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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Siew Kum Hong views on recent criticism on Tin Pei Ling - Gutter Journalism

Well said :)

And that is precisely my point. I would like politics in Singapore to be about the candidates and their views and their competency/suitability as MPs and office holders. I would not like politics in Singapore to become an exercise in gutter journalism. If and to the extent that a politician makes morality and virtue part of his/her platform or public persona, then that becomes fair game as well -- but only then, and not before.

This is not what I want Singapore politics to be like [via]

Related Reads:

Tin Pei Ling Speech on Income Disparity

After having read youngest PAP candiate Ms Tin Pei Ling on income disparity, I sort of feel she may not be a suitable MP. In my opinion, a MP should feel and speak for citizens and not one who always talk about "I".

What do you think? Judge based on competency and performance and not on personal private life.

Tin Pei Ling: Globalisation – High & Low
Dated : 11-11-2007

Party Convention – 2007
Globalisation – High & Low
Tin Pei Ling

尊敬的党领导及各位同志朋友们,早上好!我是行青团,也是乌鲁班丹支部的陈佩玲。非常感谢大会容许我针对“收入差距,贫富悬殊” 这个课题,以双语发表看法。

Respectable party leaders and comrades, good morning to you all. My name is Tin Pei Ling from the Young PAP (Ulu Pandan). I am grateful to have this opportunity to share my views in two languages on the topic of the widening income gap.

相信这个课题已不是什么新鲜事。在考虑贫富悬殊这项难题的当儿,不仅是考量收入差距是否越来越大,更值得关注的是那些属于“贫困” 的一群是否能,最低限度,生存并避免恶性循环。对于这个日趋严重的问题,许多人怨天怨地,更怨政府。可是,这真的只是政府的责任吗?我,不以为然。

This is not a new topic. Besides studying whether the gap is widening, it is more important to find out if the lowest-income group is able to get by and not fall into the vicious cycle. Many people are complaining and blaming the government for this problem. But is this really the responsibility of the government? I don’t think so.

政府可以从宏观的角度,设立强有力的架构协助我们成功,但这是不够的。所谓:” 国家兴亡,匹夫有责” 。每个人,不分你我,对国家有责任,对周围的同胞们也有责任!

The government, at the macro level, can set up a robust framework to help us be successful, but this is not enough. As the Chinese saying goes, the individual has a responsibility towards the survival and success of the country. Everyone, besides a duty for the nation, also has an obligation to the fellow countrymen around him.

今天,我不把时间耗在找出问题的根源。我们不能纸上谈兵,要有实际的行动才会有望解决难题。与此,我谨大胆地献上两项提议,再以英语演说另外两项。

Today, I am not trying to find a reason for the situation. We should not just talk about it, but need to be proactive in finding a solution. Please excuse my boldness in offering two suggestions, and two more in my English speech.

第一项,我们要自强不息,力争上游;不断地自我调适,自我更新!许多人认为做人难,做新加坡人更难!从某些角度来看,这或许是真的。可人生又曾几何时是尽如人意的?我们应该要了解,环球发展不会为了新加坡,更不会为了你或我而放慢。尽管政府再怎么尽全力地资助或扶持我们,这始终不是万全之策 -- 治标不治本。

First of all, we need to persevere and strive for continuous improvement, adjustment and rejuvenation. A lot of people think that making a living is difficult, I think making a living in Singapore is even more difficult! We need to understand that globalization will not slow down for Singapore, or you and me. No matter how hard the government tries to subsidise and help us, it will just be treating the problem superficially without solving the root.

政府好比水上一艘船,它能帮助我们更安全顺利地渡江到达目的地。但这艘船最终还需人来操作,需要人来导航。换言之,人的自身是关键。如果我们不自己帮自己,那又怎么可能解决问题,怎么成功呢?

The government is like a ship and it can help us reach our destination safely and smoothly. However, this ship still needs to be operated by people. In other words, we still play the critical role ourselves. If we are not helping ourselves, how can we solve the problem?

第二项,身为晚辈,我们要以先辈及长辈为模范,传承并发扬他们的良好观念及刚毅精神。我党成立至今已有约53年之久了。许多可谓党的鼻祖仍活跃于我们当中。他们在当时动荡不安,生活条件恶劣的情况下屹立不倒,并持着破釜沉舟的决心为新加坡奠下根深蒂固的基础,打出一番天地!不说别人,就说我父亲年轻时,大约60年代,当时三餐不一定能温饱,若不小心丢了两角钱,一整天就没得吃,还得从学校走路回家!尽管如此,他们那一代人克勤克苦,终于成功了!这是值得我们学习的啊!

