It's feel good to blog again

My last blog posting was about 8 months ago. Ha...
It's feel good to blog again. :-)

There are, indeed, many things to write and share, 8 months of activities and happenings.One of the immediate differences is that I can now blog easily using an iPad. Dun have to turn on a netbook or notebook or pc to do so. Much convenient especially it comes with a good screen size. iPhone is just too small for it.

I am thinking of summarizing the past 8 months into a few paragraphs here. Emm... not quite possible. I will just share more about it as I blog.

To start off, I began the year 2011 with a sudden change of my job portfolio. Moving from planning and organizing community projects to working on social media stuff, mainly on the Facebook platform. The assignment was to achieve 200,000 fans after 6 months. The base number then was coming to a thousand. Do you think that it is possible? Dun say no without giving it a try and trying it hard with many attempts. I am still trying at the moment. Ha...ha...ha...

There are two things that I like about the sudden change: able to do something new and a lot of learning about social media - new skills set and knowledge :-)

Arrival of iPad

It was reported in today's newspaper that Apple announced the availability of iPad in 9 more cities, including Singapore. Finally, it is here for sales from this Friday, 23 July 2010 onwards.

The retail prices area as follow:
For wifi only version - S$728 for 16GB, S$878 for 32GB and S$1,028 for 64GB and
For wifi + 3g version - S$928 for 16GB, S$1,078 for 32GB and S$1,228 for 64GB.

Basically, S$200 more for 3g version. It is a bit more than what I have budgeted for it but cheaper than those availability earlier through parallel import which was selling around S$1,900 per unit.

iPad will be selling through its authorized dealers and not the telcos. However, the telcos will be providing data plan for it. Well, will wait for awhile before buying one to play with it :-)

iPhone (3)

Wow, it has been more than a month since i last made an entry.
Time flies very fast when u are lazy :-)

Definitely there are a lot more to blog about. Prefer to update my iphone experience first since i use it everyday and I am still amazed by its capabilities. A few more applications were added to my iphone. One of the applications is chinese ebook.

I have been reading books written by Cailan (蔡澜) and from one of his columns 2 to 3 months back in Zaobao, he shared that a technology publisher had approached him to consider offering his works on iphone. Earlier March 2010, I google to discover that some of his works were available in iphone. Pricing wise, US$2.99 or about S$4.50 per title. Much cheaper than a physical book but slightly expensive than those applications available in iStore.

I bought 3 titles and found it pretty convenient to access and to read off from iphone. User can configure the word sizes and background colour. Simple but cool. For more information, you can visit his new website.

I have also made very good use of the hungrygowhere application to bookmark interesting places to eat. My bookmark includes those that I have visited and will very likely to go again as well as new one to explore. Besides bookmarking, I can find the location using the map service and to call them directly through the application. I enjoy using the nearby function to check what are the popular eating places near to where I am at the moment. If time permits, I will drop by to look see or even try it out. Very user friendly. :-) Of course, it is important to have access to users' reviews and to learn what to order and what not to order.

Actually, i have installed it for quite awhile but din really use it until recently when I was in a briefing session. Currently, I have 47 entries in the bookmark ie to visit each entry about once every 2 months. I am sure the list will continue to expand .... ha...ha...ha...

My next move is buy an add-on to expand the battery's life of the iphone. Unfortunately, I cannot increase its memory space at all as I am left with less than 1 GB most of the time now. :-(

Apple New Gadget

Finally, Steve Jobs announced the latest gadget - iPad (not iSlate), a much anticipated and discussed for months prior to it. The device has a 9.56" screen size, half inch thickness and weighs about 700g. Touchscreen and wifi enabled with a virtual keyboard.


Owners can use it to surf internet, to email, to watch video, to listen to music/songs, to note, to map, buy applications from apps store, as a photo frame, to game, calendaring and as an ebook reader ie to read books, magazines digitally.

One of the key functions, ie the ebook reader, supports video and allow authors/publishers to add new content as part of the ebook in full colour. Most of the current ebook reader devices are in black and white including those from Amazon and Sony. At the same time, Apple will be providing a iBook store to sell ebooks for it.

The challenge to me is the battery's life. The product is rich in features but could be pretty taxing on the power. However, it promises 10 hours of battery life per full charge. iPad comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB configuration and would be available in March/April 2010. Pricing ? US$499 for the 16GB model ie about S$700. Wow, not cheap.

