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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Google Priority Inbox

Google Gmail will be launching Priority Inbox next week.

Priority Inbox is a new view of your inbox that automatically helps you focus on your most important messages. Gmail has always kept spam messages out of your inbox, and now we’ve improved Gmail’s filter to help you see the emails that matter faster without requiring you to set up complex rules.


Email overload? Try Priority Inbox [via]

Singapore Government to Increase Property Development Cost Sharply

The Singapore government is set to increase property development cost sharply in a bid to cool property prices. I remember the Minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan, recently mentioned Singapore's property prices are still in healthy shape. Now, the same Mr Mah is saying we are heading towards a potential housing bubble and am resorting to several rather drastic measures.

Such measures are going to have a certain impact on local property developers. Policy risk is real.

The Ministry of National Development will sharply revise the development charges (DC) for the next six months from Wednesday to end February.

Developers will have to fork out 13 per cent more for landed and non-landed homes. The biggest hike of 36 per cent will be imposed on landed homes in Sentosa (Group B1, Sector 117).

Steep hike in devt charges [via]

September is a Dangerous Month for Investors

Typically, September is the most dangerous month for investors. Global stock market usually fare badly this month.

Beware!

Personal Reading

Personal reading on news related to technology, finance, sports and current affairs shall be limited to only before and after my sleep.

Keep this in mind.
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Challenging 2 weeks ahead

Almost everyday need to upload something!

Just 7 days from 01 Sep to 08 Sep, 1 case study, 2 presentations, 1 technology write-up, 1 reading log. I do not wish to mention yet a proposal to be due on 13 Sep and yet another weekly reading log on 15 Sep.

ARGH! GINKGO NUTS!

Monday, August 30, 2010

C&O Pharma target raised to $0.65 by Phillip Securities

As reported at
Phillip Securities lifts C&O Pharmaceutical (E92.SG) target price to $0.65 from $0.53, implying 13.7x FY11 P/E, after increasing FY11 earnings estimate by 8.6% to HK$175 million ($30.5 million) to assume stronger growth across all business segments, contributions from roll-out of new drugs, keeping Buy call, according to Dow Jones.

Phillip expects new drug Edaravone, used to aid neurological recovery, to be major earnings driver in coming years considering fewer than five manufacturers in China capable of producing it.

Broker notes market for this drug, which C&O expects to get regulatory approval for mass production by October, worth about RMB1 billion ($200 million) in 2009. Shares flat at $0.465.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A bet is placed

Rules of the bet.

To win, I must wake up by 6am tomorrow and make a tweet as a proof. If I were to lose the bet, 3 days of breakfast shall be forfeited. If I win, good for me.

The game has begun. Good night and all the best!

Letter Directed to the National Library Board

TO: Helpdesk, Quality Service Manager, Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP)

Dear Sir/Mdm,

I am writing in to feedback on NLB Reservation Policy and also to ask if it is possible to increase the number of a book title from 1 to more.

I realized that one of the reservation policy is as such.

Your reservation will expire and be removed from the reservation queue if it remains unfulfilled after 180 days. You will be notified accordingly. Please inform the Library of any change of address/email.

180 days is too long isn't it? If some inconsiderate or irresponsible borrower reserved a book but never turn up to pick up a book, wouldn't this deprive the next one in queue? There is one particular book I am interested in but there is only ONE such book in the whole of Singapore libraries. That book so happen is now under Reserved status for the past 5 days, but yet to be pick up.

The book I am referring to is titled "Professional DotNetNuke module programming" by "Mitchel Sellers".

Question

  1. Please address my concern of 180 days. Is it possible to contact the person who has borrowed if he/she is still interested in the book?
  2. Is it possible to ensure all titles in NLB to at least have 2 copies?


It can get rather frustrating having to meet into such problem especially when the reservation policy is flawed.

I can be contacted at +XX XXXX XXXX. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Regards
XYZ (MR)
Concerned & Troubled NLB Customer
+XX XXXX XXXX

Library Book Reservation Policy

Please read the following before proceeding with your reservation:

  • A reservation fee of $1.55 (inclusive of GST) will be charged once the reserved item is allocated to you. Please note that the reserved item can only be issued if you have not yet reached your loan quota.
  • Your reservation will expire and be removed from the reservation queue if it remains unfulfilled after 180 days. You will be notified accordingly. Please inform the Library of any change of address/email.
  • Reservation requests are not processed immediately upon the submission of requests. Allocation of reserved items is carried out via system night processes and is subject to availability of reservable copies.
  • Copies available on shelf within the selected pick-up branch may or may not be allocated for your reservation request. This will depend on their availability on shelf at the point of allocation. In the interest of serving you better, the next available copy in the library network will be allocated for your request.

I would like to highlight one statement.
Your reservation will expire and be removed from the reservation queue if it remains unfulfilled after 180 days.
180 days is too long isn't it? If some inconsiderate or irresponsible borrower reserved a book but never turn up to pick up a book, wouldn't this deprive the next one in queue? There is one particular book I am interested in but there is only ONE such book in the whole of Singapore libraries. That book so happen is now under Reserved status for the past 5 days, yet to be pick up. I am going to write in to National Library Board.

Thinking of Getting Amazon Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi

As listed here
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reader-3G-Wifi-Graphite/dp/B002FQJT3Q/ref=kin3w_ddp_compare_image2

Statement of Apology from Jackie Chan

Action star Jackie Chan make a post on his blog to clarify his earlier comment on the hostage hijack tragedy in Phiippines. His earlier tweet on last Wednesday was interpreted as inappropriate by many Hong Kong netizens as supportive of the Filipino police's methods and disrespectful to the hijack victims. His tweet received many criticism on the Internet.

Jackie Chan's tweet
If they killed the guy (hijacker) sooner, they will say why not negotiate first? If they negotiate first, they ask why not kill the guy sooner? So sad. Hong Kong is a nation built by a lot of different people ... don't worry! We do not hate!

Jackie Chan's statement of apology can be found here.

Statement of Apology from Jackie Chan [via]

Saturday, August 28, 2010

My 2 case studies from Harvard that are best for bedtime stories

The following are my 2 case studies purchased from the Harvard Business Publishing. I would say they are best suited as bedtime stories.

  • Managing Knowledge and Learning at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) [info] (30 pages)

  • Siemens ShareNet: Building a Knowledge Network [info]
  • (27 pages)

Each case study cost me approximately S$6.00 each.