Secondly, we need to learn from our forefathers and seniors. We should emulate and promote their value systems and spirit of endurance. Our party is 53 years old, many pioneers are still active today. They have lived through the years of turbulence, under very poor living conditions, but they did not give up. They bite the bullet and helped to build a strong foundation for Singapore. Take my own father as an example, when he was a young man in the sixties, he struggled even with three meals a day. If he dropped 20 cents, he would have to starve for a day and walk all the way home from school. Despite all these, his generation worked hard and succeeded ultimately. This is something we should learn from.

所以,在经济环境不利于我们的时候,我们一定要继续坚持,奋斗,改造!

Hence, even when the economic environment is not favourable, we must continue to persevere, work hard and make a difference!

A very good morning to Party Chairman, Secretary-General and fellow comrades! My name is Tin Pei Ling from the Young PAP (Ulu Pandan).

I thank you for the opportunity to speak today, and I thank my fellow YP comrades for sharing their insights with me online. Allow me to share these with you.

Singapore’s income gap is growing. The Gini coefficient for Singapore had increased from 0.442 to 0.472 in year 2000, before adjusting for Government benefits and taxes. From an economic standpoint, this suggests a growing income inequality.

This widening of income gap is a complex challenge faced by every society. And to tackle this, it helps to break it down and address the components accordingly.

Getting the Economics Right

To address the rich-poor gap, we must first ascertain the possibility of becoming rich in the first place! Hence, from a macro-level, we must be able to progress and hold our own against giant, booming economies such as China and India. We must not easily fall prey to the short-sighted proposals made by the Opposition, who push for either protectionism or welfarism! We are Singaporeans who have dignity and integrity. We can achieve much if we are willing to put in the effort. And we should not yield to these temptations (short-term wins), as other greater nations than ours did and been the worse for it.

From a micro-level, and of most immediate concern, those at the bottom of the social ladder must have sufficient to live by. Having ensured that, there must be hope for the children of those who are considered poor now to break out of the poverty cycle later in life. In essence, we must – (1) Help the poor; (2) Maintain social mobility.

Helping the Poor

In Singapore, it appears that while the rich has gotten richer, the poor have NOT gotten poorer. The Department of Statistics reported that the bottom 20% of our population have seen their lives improve over the last decade.

BUT there are still those amongst us who need help. Some, we meet weekly at our Meet-the-People Sessions; some, we meet almost daily in our classes or workplace. As youth, it is crucial that we remain aware of the needy. We, who have voices, must advocate for those who cannot speak. And we must do more than speak – we must act, by seeking out those who need help and find ways to help them.

As YP members, we also have the privilege of working with our Parliamentary leaders and decision makers. In the course of serving the community, we have learnt about the different avenues of assistance and paths to seek help. We know the strength of our national system, and how the good can become even better!

This confers upon us a special responsibility, to give ground feedback sincerely and honestly, without fear or favour. Let it never be said that the Young PAP is a bastion of yes-men and women, but young thinking Singaporeans who are prepared to speak our minds, defend and decide what is right and not just about being popular.

Maintaining Social Mobility – Helping the Next Generation

Our nation abides by the principle of meritocracy.

It is a tragedy when a family descends into poverty. But the tragedy is multiplied if that family’s children cannot rise out of poverty. We must not let this happen.

Hence, children from poor families must enjoy equal access to education. They must not feel compelled to leave school in order to make ends meet. Neither should they be afraid to aspire to schools of excellence, for fear that their great talent is not matched by great wealth.

Thankfully, our education system has done well compared to other countries! We have been able to subsidise education for young Singaporeas, and spread quality across our neighbourhood schools. Singapore has done this competently and should continue to evolve to become better!

As members of Young PAP, we also have a role. Those of us who have risen out of poverty can be role models, helping to guide the less fortunate along the road we have trodden ourselves. And those of us still struggling to make ends meet, can be a voice to highlight situations on the ground, while inspiring our fellow men and women as we endeavour onward and upward to build a better future.

Conclusion

In summary, the rich-poor gap is not an easy issue, and there are no easy answers.

As youth of today, we have an important role: Our willingness to serve and give back to society can be the inspiration for others to do the same.