Likely to be my first ebook reading device if the collection is rich and supports muilt-languages and formats. Meanwhile, will wait and see first. iPad or iPet :-)

iPhone (2)

It's time to update my iPhone's experience.
So far, I have bought the following applications:

- Awesome Note;
- Fish Ville;
- Lonely Planet Tokyo City Guide;
- SG Mahjong and
- Spot the difference;

2 for my daughter and 3 for myself.

The most expensive purchase is the Lonely Planet Tokyo City Guide. The content and layout is pretty similar to a print copy but with fewer wordings ie like a summary. Hence, easier reading it. I din use it when i was in Tokyo recently. Properly good content but the information is not so useful. How to be more useful ? more links to the information shared and mentioned as well as allowing me to call or email them. However, Japan telco's system is different from Singapore, hence no signal :-( Good to consider providing a feature to allow users to upload comment, update or extra information as a reference. This is what a book cannot support it.

Learning to use the Awesome Note now and have been playing the SG Mahjong actively, Ha...ha...ha... I dun in real life and i wun. Why ? Dun like to win my friends' money and can be pretty tiring. While i was playing, I discover that my daughter is learning and able to pronounce new words on her own. Was surprised and of course happy to know about it. :-)

Spot the difference can be quite tricky as some of the differences are quite difficult to spot it due to small screen size and i cannot enlarge it to better compare both photos.

i read on Monday that a company has approached Cailan (蔡澜) to publish and selling his books on iPhone. The loyalty fee is pretty good. :-) I am sure more books could be made available on iPhone. In fact, ebook is definitely set to grow. Amazon already reported that its ebooks sales outpace the printed copies last year. In addition, Microsoft and HP have just introduced a new "Slate" PC. It is a thin, light device with a larger screen size, longer battery life and touchscreen based. It combines the goods from a smartphone and netbook. Apple is also rolling a similar device in early 2010 and it was reported naming as "iSlate".

i死 了 :-)

iPhone

It can be pretty addictive to use iPhone. I use iPhone for:
- sms
- making calls at times
- play games
- take photos
- take videos
- search and install iPhone applications
- maps
- Catch news on omy.sg, ChannelnewsAsia, iToday, ST and Wall Street Journal
- Dictionary
- Manage emails

Also, just bought three movies through iPhone using the iGV application to watch Alvin & Chipmunk 2.

Only 30% of my usage is on sms and making calls. It does not seem to be a phone to me. I can easily get online with the iPhone. Affordable data plan helps but 10 or 12GB plan seems to be a bit too much a month especially when the iPhone's battery will drain off pretty fast if constantly in use.

Nowadays, my daughter will ask me for iPhone whenever she is in the car and the first thing she wakes up in the morning. iPhone has replaced her favourite milk in the morning. Amazing. It is her possession and accompany. "This is my phone, ok" She will say. Sometimes, I have to appear angrily in order to get it back from her. If the iPhone is water-proof, i am sure she will bath together with iPhone as well :-)

Maybe it is time to consider an iPodtouch for her as I realize that iPhone is a good learning device for her. My next desktop replacement for the home will also be a touchscreen model so that she can easily navigate on her own and be empowered to decide what she wants to do with it and how to do it.

Btw, 60% of my team in office is using iPhone and going to 70% soon :-)

Finally bought a replacement

After much research and reviews, I bought a replacement for the old portable DVD player. There are, indeed, a few options. Basically, which option is likely to give the best possible value.

I bought the Asus Eee 1005HA model netbook in the Sitex 2009 with 2GB RAM running on Atom N280 chip. 10.1" screen size with 160GB hard disk and at least 6 hours of effective battery hours. Pretty good review. Would like to go for the Windows 7 Starter edition but was told that it was only available on that Saturday onwards and I did not want to walk through a sea of people again. Hence, settle down with the Windows XP edition. S$660 in total.

The replacement means that I will have the access to internet in the hotel room when i travel (there are more and more free internet access available in hotel rooms). It is also mean the need to copy more of my daughter's DVD titles onto the hard disk as well as on the portable too so that she can enjoy it while in the plane and in the hotel room.

Was very keen to go for the touch screen model from Acer but the making was not that nice (around S$850). The available of Windows 7 also mean that more touch screen models would be made mainstream pretty soon. In fact, there are more notebook models using the SSD as the storage ie 128GB or 256GB in size, from Dell and Sony. I was very impressed with the Sony edition weighing only 650g with 11" screen. Very, very light and slim but it was just too pricey, around s$2,500

I shall have it one day pretty soon because as technology advances, prices will drop and it can drop pretty fast as well. Ha...ha...ha...