外地評論摘要﹕菲警十錯


外地評論摘要﹕菲警十錯
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/100827/4/jx9x.html

Weekend To-Do List

Complete the following:
  1. Read 2 assigned papers for IS5113 project as part of literature review [1, 2].
  2. Research and write-up on topic "LinkedIn As Compared to Other Social Tools".
  3. IS5113 Reading log for this week.
  4. IS5112 lecture slides.
  5. IS5112 read up in preparation for coming project.
    • Case Study 1
    • Case Study 2 (postponed)
  6. Read as much as possible from this DotNetNuke book for work.
  7. IS5113 Reading log for next week (only if possible).

Friday, August 27, 2010

Black Ribbon of Extreme Mourning by the Hong Kong People Over Manila Hostage

This is the 'Black Ribbon' used as profile photo on my Hong Kong friend Facebook profile.

No respect: Philippine cops & students smile as they pose in front of hostage bus


As seen on Stomp

Google Calendar Improved Event Scheduling

Event scheduling in Google Calendar will soon going to be much easier. A new event repeating editor will allow events to be set to recur by day. For example, you may create an event by indicating a Start Date and then make it to recur weekly on every day of the week.

Easier event scheduling in Google Calendar [via]

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Make Phone Calls from Gmail

Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail.


Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of the year and calls to other countries will be billed at our very low rates. We worked hard to make these rates really cheap (see comparison table) with calls to the U.K., France, Germany, China, Japan—and many more countries—for as little as $0.02 per minute.

Instructions

Call phones from Gmail [via]

A family plea for a chance not to hang Yong Vui Kong

This really touched me.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

贵阳男子劫持人质被当场击毙全过程[慎入]

大陆人救人质的过程。漂亮漂亮!

Singaporean arrested for inciting violence on Facebook

Sshh..

Singaporean arrested for inciting violence on Facebook [via]

Philippines police admit blunders in handling of Manila hostage crisis

The Philippine police force has admitted blunders in handling the recent Manila hostage hijack. The Manila commandos took 12 hours to take control of the hijacked bus and eventually resulted in at least nine killed. The commandos fired a few gunshots into the bus at night raising questions whether they killed victims accidentally. Investigation is still in progress.

The mishandling of Manila hostage was heavily criticised by the Hong Kong citizens. Although the Philippine president has officially apologised to China and Hong Kong for the poor handling of the Manila bus siege, the Hong Kong government is reportedly demanding a written report on the bloody hostage drama. Already, there are fears of a growing backlash against the Filipino community working in Hong Kong with at least one maid being fired by her employers. Hearing reports of discrimination against Filipinos in Hong Kong, action star Jackie Chan assured that his country won’t encourage hate. On his Twitter account, he said "Humans should be united and not kill or hate each other". His open-minded mindset has won praise for maintaining peace between Hong Kong and Philippines.

The IE X-UA-Compatible Meta Tag (Positioning is important)

According to an article, the positioning of the IE X-UA-Compatible Meta Tag is important. Not only it has to be within the <head>...</head> tag, it must be above any linked file. To be safe, simply place it on top.

“Straddling” Buses Concept in China


China has come out with an innovative concept for solving its public transportation problems. Instead of widening roads, building more bridges or subways, it plans to build huge "straddling" buses that allows cars to pass under it, possibly leading to lower costs. Construction will start in Beijing later this year.

“Straddling” bus–a cheaper, greener and faster alternative to commute [via]

Apple is Seeking to Patent Spyware

Apple's recent patent filing attempt on Spyware has caused a stir. As defined on Wikipedia, Spyware is a type of malware that is installed on computers and collects little bits of information at a time about users without their knowledge.

If the patent application is to be approved by the Patent Office eventually, it could bring privacy issues. Apple will be secretly collecting, storing and potentially using sensitive biometric information about you. Apple will be using its patented devices to monitor devices which are jailbroken which Apple views as "unauthorized" even if it is perfectly legal under copyright law.

This patent is downright creepy and invasive — certainly far more than would be needed to respond to the possible loss of a phone. Spyware, and its new cousin traitorware, will hurt customers and companies alike — Apple should shelve this idea before it backfires on both it and its customers.

This Patent Application should be one of the more high profile ones. DO NOT BE EVIL.

Steve Jobs Is Watching You: Apple Seeking to Patent Spyware [via]

New Credit Card Rules Imposed in U.S. Should Be Implemented Here in Singapore Too

The United States recently imposed a new set of Credit Card rules protecting consumers, making sure big banks are not allowed to take advantage of customers with unfair fees, rate hikes, and a lack of clear information.

Some of the key new rules set are (lifted from here)

  • Limits on the size of late fees: Credit card issuers will no longer be allowed to charge you a late payment fee that is larger than your minimum payment. Banks also cannot charge a late fee higher than $25 unless one of your last six payments has been late or if the bank can show that the costs associated with the late payment justify a higher fee.

  • Ban on multiple penalty fees for single violations: You cannot be charged more than one penalty fee for a single violation of your credit card agreement. For example, you cannot be charged both a late fee and a returned payment fee based on a single botched payment.

  • Ban on inactivity fees: Card issuers will no longer be allowed to charge you a fee for failing to use your account enough or for terminating your account. Your account can still be closed for inactivity by your card issuer.

  • More information about why your rate is going up: Since August 2009, card issuers have been required to give 45 days notice before raising your interest rate on future purchases. Now they must notify you of the reason they are imposing a rate hike, such as market conditions or a reduced credit score.

Such never before consumer protection rules should also considered by legislation of other countries and implemented everywhere.

How New Credit Card Rules Help You [via]

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

真的好累

电池快没电了啊。过着没天没夜和几乎每晚宵夜当晚餐的生活真不好受。

我不得不承认我累了。

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Existing home sales sank 27.2%

OMG! Existing home sales sank 27.2% in July, twice as much as analysts expected.

Plunging home sales could sink recovery [via]

Hong Kong criticises handling of Manila hostage crisis

As quoted from here.
Police commandos could be seen breaking the windows of the bus minutes after a series of gunshots were heard and the driver of the bus was seen running to safety.

The commandos then struggled repeatedly to smash their way into the bus for over half an hour. As they did so, further gunshots could be heard, causing the officers to duck down and take cover. After around an hour the gunman was eventually killed and the hostages freed.