If we help one another, if the privileged willingly contribute out of a sense of social responsibility, then we can achieve a precious possibility. -- Build a country where the poor know they can aspire to greatness, where the helpless – having fought the good fight – will be looked after.

We, the youth of Singapore, have been privileged with many gifts by virtue of our history and our unique situation today. With our great gifts, comes great responsibility.

Let us take up that responsibility and build a better tomorrow, starting today.


Source: [via]

Related Reads:

Google +1 button - If you think something is cool, +1

Google expanded its social offerings with a new +1 feature. +1 is a feature that lets you recommend certain Web sites with the click of a button, much like you might click on like on Facebook.

Today we’re taking that a step further, enabling you to share recommendations with the world right in Google’s search results. It’s called +1—the digital shorthand for “this is pretty cool.” To recommend something, all you have to do is click +1 on a webpage or ad you find useful. These +1’s will then start appearing in Google’s search results.

To get started, all you need is to setup a Google profile — or if you already have one, upgrade it. You can use your profile to see all of your +1’s in one place, and delete those you no longer want to recommend. To see +1’s in your Google search results you’ll need to be logged into your Google Account.

We’ll be slowly rolling out +1’s, starting in English on Google.com.


If you think something is cool, +1.

+1’s: the right recommendations right when you want them—in your search results [via]

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Amazon Cloud - Introducing Cloud Drive & Cloud Player


Some related reads:

Visit Amazon MP3 now at http://www.amazon.com/mp3

Ms Tin Pei Ling - Articles on the youngest PAP candidate since 1963

The PAP has just unveiled their youngest woman candidate, Ms Tin Pei Ling. Ms Tin, only 27 years old, is a senior associate at Ernst & Young Advisory, has been serving in the grassroots for seven years and is expected to contest in the MacPherson ward in the Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC) in the coming General Election.

Very soon the news of her being fielded, online netizens were quick to "dig" out personal details or "rumours" about her. Questions were raised on her competency and experience given her relatively young age. There were even scandals on her ditching her ex-boyfriend so she can be with the her current husband - a 40 year-old Mr Ng How Yue who is the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photographs of her personal private life were even posted on public blogs and forums, inviting criticism over her extravagant lifestyle.

I personally feel some of the comments unfair to her. The person to marry is a decision she personally made and we should not question that. Comments targeting any candidate should be just purely focusing on competency and not interfering into somebody else's private life. Just plain politics.

Relevant reads:

Sunday, March 27, 2011

The do's and dont's to increase cost per click

Some of the do's and dont's to increase cost per click (CPC) published by Google Adsense. Do follow these guidelines :)

DOs:

  • Enable all of your ad units to show both text and image/rich media ads. By increasing the number of advertisers competing for your ad units, the ad auction will make sure that the highest paying ad will be shown. Learn more from one of our publishers who made this change, and edit all your units in bulk with the new AdSense interface.
  • Keep your filter list small so you don’t lower your revenue potential by blocking the highest-paying ads. Watch this video to better understand the ad auction and how to enable the most competition for your ad space.
  • Increase the number of ads competing for your site by setting up your custom channels for placement targeting. Read this post for more details and instructions on how to set these up.
  • The top-paying ads will be shown in the ad unit that appears first in your HTML code. To take advantage of this, you will need to understand which of your ad units has the highest clickthrough rate (CTR) by using custom channels. Then, you can easily change the code of your website to make sure that your top performing unit is the one with the highest-bidding ads.

DON’Ts:

  • Some publishers believe that by writing about high paying keywords they will be able to improve the earnings on their site. This is not a practice that we encourage. In fact, we always recommend to write about subjects that you know well and that you are passionate about so you can continue to create the compelling, original content that attracts visitors to your site.
  • Don't use scraped content. It’s a violation of our policies.
  • Don’t create multiple accounts. Publishers are not permitted to maintain multiple AdSense accounts under the same payee name, and having the ad code of different accounts on the same website will not affect your CPC in any way.
  • Finally, don’t try to manipulate the standard behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads in any way that is not explicitly permitted by Google. In case you have any doubt, read the AdSense program policies.