Promotions information at your fingertip

Surfing for indoor swimming pool on the internet and come to know about a website that provides promotional information that is happening locally. Examples:

- 30% at swensen during weekdays as part of its 30 years operation here;
- 50% discount at crocs online;
- Fish & Co also started its membership imitative
etc

You may have already knew all or some of these happenings but it is still pretty nice to have all possible promotional information centrally accessible. Added its updates in twitter or facebook, u can be sure to learn the latest best possible buy.

Interested to find out more ? Great Deals in Singapore

Nokia netbook

I read with surprise that Nokia will be launching its first netbook next month. It's called Booklet 3G. The netbook space is definitely very crowded with all brands but pretty the same specifications. That's can make the purchasing decision a bit tougher.

I think netbook has managed to realize the dream of a true mobility fueled by its small form factor of 10" screen size, longer battery life, affordability and being internet ready. The bonus of it is the ability to also supporting multimedia entertainment at the same time.

Ideally, the netbook is going to be a stronger "killer app" with the following configurations:
- not more than S$500 per unit
- 200GB of SSD "hard disk" space
- 12 hours of effective battery life
- 4GB RAM
- Broadband in-built with the local telco
- TV out port

To me, it will wow me much :-)

wii or not to wii

I dun play computer games. Why ? Properly dun have much patient to learn and to move from one stage to another stage as the game progresses. However, I do enjoy simple gaming such as PCman. Ha...ha...ha...

I am presently exploring some games for my daughter and is considering wii. I am not very sure of wii world. Hence working hard now to learn a bit more from the Internet and seeking advise from colleagues. Why wii ? It just happens that the office has a wii platform and it seems suitable for my daughter to play around with it.

Why for my daughter ? I like and enjoy introducing her to the wonder of the world out there so that i can better guide her and engage in the learning together. Reduced surprises and risks as she grows.

Comex 2009 Singapore

If u have missed the last technology event at the PC Show from 11 to 14 June 2009 at Suntec, dun worry.The next event is Comex 2009 Singapore from 11 to 13 September 2009 at Suntec.

I din attend the last show in June as I was not in Singapore. As shared earlier, I was considering a netbook and I think I have made up my mind to get one this year to replace the dieing soon portable DVD player. I have been exploring the options of the replacement for quite awhile that would maximize the investment. Major considering factors include average battery life, screen size & quality, weight, price & values and the likely 80% usage of it ie watching movie and surfing the internet. Within the netbook category, there are also a few options to explore. Almost all hardware companies have a netbook product to offer. It is quite "xiong" to work out the best fit.

If cannot decide or some new unknown factor, I will give it a miss again. The next fair is SITEX Singapore from 26 to 29 November 2009 at Expo. I still have a bit of time to do some research and reviews as long as I replace it before early Dec 09. Dun want to rush into it and rushing will usually mean making a bad decision.

Wanted to bring the new "toy" along when I go for a holiday at the end of the year. :-)

Free Microsoft Office Suite

I am totally surprised to read in today's ST that Microsoft will be providing free Office suite next year to all users.

It will be an online version or web-based office suite ie no software is needed to install it on your computer at all. The move is Microsoft's response to the recent announcement by Google to introduce Chrome operating system to compete with Microsoft Windows. In fact, Google already has an online version of office suite named Google Docs for users now.

The two giants are, indeed, competing aggressively to control and command the Internet space (browsers and search engines), Office suite and the online advertising market. As a consumer, I am happy to see the competition to bring about more freebie and new / enhanced useful features in the software. But I also have to expect adjusting to more changes along the way as the "battle" goes stiffer.

Skype

We finally installed and started to use Skype to communicate as part of our work.

The technology is definitely not new and the company has been in business for some years. Besides talking, users can also send instant messages and organize a conference call session with the team. All these services are free and properly give Skype the edge over other public instant messaging solutions and paid conference call service. At S$9 a month, user can also use the skype to make local calls to landlines and mobiles (almost unlimited calls capped at 10,000 minutes per month or 6 hours a day). Some of the smartphones also comes with skype function. Pretty attractive and exciting.

The challenge remains when using Skype: the internet traffic condition and individual's connection speed to the internet.

Twitter

Created a Twitter account today.