"It's a tragedy and a farce," said Kevin Chan, a Hong Kong resident. "Why did it take them so long to get into the bus? They're not well disciplined and trained. Are they crazy?" Another Hong Kong resident Sunny Ho said things could have been handled through calmer negotiations rather than brute force.

"It's really tragic, the Philippine police and government are totally incompetent. The government should have agreed to the request of the gunman and rescued the people first!" Ho said.

A batch of hostages including three children were earlier freed. "I hope the Philippines government can give me a full account of what happened," Tsang said.

A comment posted on the same article
if you had watched live show by the stupid filipino police, if you had watched them use ONE hammer to try to break the bus, from back, to side, to door, to window and cldn't achieve it for almost an hour, if you had watched the hostage-taker exposing himself at bus door early that day and was not taken down.... you would have a second thought...

Popular food blogger ladyironchef has spoken - The "Truth"

Just yesterday, popular food blogger, Brad Lau, who owns food blog ladyironchef, who had refused to pay the full cost of his 4-persons meal after a visit to Private Affairs, an exclusive eatery in Joo Chiat, for their Sunday Brunch promotion. The blogger finally relented after getting a discount from $435 to $159. The blogger was reported to have argued and said "I never pay for food in any restaurant". Upset over the outcome, the blogger threw his credit card onto the bar counter in front of the cashier before storming out.

Today, Brad Lau made a post on his blog titled The Truth about this Singapore Food Blog in defence of himself. He described the entire saga a "case of miscommunication". Lau admitted his hostility when presented the bill and had apologised for tossing his credit card. He made clear that he always pay for his meals just like any other regular customers.

In response to his asking for waiver, he wrote
This was an invitation to a food-tasting session. There is no hard and fast rule stating a plus one for a food tasting. However having attended previous food tastings before, I assumed that the meal would be, at the very least, on the house for myself and one dining partner. I was not expected to be billed for and then “waived” off from what was disguised as a “food tasting session”. When questioned, Melanie then cited this to be in-line with ‘industry standards’ of food tasting sessions: that the restaurant would only pay for my +1.

I just detest people with attitude problem! Condemned!

The Truth about this Singapore Food Blog [via]

Mobile Browser Comparison: Windows Phone 7 vs. iPhone 4.0 vs. Android 2.2

PocketNow uploaded a video to demonstrate the comparison among Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 running its mobile version of Internet Explorer against Google's Android 2.2 and iPhone 4.0. The smartphone site reiterated that Windows Phone 7 software is still a work in progress and what was shown was not representative until the OS is completed.

From the 10 minutes demonstration, the browser of Windows Phone 7 seems to be on the right track, proving worthy browsing experience. One rather unique feature of Windows Phone 7 mobile browser is its tab management. Tab management is super quick and it allows opening of multiple tabs with websites loading in the background simultaneously. Websites' load times are competitive with other top smartphone browsers.


The video demonstration also showed some of the shortcomings of both iPhone 4.0 and Android 2.2.

Exclusive: Windows Phone 7 Web Browser Comparison (Video) [via]

小明说…

明天会更好!The world can be harsh and unfair. Those still in critical condition will be strong and will pull through.

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Philippines Bus Standoff Ended 挾持事件流血結束


希望受伤的赶快恢复同家人团聚。不幸的受害者上天堂。

Seeing how clumsy the commandos are is really getting me very angry. Why can't they engage someone to open the door professionally by using the emergency button instead of plying open the door? I bet any bus driver can do that! Why smash then windows and frighten the hijacker after first gun shot? If the hijacker's request was just to reinstate his position in the police force, why can't they say yes to it first and re-capture him again after the hostages were freed? Isn't saving the hostages the top priority?

愤怒!

Monday, August 23, 2010

C&O Pharmaceutical posts record full-year net profit of $27.2m; Rose 5.3% today

Mainboard-listed C & O Pharmaceutical Technology (Holdings) announced a record net profit of HK$156 million ($27.2 million) on revenue of HK$651 million, up 44% and 19% respectively for the full year ended 30 June 2010 (FY2010).


Today, C&O share price rose more than 5.3% and declared a final divdend payout of 1.35 cents/share vs 1.05 cents/share year earlier, bringing total dividend for fiscal FY10 ended June to 8.15 cents/share, representing hefty 17.3% yield based on Friday’s closing price. This final payout exceeds 0.12 as predicted by the Phillips Research. From the figure above, there are now TWO cum-dividends (CD) and this "phenomenon" is rare.

Downside risk to pharmaceutical business in China
Beijing’s recent proposal to reform drug pricing policy, which would result in lower selling prices, will be closely watched by investors for impact on C&O’s profitability. Orderbook quotes suggest price not expected to clear $0.50.

I am going to enjoy both dividends!

Suddenly remember that short video clip of mine

I suddenly remember that short video clip of mine - the one I acted in last year for a friend's course project.

I realized I am yet to have the chance to view that video myself. What a pity.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

No mood without a reason

No mood to read, no mood to sleep, no mood to stay awake, no mood ... just not sure why.

Really. Just no mood.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Tried my best

That's just so much I can do, so much time I can give. I am a strong believer of the Pareto Principle which states the 80/20 rule. 20% of your result comes from 80% of your effort. This means if a student does not put in enough effort, result is expected to be poor. Everything is down to one's mind, determination and perseverance in getting good grades.

Hope there is at least some improvement.

Currently Reading

Google Docs Templates for Web Designers and Developers

Templates that will come handy when preparing specifications.

Google Docs Templates for Web Designers and Developers [via]

S$10 credited for using Standard Chartered account to pay credit bills

I was unaware of the promotion so was rather shocked Standard Chartered actually rewards customers for do that. The amount credited was not a lot but it is still an effort to retain and build customer base.

SMS received
Thanks for being one of the first 10,000 customers to Pay Other Bank credit card bills online! S$10 has been credited to your Standard Chartered account.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Voluntary market recall of 1-Day Acuvue TruEye brand contact lenses

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is overseeing the voluntary market recall of affected lots of 1—Day Acuvue TruEyeTM brand of contact lenses by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. The recall is due to overseas reports of eye irritation or discomfort as a result of using the product.


Affected lots are 4922380103, 4922510105, 4922860803, 4922861008, 4922861107, 4922870109, 4922880504, 4922881006, 4922821200, 4922801103, 4922520201, 4922540103, 4922540105.

Please refer to Acuvue Announcement page on how to read the lot number and the return process.