The do's and dont's to increase cost per click [via]

Gmail allow restore of contacts up to 30 days

If you make changes to your contacts that you want to undo, you can restore your full contacts list to an earlier saved version. This allows you to undo changes like:
  • Recovering contacts that have been accidentally deleted
  • Restoring contacts after an unsuccessful sync
  • Undoing a recent import
  • Undoing a recent merge
Restore Google Contacts up to 30 days

To restore your contacts to a previous version, just follow these steps:
  1. Click Contacts.
  2. From the More actions drop-down menu, choose Restore contacts.
  3. Choose the time you'd like to revert your contacts list to (e.g. 10 minutes ago, one hour ago, one week ago, etc). We suggest that you also make a note of the time that you restore your contacts, in case you'd like to return to where you started.
  4. Click Restore. You'll see a confirmation at the top of the screen when the rollback is complete.

To undo a restoration:
  • When the operation completes, a notification bar will appear that gives you the opportunity to immediately undo the restore. This notification bar will disappear if you leave Contacts or make edits to your contacts.
  • If the notification bar is no longer there, you can always re-run the Restore Contacts tool to take you back to where you started. Just set the tool to take you to the time just before you started the whole process.

The 24 hour rule for Chat contacts:

When you delete a contact in Contacts, it will also get deleted from your Chat list. After the contact is deleted, Chat still remembers the invitation status for that contact for another 24 hours. So if you restore a deleted contact within 24 hours, it will be fully restored in Chat. But if you restore a deleted contact after 24 hours, you'll need to re-invite that person to your Chat list.

Restore contacts [via]

Motorola rumoured creating own OS and ditching Android - A screw loose!

Is Motorola making their own mobile operating system and eventually ditching Android OS?

Take away the Android OS, and Motorola loses the market share. Lose the market share, and the app developers will scatter. And once that happens, what will Motorola be? Answer: Palm.

It's hard to overestimate the danger here. Four years unprofitable before Android revived it, Motorola will likely lose its last chance at regaining profitability if it decommissions Android. Indeed, if Motorola goes down this road, I fear it could suffer Palm's fate.

Motorola Mobility Must Have a Screw Loose [via]

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Marriage Covenant 婚姻盟约, Marriage Vow 结婚誓言

Marriage Covenant 婚姻盟约, Marriage Vow 结婚誓言

Operation Thunderbolt - Hijack of Singapore Airlines SQ 117

Twenty years ago, on March 26, 1991, Singapore Airlines SQ 117 was headed to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur when four hijackers, who claimed to be supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, took control of the plane with knives and explosives. They made several demands, including diverting the plane to Sydney and the release of 11 Pakistan People's Party (PPP) members jailed in Pakistan. That was the day when the infamous SQ 117 was hijacked.

In Operation Thunderbolt, the Singapore elite commandos took just a mere 30 seconds to took control of the situation and subdued the hijackers, with zero civilian casualties. That 20-years-ago incident was Singapore's first and only hijack incident.

贪睡小妹

Imo.im beta is a lot better ... except

I have been using Imo.im as my instant messenger client on my Android. Recently, Imo.im launched a BETA, promising better user interface and consistency across iOS and web. What is so good with Imo.im beta is its ability to sign in to several popular chats without the need to create a separate Imo account.

The only lacking I see from the stable version is "Favorites" section seems to be missing in Beta. And yes, the beta version works perfectly on "Blocking" and "Unblocking" of buddies, a feature no IM competitors like eBuddy, IMO+, meebo, etc can match.

Download Imo.im beta from https://market.android.com/details?id=com.imo.android.imoimbeta&pli=1 now.

Google search now supports Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ) language

Google launched a Cherokee-language interface on Friday in collaboration with the Cherokee Nation and its community members.

Google Cherokee-language interface

The new search page lets anyone conduct searches in the Cherokee written language, a syllabary system, without a special keyboard as previously required. The page includes an on-screen, 85-character keyboard you can open through the click of a button located on the righthand side of the search bar.

Cherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people. The Cherokee syllabary writing system was developed by Sequoyah in the early 19th century. He realized the power of writing systems, and wanted his people to benefit from that power. Some of the 85 characters he developed for his syllabary were modified from his original handwritten script for a printing press in the 1820s, resulting in characters that resemble Latin and Greek letters. Despite the resemblance, they are pronounced differently. The modified script was quickly adapted for printing Cherokee newspapers, books and pamphlets. The adoption and use of the script enabled the Cherokee people to maintain their language and culture. Today, Cherokee is spoken mostly in the states of Oklahoma and North Carolina. (The Cherokee Nation is the sovereign operating government of the Cherokee people. It is a federally recognized tribe of more than 300,000 Cherokee citizens, with its capital located in Tahlequah, Okla. To learn more, please visit www.cherokee.org.)

