time lapse video of the “Smile” art installation outside Vivocity done by Chester last Friday. Pretty impressive. If you look carefully, you will notice me in the time lapse video too. Can you find it? It’s somewhere at the 4:03 mark. You need to look very carefully as the photo changes very quickly. 1 blink and you’ll miss it. For those who can’t find it, here’s a few screenshots. You can also see me again at the 4:22 mark. Wanted to get Amsie to join me in the time lapse hijacking, but she refused. This time lapse thing is fun. Now I feel like getting a timer remote and a tripod for my Canon G11 and try some time lapse myself. I think that would be fun. Update: Chester just uploaded an edited version with some caption. Check it out. At the 4:03 mark again. Unofficial NDP 2010 song I’m sure most of you have heard this year’s NDP Theme song, Song for Singapore by Corrinne May. If you haven’t, do check it out. It’s very nicely done. But have you heard of the so called unofficial NDP 2010 song? It’s a mandarin song by a guy call Elson Soh (苏奕铨). The song, titled 梦想起飞, has gotten more than 3700 views since it was uploaded 2 weeks ago. Personally, I think the singing is pretty good. But the song is a little too complicated and the tune not catchy enough. I still prefer Corrinne May’s Song for Singapore. But that’s just me. Check out the song yourself to be the judge. 苏奕铨 – 梦想起飞 走过 所有的快乐和悲伤 不管未来的路 会有多艰难 带著 心中的希望和祝福 我们都要勇敢 照亮这个岛屿 有了爱 让梦想自由的飞翔 手牵着手 点亮了天空 这是我们的家 你我成长的绿色岛屿 美丽的明天 是我们生命中 最大的骄傲 我们梦想的家 用所有星月 照亮晴空万里 全新全意 和我心连心 让梦想起飞 这是我们的家 属于你我的绿色岛屿 勇敢向前飞 一起走到我们 幸福的图形 我们梦想的家 用所有的爱 创造新的未来 点燃每个希望 每一份祝福 带梦想起飞 (和我梦想起飞)