HSA recall alert [via]
Acuvue Announcement [via]

Man who lost S$26m in three days at RWS simply deserve it!

For the past many days, news on a local businessman who lost S$26m in three days early June at Resort World Sentosa (RWS) casino were reported as headlines. Mr Henry Quek, the managing director and chief of of a major seafood distributor - Far Ocean Sea Products, was said to have played baccarat at S$400,000 per hand. He had since paid RWS S$10m.

Yes, the casino operator might be in the wrong too for increasing his credit line several times from initial S$500K many times and eventually to a staggering S$2m (4 times) after he losing millions. Now, the gambler is suing RWS for negligence and promoting irresponsible gambling.

C'mon! If you Mr Quek had a smaller ego, then you wouldn't have placed such huge bets. If not for your ego, then you would have gone home counting loses. What if you won millions out of RWS? Would you have sued RWS? Sue RWS because you lose money is laughable!

Please adhere to Gambling Rules.

My Stock Portfolio

My Stock Portfolio - Like a fund

  1. ARA Asset Management
  2. C & O Pharmaceutical Technology (Holdings) Limited
  3. Cambridge Industrial Trust
  4. CapitalMalls Asia Limited
  5. China Animal Healthcare Limited
  6. China Minzhong Food Corp Limited
  7. HG Metal Manufacturing Limited
  8. Koh Brothers Group Limited
  9. MapleTree Logistics Trust
  10. Neptune Orient Lines Limited
  11. SMRT Corporation Limited
  12. Singapore Exchange Limited
  13. Singapore Technologies Engineering Limited

Looking into adding 1 manufacturing (soon), 1 transport (1-2 months time) and 1 energy (towards end of the year) shares.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Bought 3 shares in a week!

Cool! Market correction is the best opportunity to do top up.

ARA Asset Management, China Animal Healthcare, C&O Pharmaceutical Technology.

Bought C&O Pharmaceutical Technology today

I made yet another shares purchase today and this time round, the company picked was C&O Pharmaceutical Technology Limited [E92.SI].

The main reason why I bought this C&O is due to impressive to-come dividends. As anticipated by Philip Research, 4Q dividend could be at S$0.012 which makes the whole year dividend to be at S$0.08. If we were to use today's S$0.47/share, it would be 17%! This very healthy net cash comes after they sold Hong kong asset, which add to their EPS.

1 past dividend and 1 coming soon

Ex Date: 26 Aug 2010 SGD 0.028
Ex Date: 12 Jul 2010 SGD 0.005
Ex Date: 12 Jul 2010 SGD 0.035

This China-based drug maker's strong R&D capability provides springboard to launch new products, paving way for expansion in local and international markets. According to CIMB analyst, C&O is also an attractive partner to foreign drug companies looking to enter the China market.

Stay invested for the dividends remain my key investment strategy.

YOG concert 20 Aug 2010 looks empty to me

It is sad.

Your Password Should Be At Least 12 Random Characters Long of Any Kind to Be Safe

Recent research from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) indicates that to defeat a new generation of encryption cracking software, passwords need a length of at least 12 randomized characters consisting of letters, numbers and symbols.

Eight-character passwords are inadequate now ... If eight characters is all you use, and if you restrict your characters to only alphabetic letters, it can be cracked in minutes

Want to deter hackers? Make your password longer [via]

Tiger Airways share price fell more than 3% today after several flights cancellation

Tiger Airways [J7X.SI] share price fell more than 3% today after several flights cancellation were reported. Since Aug 5, Tiger Airways share price has fallen by more than 14% from S$2.24 to today's S$1.92.

Lifted from here:
Tiger Airways Holdings canceled at least 10 flights in the four days to Aug. 18 because of a shortage of pilots, the Straits Times reported, without citing anyone. More than 20 Tiger Air pilots have resigned since June and the airline has tapped Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines for temporary help, the newspaper said.

Cancellations or rescheduling result from a number of factors including technical, weather, safety and security, and other operational matters, Charles Sng, a spokesman with the carrier, said by phone today. The company has already hired more pilots, he said when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Finally managed to buy China Animal Healthcare Limited shares

After waiting and waiting and waiting for the right price for almost 2 months, I finally managed to get my hands on China Animal Healthcare Limited [EP4.SI] shares at S$0.290 per share. ChinaAniH ended at S$0.295 today.


Though TA may indicate a downtrend, it should be temporary since fundamentals are strong with a healthy debt-to-equity ratio indicating net cash. This company remains one of the safest Chinese company having highly likely well-audited financial reports since world's largest fund management company Blackstone have vested interest in it. Blackstone must have done a detail audit of this company before investing.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Facebook Places, a major blow to Foursquare and other location-based social networks, Google and Yelp

By launching Facebook Places, will this put a major blow to popular Foursquare and other location-based social networks, Google and Yelp?

Read on here for the assessment.

Article 100

Advisory opinion

100. —(1) The President may refer to a tribunal consisting of not less than 3 Judges of the Supreme Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of this Constitution which has arisen or appears to him likely to arise.

Quoted from here.

How to Disable Facebook Places


Facebook Adds Location Check-Ins Feature Called 'Places' [via]
Everything on Foursquare Privacy Policies can be found here [via]

Facebook Adds Location Check-Ins Feature Called 'Places'

From Facebook blog,

If you're like me, when you find a place you really like, you want to tell your friends you're there. Maybe it's a new restaurant, a beautiful hiking trail or an amazing live show.

Starting today, you can immediately tell people about that favorite spot with Facebook Places. You can share where you are and the friends you're with in real time from your mobile device.

If you are already familiar with social location tool like Foursquare, then you should feel much at home with 'Places'. For now, 'Places' is only available using the most recent version of the Facebook application for iPhone or from touch.facebook.com if your mobile browser supports HTML 5 and geolocation.

You may also be interested in Foursquare Privacy.

Who, What, When, and Now...Where [via]

Everything on Foursquare Privacy Policies can be found here

In conjunction with Facebook's announcement on its new location based service, Foursquare on Tuesday unveiled updated privacy settings, as well as pages dedicated to explaining what information the service shares publicly. Foursquare has created a dedicated privacy page at http://foursquare.com/privacy/.

I myself is a frequent user of Foursquare :)

Foursquare Privacy 101 [via]

Intel to Acquire McAfee for $7.68B

WOW! This is BIG BIG news!