To try Google's Cherokee-language interface, go to http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=ch

Google search now supports Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ) [via]

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Just realized something

Yes, I just realized I have not been blogging anything on my personal life.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Google patented its doodles

Google's logo doodles that change on a daily basis keep visitors to the search site entertained with informative facts and creative images.

Google's patent application reads:
A system provides a periodically changing story line and/or a special event company logo to entice users to access a web page. For the story line, the system may receive objects that tell a story according to the story line and successively provide the objects on the web page for predetermined or random amounts of time. For the special event company logo, the system may modify a standard company logo for a special event to create a special event logo, associate one or more search terms with the special event logo, and upload the special event logo to the web page. The system may then receive a user selection of the special event logo and provide search results relating to the special event.

It is said that the patent was submitted 10 years ago.

Google Patents Its ‘Doodles’ [via]

Participation in World Blogger's Day (Singapore)

More information here.

Firefox 4 great Tab Panorama organization window

Mozilla knows you love tabbed browsing, and it shows in Firefox 4. Some of the biggest feature improvements have to do with how you manage your tabs, not the least of which is the great Tab Panorama organization window. It's basically a little window that shows a visual layout of your open tabs and lets you organize them by task (or into a handy to-do list). You can even open only one group at a time, so Firefox saves your other groups but doesn't clutter your tab bar with them.

Check out the following video for a demonstration.

What’s New and Awesome in Firefox 4

Mozilla has launched its latest Firefox 4 with several improvements in terms of performance and user interface.

Get Firefox 4 now.

What’s New and Awesome in Firefox 4 [via]

Microsoft Windows Phone rolling out "Cut-and-Paste" update

Microsoft on Tuesday slowly started rolling out its next Windows Phone 7 update, which, among other things, will bring cut and paste functionality to the mobile operating system.

Microsoft Slowly Rolls Out Windows Phone 7 'Cut and Paste' Update [via]

Windows Live Messenger Goes Mobile

Microsoft very own Windows Live Messenger has finally gone mobile, releasing its own app.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Guide on How to Switch to Gmail

How to switch to Gmail from other email providers e.g. Yahoo! Mail, Microsoft Hotmail, and so on? Google Gmail has written a tutorial as a guide to facilitate switching to Gmail.

Read on http://mail.google.com/mail/help/switch.html to know how.

Switch to Gmail [via]

Adobe Flash now available on Android 2.2 onwards

Adobe announced on its blog that Flash is now available for download for mobile devices running Android 2.2 or higher.

Improvements include:

  • Performance enhancements to take advantage of new hardware in both Android 3.x tablets, as well as existing hardware in many Android 2.2 and 2.3 devices

  • Tight integration with the new Android 3.x browser to treat Flash content as part of the web page instead of as a separate “overlay.” This results in improved scrolling of web pages and the ability to display pages in the way intended by the page designer, including new support for compositing HTML and other web content over Flash Player rendered content.

  • Automatic soft keyboard support to simplify text entry for rich mobile and multi-screen experiences

Why do you use Twitter?

Listen to famous people on why they use Twitter.

Amazon officially launches App Store for Android

Amazon has officially launched its very own appstore for Android apps. One notable exclusive app is popular Angry Birds Rio. For a limited time period, that app is now FREE for download.

NOTE: Amazon appstore is currently only available in U.S.

Angry Birds Rio for Android

Angry Birds Rio for Android is now available on Amazon Apps Store. Download it for FREE for a limited time period from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SBS8LA?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_faad

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Amazon App Store prepping March 22 launch to compete against Android Market

Amazon is set to launch its app store to sell Android apps on Mar 22 in a bid to compete against Google's very own Android Market. Amazon has secured exclusivity rights to several apps, including Angry Birds Rio. Another fact to note is Amazon’s wider reach for its payment system is accepted in more countries than Google Checkout.

Amazon App Store Prepping March 22 Launch [via]

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Gears to be removed from Google Chrome 12 onwards

Google Chrome 12 will stop supporting Gears to concentrate on HTML 5 technology. This is as reported on Gears blog.

Stopping the Gears [via]

Friday, March 18, 2011

RSA SecurID hit by hackers

In an open letter to RSA customers, executive chairman Art Coviello said the company had recently identified an extremely sophisticated cyber attack in progress being mounted against RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication products.