I was not very keen initially to embrace it as I was not very sure of its value. It is positioned as a micro-messaging platform and for the authors to update his/her activities/thinking day long with followers. I thought blogging would be more user friendly for readers as I could include more text + photos + video clip. Blog also comes with handy tagging feature that makes it easy to categorize content into relevant user-defined keywords. Readers can locate the needed entries much easier as well.

What motivated me to give it a try is the ability to use the mobile technology to update one's page. I dun need to have an internet access point to read and update the content. Pretty cool :-) I am not sure if there is similar feature in any of the blogging services but the technology does appeal and make good sense to me. I can now share meaningful content easily and faster through my handphone to more people. Of course, it can be challenging to one's phone bill.

The use of Twitter in the recent few major local and international affairs have helped to increase new twitter's users and gaining much popularity. As reported in today's Zaobao, Mayor Teo was suggesting using new media such as Twitter to facilitate exchange of views over topics discussed in the Parliament and National Day Rally. He also stressed that no technology could replace the importance of having an actual face-to-face talk over coffee/tea.

Though i have a twitter account now, I foresee that i will still be using more of a blog to share my views and happenings. I look forward to a day that I could use my handphone to update my blog as well. It is definitely much convenient.

Upcoming exciting fairs

There are two exciting upcoming fairs :

(1) Singapore Books Fair 2009
Venue: Suntec
Date: 29 May - 7 June 2009
Time: 11am to 10pm

(2) PC Show 2009
Venue: Suntec
Date: 11 June - 14 June 2009
Time: Noon to 9pm

I definitely enjoy attending both and will be spending much time to explore at the fairs. Will bring my daughter to the books fairs and not the PC Show as the latter is usually be very crowded. I will end up carrying her throughout the visit and that's pretty tiring.

I'm sure i am going to buy some books for myself and for my daughter. Would like to explore netbook and digital photo frame in the PC Show. I think the digital photo frame is not getting much attention at the moment though it can be a useful tool at home / in office. It was an expensive gadget then.

Besides using the digital photo frame to display running photo in a slide show format with mp3 music, it can also be used to view video clips, acting as an alarm clock, a calendar, to show contact listing, etc. As for office usage, it can be considered placing it at the reception area to present information on your services, upcoming events, help lines etc. The screen size ranges from 8" to 15", costing from $99 to $300+ The price is becoming more competitive and affordable.

The netbook is to replace my daughter's portable DVD player. The battery unit is not working quite well now. I may have to replace it soon but not immediately. Should I buy now or wait for a little longer till the next fair or next year.......I want it or I need it ? another struggling and learning process. Ha...

Mapping your walking and running online free of charge

If you enjoy jogging / walking, you may wish to learn more about this website that will allow individuals to map the jogging /walking route online free of charge.

Personally, I face a problem of knowing the actual walking / jogging distance that i have covered. Unless i own a proper equipment, i can only estimate based on some prior knowledge. The website helps to address the problem for me.

On the website, you can zoom in and out of the map to locate areas of your interest. Once located, you can start to map the route by indicating a starting and ending point. The website will calculate the distance between these two points in kilomaters for you. In addition, the system will also share with you how much energy u may use (in calories) based on your weight to complete the run/walk. You can then save and print the route plotted for future reference. It also provides online training log service to help you to keep track of your exercise activities. Pretty cool and simple to use at no cost at all. :-)

The website is at http://www.mapometer.com/
Hope u will find the website useful. Have a Happy walking / jogging, everyday

Solid State Drive (SSD)

HP introduces a few notebooks that come with 80GB of Solid State Drive (In short SSD) instead of the usual hard disk. The price ranges from S$2,500 to S$3,500.

What is so great about using SSD as hard disk ?

SSD has no mechanism ie moving parts found in a typical hard disk. Hence, the wear and tear should be reduced ie more reliable. The notebook could be lighter in weight and consume less power. I will also think that the access time to read from SSD should be faster than reading it from a hard disk.

SSD technology is not new and has existed for many years. U may have used some form of SSD technology when u save your date in theUSB portable flash memory. The presence of SSD in notebook is still not so common today due to its cost. The fact that HP has included the SSD option for its notebook may just signal that the price of SSD is becoming more affordable.

I would expect more IT hardware company to use SSD instead of typical hard disk in its offerings. Once the snow ball begins to roll, it will just get bigger and bigger and bigger. Now is 80GB, next 120GB, follow by 160GB and more and more capacity. Hard disk drive will soon becoming a history.

It will be exciting to see if it happens in the next few PC Fairs in Singapore ie in June and Sept or Dec.