Intel to Acquire McAfee for $7.68B [via]

Trains service disruption on 4 & 5 Sep and 18 & 19 Sep 2010

Due to modification works at the Jurong East train station to build an additional train platform and track so as to better serve commuters travelling through western Singapore, service disruptions are expected over two weekends. On September 4 and 5, there will be no train services between the Jurong East and Clementi stations on the East West Line. Train services will also not be available on September 18 and 19 between the Jurong East and Bukit Batok stations on the North South Line.

With the new addition, more trains can be deployed.

Train Capacity To Expand, Waiting Time Shortened [via]

First time installing Skype

Yes, this is my first time installing Skype and this is all for a virtual meeting for my course this coming Saturday.

MSN is for friends while Skype is for meetings.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Shares on watchlist but they just simply "ran" away

Shares on watchlist but they just simply "ran" away:

  • Armstrong Industrial Corp [A14]
  • China Hongxing Sports Limited [BR9]
  • Leeden Limited [A24]

On my watchlist but within reaching distance:

  • China Animal Healthcare Limited [EP4]

Apple patented two key iPhone interface features

Filed back in back in late July, 2007, Apple managed to get two patents, both titled "Graphical User Interfaces for a Display Screen or Portion Thereof", accepted. These two patents include the Slide-to-Unlock feature and the enlargement of letters on virtual keyboard user types. Both patents are popularly used by other smartphones now.

Apple Scores Two Key iPhone Interface Patents [via]

Facebook Chat Now Available in Windows Live Messenger


The Windows Live team has released a new version of the Messenger 2011 beta with integrated Facebook chat.

Link your Windows Live ID with your Facebook account and you'll be able to chat with friends logged into Facebook.

For a quick demo, check out the video, and to download the updated beta bits go here: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-messenger-beta.

SQL Server 2008: Insert results from stored procedure into table

All thanks to SQL Server 2008 TABLE datatype, results from a stored procedure can now be stored in a variable of TABLE datatype WITHOUT having to do any sp_configure.

declare @tempTable table (
    ID int not null,
    Points int not null
)
insert into @tempTable
exec cspSample @ID = 1
 
select * from @tempTable

Yio Chu Kang Secondary School forces students to pay $50 for 45th anniversary

Yio Chu Kang Secondary School will be celebrating its 45th anniversary this month and because specialists were engaged to in training students for performances, the school has asked its students to contribute $50 to help subsidise part of the expenses. The $50 shall be withdrawn from Edusave accounts and if accounts balances are insufficient, cash payment is expected!

Is this an abuse of Edusave accounts? This is ridiculous! If the school is "poor", then please don't do perform a second Singapore's 45th celebration!

School forces students to pay $50 for 45th anniversary [via]

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

WWII on Facebook

A modern adaptation of world war II for the american teenager. Please follow http://twitpic.com/2fm3ox for the full-sized image.

'Dislike' button on Facebook is a SCAM

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Do not allow unknown applications permission to run your Facebook. These innocently looking application may turn out to be malicious.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at the British security firm Sophos, wrote in a blog post on Monday that fake 'Dislike' buttons are going viral on popular social networking site Facebook. Such rogue Facebook applications once installed will have access to a person's profile to continue spreading the fake program by broadcasting on Facebook statuses.

Facebook Dislike button scam spreads virally [via]

Just bought ARA Asset Management shares

Just bought ARA Asset Management shares at $1.11 per share. Outlook for the REIT, ARA Asset Management, looks increasingly positive as the impending launch of the US$1 billion Asia Dragon Fund II would "significantly" enlarge its recurrent management fee base. ARA management has said that ADF II fund will launch by 1Q11, which is in line with broker's expectation of a half year contribution from ADF II management fees.

Broker CIMB raises ARA's target price to S$1.35 vs S$1.12.

Monday, August 16, 2010

China Overtakes Japan as World's Second-Biggest Economy

Without doubt, China is now the second biggest economy, overtaking Japan along its way, recording $1.337 trillion in GDP for the second quarter as compared to Japan’s $1.288 trillion.

According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief economist Jim O’Neill, China is set to overtake current economic world leader U.S. by year 2027.

China Overtakes Japan as World's Second-Biggest Economy [via]

YOG volunteers told no food provided, bring own water bottle but strictly no Adidas or Nike logos

Wonder if this is real.

YOG "volunteer" spectators: No Adidas or Nike logos on your water bottles [via]

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Blog statistics for the week

Thanks everyone!

Overview



Traffic Source

Interesting Taiwan travel ad

Quote from Facebook

Kindness must not be mistaken as weakness.

Hope criticisms on YOG can be stopped

Singaporeans humiliating Singaporeans. How sad it is.

Suppose you are now the president of the Singapore olympic committee, what would you have done? Do nothing even if there is going to be poor turnout? In an international event like this, Singapore's reputation is at stake.

Note that I am not saying the singapore government is always right. But, yog is an international event.
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Saturday, August 14, 2010

Your answer has been Accepted!

Points this month (10,200)

Proud to be a Singaporean

I must give 5 out of 5 for Singapore's effort and creativity in presenting a splendid performance for the just-ended 1st Youth Olympics Games 2010. Leveraging on the uniqueness of Marina Bay floating platform as a performance stage is indeed creative.

Well done Singapore!

Introducing Voice Actions for Android

Control your Android phone just by speaking using Voice Actions.

Some of the features include:

  • Send text messages
  • Get directions
  • Call contacts
  • View a map
  • Write a note
  • Listen to music
  • Call businesses
  • Send email
  • Go to websites
  • Search Google


Note: Voice Actions required Android 2.2 a.k.a. Froyo.

Even IOC President is aware Singaporeans are indifferent towards YOG

As quoted
Dr Rogge added he's confident Singaporeans and others will warm up as the Games progress"I'm sure that after the opening ceremony tonight and after the victory of Singapore in football yesterday against

Sandbags outside Liat Towers for flood prevention look more like garbage to me


Source: Yahoo News

The line of sandbags outside Liat Towers for flood prevention look more like garbage to me! Don't you think so?

Pathetic food prepared for YOG volunteers prepared by SFI


The above picture shows the food prepared by the Singapore Food Industries (SFI) for some of the Youth Olympics Games (YOG) volunteers. In this case, the lunchbox consisted of a piece of chicken meat, few strands of long beans, corn and white rice.

This lunch serving is super duper substandard!