Open Letter to RSA Customers

Like any large company, EMC experiences and successfully repels multiple cyber attacks on its IT infrastructure every day. Recently, our security systems identified an extremely sophisticated cyber attack in progress being mounted against RSA. We took a variety of aggressive measures against the threat to protect our business and our customers, including further hardening our IT infrastructure. We also immediately began an extensive investigation of the attack and are working closely with the appropriate authorities.

Our investigation has led us to believe that the attack is in the category of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). Our investigation also revealed that the attack resulted in certain information being extracted from RSA’s systems. Some of that information is specifically related to RSA’s SecurID two-factor authentication products. While at this time we are confident that the information extracted does not enable a successful direct attack on any of our RSA SecurID customers, this information could potentially be used to reduce the effectiveness of a current two-factor authentication implementation as part of a broader attack. We are very actively communicating this situation to RSA customers and providing immediate steps for them to take to strengthen their SecurID implementations.

We have no evidence that customer security related to other RSA products has been similarly impacted. We are also confident that no other EMC products were impacted by this attack. It is important to note that we do not believe that either customer or employee personally identifiable information was compromised as a result of this incident.

Our first priority is to ensure the security of our customers and their trust. We are committed to applying all necessary resources to give our SecurID customers the tools, processes and support they require to strengthen the security of their IT systems in the face of this incident. Our full support will include a range of RSA and EMC internal resources as well as close engagement with our partner ecosystems and our customers’ relevant partners.

We regret any inconvenience or concern that this attack on RSA may cause for customers, and we strongly urge you to follow the steps we’ve outlined in our SecurCare Online note. APT threats are becoming a significant challenge for all large corporations, and it’s a topic I have discussed publicly many times. As appropriate, we will share our experiences from these attacks with our customers, partners and the rest of the security vendor ecosystem and work in concert with these organizations to develop means to better protect all of us from these growing and ever more sophisticated forms of cyber security threat.


Sincerely,
/s/ Art Coviello
Art Coviello
Executive Chairman

Block sites from Google result without extension

It is now possible to remove sites from your Google search result without having the need to install a Chrome extension. Late last month, Google changed its search ranking algorithm and filtered away "unwanted" search results so as to improve search result.

To use the new feature of manually removing domains, make sure you are using google.com in English. Marked domains will be saved to your Google Account.

Hide sites to find more of what you want [via]

How to Edit Facebook Comments

Facebook's rolled out a new comment system, with real-time updates and more streamlined sharing. What you may not realize is that you can also edit your comments after you post them. Here's how.

After having made a wrong comment, just hit the little X found in the top right hand corner of your comment to remove the comment. Once clicked, it will actually open your comment back up for editing. After doing some experiment, this deleting seems possible only if there are no further follow-up comments after the to-be-deleted comment, and the attempt to delete the comment is to be done almost immediately.

How to Edit Facebook Comments [via]

Hutchison Port Holdings fell more than 5% on its debut

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT.SI) fell as much as 6% on its Singapore debut on Friday's trading on the Singapore Exchange, hurt by ongoing concerns about Japan’s nuclear woes and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Its IPO price is set at US$1.01.

Hutchison Port owns and operates ports in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Failed for the 4th attempt

Yes, yet again. Erm .. Is ok.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Google Docs now comes with wave-like discussion

Google has launched a new feature in Google Docs - discussions in Google Docs.

Now you can easily tell who made a comment and when—with timestamps and profile pictures—and you can keep track of the conversation with email notifications and reply to comments directly from your email. Your discussions will be better and so will your documents. And all of this is possible because Google Docs lives in the cloud.
Introducing the next generation of comments in Google Docs

  • Structured discussion
  • Unified discussion stream
  • Timestamps
  • Profile pictures
  • @mentions
  • Email notifications
  • Reply from email
  • Discussion resolution



Great documents come from great discussion [via]

Google Search app for iPhone

If you need to do a Google search on your iPhone or iPod touch it's now faster and easier when you use our redesigned Google Search app, formerly Google Mobile App. If you've been using Google Mobile App for a while, you'll notice that things look different.


Google Search app for iPhone [via]

(^_^)

 (^_^)
。◕ ‿ ◕。

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

CPFIS no "face" to see

Don't know what's happening.

Decided to give convocation a miss

Warren Buffett mantra - total shareholder return must take place before the executives are paid

Some excerpts from the Bloomberg article on Warren Buffett.

total shareholder return must take place before the executives are paid

“You need a person at the top who has all the downside that somebody has that loses their job working at an auto factory,” he said in an interview released by the panel in February. If a company fails, management should “give back five times the highest compensation they received in the previous five years.”