Controversy over meal packs for YOG volunteers [via]

President has no discretion in clemency appeal

Okay! Our Singapore President, SR Nathan, has no power to grant pardons under Article 22P of the Constitution after all. Such power can only be exercised by the Cabinet, and this means, the President has no discretion in this matter. All along, everyone including the lawyers are made to think only the President himself has the authority to pardon an accused.

So, what's the role of the President of Singapore? This shocking news must have sent shocking waves across the globe.

President has no discretion in clemency appeal [via]

Google doing damage control by defending its Net Neutrality Plan

Google, after having announced openly on their joint policy with Verizon on network neutrality, several public criticisms have been coming in from all over the world. Several see Net Neutrality as being evil!

Google immediately switches to damage control mode in a bid to save their "Do not be evil" good name. On their blog, Google made clear several myths around their proposed net neutrality plan.

Facts about our network neutrality policy proposal [via]

A game inspired by Gmail, created using HTML5

A game, inspired by Gmail, created using HTML5, named Galactic Inbox is born! Do give it a try!

Try it here: http://www.monocubed.com/?p=549

Galactic Inbox: An HTML5 game inspired by Gmail [via]

Completed Personal Data Sheet

I have completed doing my Personal Data Sheet as required by one of my modules. I must say it is a complete waste of time!

Better get to bed now else tomorrow's 9am lecture will be Zzzzz-ing.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Summary by Law Minister on reply from Singapore's attorney general statement on presence of unauthorised persons inside polling stations

YOU MUST READ ON! THIS IS AMAZING!

On 21 Jul 1997, Singapore's Law Minister S. Jayakumar summarise a text by the attorney general on the presence of unauthorised persons inside polling stations. The summary was made in a rely to a query in parliament from non-constituency MP and Workers' Party chief J. B. Jeyaretnam 30 July 1997. Opposition party, the Workers' Party, had complained to the police that Mr Goh Chok Tong, Dr Tony Tan and Brigadier-General (NS) Lee Hsien Loong had been inside a Cheng San GRC polling station on Polling Day. Back in those days, Mr Goh was the Prime Minister while Mr Lee Hsien Loong was the Deputy Prime Minister.

It was said that the presence of the two People's Action Pary (PAP) candidates in a polling station had broken the law. However, the Public Prosecutor recently advised the police that the PAP leaders had not broken the law. The question raised was why such conduct was not an offence under paragraph (d) or (e) of section 82(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

Section 39 (4): "the presiding officer shall keep order in his station and shall regulate the number of voters to be admitted a time, and shall exclude all other persons except the polling agent or agents of each candidate, the Returning Officer and persons authorised in writing by the Returning Officer, the police officers on duty and other persons officially employed at the polling station".

Section 39 (7): "any person who misconducts himself in the polling station, or fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer may be removed from the polling station by a police officer acting under the orders of the presiding officer. If an unauthorised person refuses to leave the polling station when told to do so by the public officer, he commits an offence under section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duty".

Section 82 (1)(d): "No person shall wait outside any polling station on polling day, except for the purpose of gaining entry to the polling station to cast his vote".

Section 82 (1)(e): "No person shall loiter in any street or public place within a radius of 200 metres of any polling station on polling day".

Suppose the three PAP ministers were unauthorised persons, then they must had parachuted in to be not within a radius of 200 metres of any polling station on polling day!

Unauthorised persons inside polling stations: Attorney General's letter [via]

Twitter: Pushing Our (Tweet) Button, Twitter Unveils 'Tweet' Button

Twitter on Thursday unveiled its "tweet" button, which will let users share links on Twitter directly from the Web site they are visiting. The announcement was made on its blog. It is just a short piece of HTML code to do the trick.


Grab your Tweet button from http://twitter.com/goodies/tweetbutton now. I am looking forward into adding that on my blog soon.

Friday the 13th

Yes, today is Friday the 13th.

According to Wikipedia,

Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month's 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, frigga, meaning "Friday" and triskaidekaphobia, or paraskevidekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen"), attached to phobía (φοβία, from phóbos, φόβος, meaning "fear").

Do read on from Wikipedia for more information on the History of Friday the 13th.

Singapore Marking System in Education is Rigid

Extracted from local newspaper TodayOnline Aug 13, 2010 article When a right answer is wrong:

I REFER to the letter by Chan Wai Piew on the rigidity of schools' marking criteria, "Incomprehensible comprehension" (Aug 11), and wish to share my similar experience.

My son is appearing for the PSLE exams this year and last month, I attended his school's briefing for parents. During the Science session, the teacher highlighted that, in answering short questions, students can only give their explanation in relation to their selected answer.

So for example, in an experiment showing two kettles with same volume of water, where kettle A is placed on a bigger flame surface than kettle B, the question asked would be: Which kettle of water will boil first, and why?

The answer most students would give would be kettle A. But the explanation would be considered correct and marks awarded only if the students say that kettle A was subject to a bigger burning surface. Students who explain that kettle B was subject to a smaller burning surface area would not be given marks.

In the English session, the teacher in-charge told us that when the students transform a sentence which contains the word "yesterday", the term to use in its place must be "the previous day".

A phrase that's typical used, "the day before", would no longer be accepted, we were told.

Despite seeking clarification from the teacher, I am still not able to comprehend the rigid rationale of the marking system.

Why should we hinder the creativity of young minds when they are still answering to the point and giving the correct analysis?

I didn't know Singapore's education system is so rigid. Can't the marking be more flexible?

National Service, reality TV-style

cyberpioneerTV, the e-outreach arm by the Ministry of Defence, has uploaded videos on YouTube showing what's Singapore's National Service is like. The video series come in 18-parts and 6 out of the 18 are reported to have already been uploaded onto YouTube. I found only 5.

This is a MUST-SEE for Singaporeans sons who are waiting for their National Service enlistment. For those who have already completed their mandatory two-year National Service in the army, watching them will surely bring back memories.

Every Singaporean Son (Episode 1: My Buddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxmp8nwQ43Q

Every Singaporean Son (Episode 2: Where I Stand)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J116rpnRrw8

Every Singaporean Son (Episode 3: Strip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tEzvnaaqoA

Every Singaporean Son (Episode 4: R & R - Run & Rehab)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkjeCOj0z8c

Every Singaporean Son (Episode 5: How Far?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCmEh1crB0E

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Google Reader privacy issues?

I just noticed a "starred" item from a friend whom I am "following" actually showed up on my Google Reader's new label named "friends' starred item".

What does this mean? Privacy issues? Will my "starred" items also appear on my followers? I better find out how to disable this sharing.
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Yet another day of stock retreat on Dow Jones, Asia and Europe

An imminent double dip? As of now, Dow Jones is trading lower by more than 220 points (-2%).

Wishlist for Gmail

To have "Invite a friend" widget removed from my Gmail! The reason why it was there is to send controlled number of invites to new Gmail users. This was necessary in the early days of Gmail back in year 2004 but definitely unnecessary now since anyone can sign up for a free Gmail account without an invite.

PLEASE GET "Invite a friend" widget REMOVED!

Doughnut reporting

Read on here.

Introducing Social Networking - Its Perils

As published on Experts-Exchange Article, the following article attempts to educate readers the Perils of Social Networking. I hope it helps.

Social networking sites such as Facebook have become an immensely popular way to connect with friends, coworkers, and relatives on the internet. Most are very user-friendly and provide methods to e-mail, chat, share pictures and videos, and even search for long-lost friends. While it is very fun to be able to share all of your interests, information, and pictures with your friends, it is important to note that your friends are not the only ones with access to this information.

Most sites include in the terms of use the fact that all information entered into the website is the property of the website, so whatever you put on your Facebook can be sent, by Facebook, to companies for advertising purposes. Facebook does have a security settings panel that allows you to control which users have access to what information, but many people are woefully ignorant of these settings and assume that they are safe.

It only takes a few minutes to go into the security settings and switch everything so that only your friends can view your information. Companies should not be given free reign over users’ information and perhaps social networking sites are doing something about this, but until then it is strongly recommended to be very conservative with how you share your data.

Also, certain information such as your address, your phone number, your birthday, etc., should not be put on the website. This is simply because even with the security measures in place, you can really never be certain about who is looking at this information, so assume the worst and play it safe. Also, just as on any other website, be wary of phishing attacks where someone you don’t know will try to friend you just to gain access to your page. Using a strong password to protect your account is also a good idea; using something that is easily guessed can cause your data to be leaked.

With the fad of Facebook sweeping the web, there is no need to avoid it completely, but we must be sensible about how we use this and other similar websites, to protect our identity and personal information from those who would exploit it.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Morgan Stanley: Consider buying Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) on weakness

Since last Thursday, Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) (N03.SI) to close at S$2.00/share today. Sell volume versus buy volume is approximately at 8:1.

According to Morgan Stanley,

We think market concerns on freight rates and a volume collapse into 4Q10-2011 will result in short-term stock price weakness. Freight rates are likely to resume an upward trajectory from early 2011, which we will think will result in renewed confidence in container shipping stocks.

Morgan Stanley is suggesting buying on weakness on view shipping companies likely to remain “very profitable” in off-peak months. At current, Morgan Stanley has an Overweight call with $2.35 target.


S$1.95 looks to be the resistance.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Google Doodles to Celebrate Singapore's National Day on Aug 9, 2010

Nice!

Fold an e-Heart Today - SingTel Touching Lives Fund


The SingTel Touching Lives Fund is calling as many of us as possible to fold an e-Heart. Every e-Heart folded will see SingTel donates S$1.

Till date, only 35,983 e-Hearts are folded, which is still a long way from its 200,000 target.

Go to http://info.singtel.com/touchinglives/ now and get your e-Heart folded.

P != NP proven?

This is a million dollar Mathematics question.
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National Day Parade (NDP) Theme Songs

Just come of the video compilations used as themes songs for National Day. Only those which I thought are worthy of listening to are included.

NDP 1998: Kit Chan 陈洁仪 -- Home 家



NDP 2001: Tanya Chua - Where I Belong



NDP 2002: Stefanie Sun 孙燕姿 -- We Will Get There 一起走到



NDP 2003: Stefanie Sun 孙燕姿 -- One United People 全心全意



NDP 2008: Joi Chua 蔡淳佳 -- 晴空万里



NDP 2010: Corrine May -- Song for Singapore


Fandi's talented footballing children may choose to play for South Africa instead of Singapore

Fandi's talented footballing children may choose to play for South Africa instead of Singapore.

The former Lions skipper admitted that National Service — the mandatory 24-month national call-up period that all Singaporean males must serve — is a major issue.

“NS is a problem, although I don’t want to say too much because it is a sensitive issue. When I was 16, Ajax offered to sign me but I had to tell them to wait two years (for me to complete my NS).”

Former Singapore star R. Sasikumar, the boys’ manager, elaborated: “You won’t be at the top of your game during that two years of your life in NS. At that age in football, you have to be in Europe.”


‘Go Fandi and sons, we won’t blame you’ [via]

Ho Chi Minh?

Looks cheap.
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Sunday, August 08, 2010

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Ugly Singaporean and SHAME SHAME SHAME !

Today was my second lecture for this semester and both were of the same module in fact. It's the first time I actually signed up for a cross faculty module offered by the Faculty of Engineering, outside School of Computing.

There is this guy, a first year Engineering graduate student, by the name of Jason, whom I just got to know. This initially thought okay person turned out to be the ugly Singaporean! To make things simple, this Jason shall be labelled J.

The story goes like this ...

Lecture 1: Friday, Aug 6

The professor wanted us to form a group of 4. Okay, J approached me to form a group but then I already have got a group of 4. The other 3 are inseparable because they have been together working on same projects for the past 2 semesters. I am perfectly fine with J joining if the professor allows 5 in a group.

Towards the end of the 3-hours lecture, I happened to notice a familiar face - an overseas School of Computing student from India. Okay, so she is here knowing no one like myself, taking a cross faculty module.

I had an idea. I suggested to J that we should spin off 2 groups of 3 each - first group consisting of the inseparable threes, and the second group consisting of J, the Indian friend and myself. My reasoning was it's easier to recruit one more instead of risking the fifth person left without a group. Let's consider this proposal and decide on the next day.

Lecture 2: Saturday, Aug 7

In class, the professor re-emphasized his preference of group of 4 again. Okay, that is it. What do you think of the idea of 3 in a group?

I could see it clearly from his body language, his eyes and his expression that he was very much reluctant of the spin-off. He very much preferred to be in a group of 4 or 5 so that he could stand a 50% chance of be in a group of 4. I was more inclined towards splitting.

J: I would like to stay with the other 3. This is my first semester and I would prefer to be in a more stable group.

I: For me, everyone is here to learn and I see everyone equal. I am perfectly fine to work with anyone.

What really puzzled me was what made him made the remark that by joining the other 3 would be more stable. Is it because the Indian friend and I are cross faculty students? Why the perception? The module is not even an Engineering module per se, it's a management module! That J just did not do his homework that the Indian friend and I are both in IT Project Management specialisation and our core modules are mainly business-related.

What really pissed me off was the J actually just made a fool of us Singaporeans in front of an overseas student. Can you be less selfish in the future? We are after all students, here to learn from one another.

National Day is coming soon. Amen ..

Facebook 1.3.1 for Android is a recommend upgrade

The new Facebook 1.3.1 for Android is not bad. Recommend to upgrade if you are still using an earlier version.

It comes with new add-ons like events and requests.
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Difficulties of teaching as a profession

From Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates

teaching is one of the most difficult, complex professions there is. You have to be able to make a subject clear, and interesting. You have to calm the disruptive kids, challenge the advanced kids, humor the bored kids, and reach the kids who learn at a different pace. All with 30 students in a classroom.
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I've Requalified for Experts-Exchange Premium Access!



The progress bar finally reaches 3,000 points for the month!



The landing page after I click on "Activate Membership"



The email I received!

I do not understand why Experts-Exchange suddenly decided not to grant me "ASK" capability. I remember I still able to ask questions even though I did not fulfil their required minimum 3,000 expert points per month to enjoy Premium Services. They had been giving me special exemptions to the rule for many years and why now the exception?

Premium services - Here I got you again!

Bought back NOL shares

After selling all NOL shares yesterday at S$2.12, I bought back them at the price of $2.08 today. I was speculating a fall in the share price after morning's financial report announcement despite of an expected upbeat result. Local investors tend to buy in anticipation and pushing up prices before actual real good news announcement. It seems to be true again this time round, with NOL's share price fallen more than 3% despite beating economists' estimates in earnings report.

Fighting with the psychological minds of investors is interesting! I've got my buy/sell transaction costs for my earlier batch of sale covered with this buy! Yippee!

How to evaluate a comparison within a string in php?

Just for an example
$comparison = "2>1";
// $result will be true
$result = eval("return (".$comparison.");");

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Sold off all my NOL shares

I decided to sell away my NOL shares and be contended for a mere 10% profit after factoring in buy and sell transaction costs. The price transacted was $2.12 and was executed in the final closing seconds of today's trading.

I should buy back NOL shares when there is an opportunity - my next buy price should be lower than $2.12 so my buy transaction cost becomes nothing.

Apple Jailbreaking Vulnerability Issue Reported to Have Been Fixed

A couple of days ago, it is reported that Apple iOS has a security vulnerability that exposes iPod, iPhone and iPad to hackers. The warning relates to iPhones using iOS versions 3.1.2-4.0.1., iPads using iOS 3.2-3.2.1 and iPods Touch using iOS 3.1.2.-4.0. By exploiting the vulnerability, a hacker can gain administrator rights and gain access to the entire device. Hackers can spy on passwords, planners, photos, text messages, e-mails and even listen in to phone conversations.

On a separate report, it mentioned that a fix to the security loophole is found and will be available in the next software update.

Goodbye to Google Wave; Service to be Discontinued by End of the Year

Google announced on its blog that Google Wave, the innovative communication platform released last year, will be discontinued by end of this year.

Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.

Refer to http://hongjun.blogspot.com/search/label/Wave to know more of Google Wave.

Waiting for SMRT Corporation share price to fall further

If someone is reading, let's wait!

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Gmail Adds Drag-and-Drop to Desktop Saving for Attachments

Gmail has now added a new drag-and-drop attachments to your desktop or anywhere you like feature. This rather useful feature will work only on Google Chrome.

Simply click and hold, then drag your cursor to anywhere in your file system that you want to save the file. Release the mouse button, and voilà! Your attachment is saved (for large files, you may see a progress dialog).

Downloads of files still go through the normal download queue.

Just about four months back, Gmail launched a feature to allow drag-and-drop attachments onto messages during composing of message. Like the just-mentioned feature, only browsers that support HTML 5.0 like Mozilla Firefox 3.6+ or Google Chrome 4+, 5+ will have this new cool feature.

Drag and drop attachments to save them to your desktop [via]

Update Your Motorola Droid to Android 2.2 Froyo Without Waiting

Android Central details how to update your Motorola Droid to the official latest Android 2.2 Froyo ROM without having to wait for the update to push out on its own with no rooting or anything fancy required.

I am yet to try it personally but I will if I still don't get it by end of this month.

Froyo for Droid has arrived; here's how to get it without waiting [via]

Heavy head

Losing sleep.
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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

What's next?

UMS Holdings, Parkway Holdings, ... sold .. What's next?

Next on selling list once price is right: Nil

Next on buying list once price is right:

  1. SMRT Corporation (increasing my existing investment if it drops to S$2.00; this stock has fallen more than 7% in the past 2 days but is still now way higher from my initial investment)
  2. China Animal Healthcare (new if it drops to $0.295)
  3. China Hongxing (undecided but on watchlist; technical analysis shows S$0.16 at 200d MA; appreciated yuan may result in higher cost of export).
  4. Q&M Dental (A hidden gem which has fallen more than 6% today after rallying 54% increase in two months; on watchlist)

Google: Enabling multiple accounts sign in

Google has announced the ability to sign in to multiple Google accounts simultaneously on the same browser by enabling the feature from the Google Accounts Page. It is also allowed to switch between accounts.

This new feature will be made available to all in phases.

Getting started: Enabling multiple sign-in [via]

Why Is Deflation Bad?

I summarise the article written by Paul Krugman into 3 points as to why deflation is bad.
  1. When people expect falling prices, they become less willing to spend, and in particular less willing to borrow.

  2. Falling prices worsen the position of debtors, by increasing the real burden of their debts.

  3. Wages as well as prices often have to fall.

Money just need to flow around for economy to function healthily.

Monday, August 02, 2010

江惠 《家後》

超有意义的一首歌。

你的心我会永远记得因为我是你的家后。。。

The fear of deflation

two-thirds of the world is moving to the zero line of inflation
Big Investors Fear Deflation [via]

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Relationship between Disinflation and Unemployment Rate

Using the Phillip Curve to illustrate relationship between disinflation and unemployment rate showing clockwise spiral behaviour is indeed interesting, especially when such charts show similarities when compared with past trends.

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