How to Get the Most Out of Your Jailbroken iOS Device

An article by the LifeHacker [via]

What's new with Blogger


What's new with Blogger [via]

How to play H.264 videos on Google Chrome?

Last month, Microsoft released a plugin for watching H.264 videos in Google Chrome that will be useful when Google drops support for the popular codec. Google supports WebM videos.

How to play WebM videos on Internet Explorer IE 9?

Microsoft has decided to only support H.264 videos in its latest release of Internet Explorer IE 9 by default, so you can't watch WebM videos without installing additional software.

To solve this problem, Google developed a WebM plugin for IE9. "They said elephants couldn't ride flying dolphins. They said that one of the world's most popular browsers couldn't play WebM video in HTML5. They were wrong," mentions Google half-jokingly.

Internet Explorer 9 officially released

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 is officially released. To download, go to http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/#/download

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mediacorp ChannelNewsAsia (CNA) apologized for insensitive email on Japan earthquake

Following uproar and displeasure among the Singapore citizens after ChannelNewsAsia (CNA) leaked email on Japan earthquake, MediaCorp has issued an apology.

The statement by MediaCorp:
Netizens have criticized an electronic direct mail (edm) sent by MediaCorp Marketing Communications canvassing for advertisements on Channel NewsAsia, shortly after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan yesterday.

In a statement, Mr Edwin Koh, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Sales Planning, MediaCorp clarified that the edm was sent to a targeted group of clients and agencies that had interest in being part of "breaking news" coverage.

Added Mr Koh, "We apologize unreservedly if we had been seen to be insensitive to the gravity of the situation. The staff concerned has been counseled to be more circumspect; we hope the public will be forgiving and we can focus our attention and efforts on the affected victims of this most unfortunate tragedy."

Post-earthquake imagery of Japan

Before and after the earthquake and tsunami. Above is Yuriage in Natori, below is Yagawahama. Both are in in Miyagi prefecture. © 2011 Google, GeoEye, DigitalGlobe, Cnes/Spot Image, TerraMetrics

Several buildings are gone after the earthquake and tsunami.

Post-earthquake imagery of Japan [via]

Insensitive SM Goh Chok Tong compared Japan Tsunami with Singapore Floods

Felt so disgusted by SM Goh Chok Tong's recent comments made on Mar 12 REACH forum, comparing Japan massive tsunamis with Singapore floods, the former caused by unnatural mother nature while the latter can be avoided by millionaires ministers.

His comment that isn't going to be helpful for his election campaign:
How many of you followed the latest tragic events in Japan with the tsunami...and then put into context our floods in Singapore against that kind of disaster.

I am not saying we shouldn't do anything about the flood. But the amount of noise you made with just sporadic flood compared to the Japanese. I saw them on TV. Very stoic looking. You don't see them crying. This has happened, just get on, that's the kind of spirit you want to have and you call it nation building.

Do remember ministers in Singapore are paid millions of dollars and if even floods that can be prevented are not prevented, then they shouldn't be paid that much. Whenever mistakes are made, Japanese ministers will admit and bow in front of the public media but ... Singaporean ministers would never admit theirs.

Pole Shift & Pole Reversal in 2012

Are we nearing an 'End of the World' in 2012?

Pole Shift & Pole Reversal in 2012 [via]

March 19 extreme 'Supermoon'

Come Mar 19, the moon will come very near to Mother Earth, as near as a mere 356,577 kilometres away. This rare event is known as a lunar perigee, dubbed a "supermoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle back in the 1970s. The term is used to describe a new or full moon at 90% or more of its closest orbit to Earth. Next week, it will be at 100%.

The question is does an event of a 'Supermoon' cause floods and extreme earthquakes or volcanoes? The last extreme supermoon occurred a few days after the 8.9 earthquake in Indonesia. Extreme supermoons had known to have caused flooding in 1954, 1974 and 1992. So, did the coming Mar 19 'supermoon' amplified the Japan 8.9 earthquake?

Did Lunar Perigee Amplify The Japan Quake? [via]

Saturday, March 12, 2011

ChannelNewsAsia CNA leaked email to profit from Japan earthquake

Piggy-backing on the massive 8.9 richter scale earthquake in Japan, a leaked email sent out by the ChannelNewsAsia (CNA) revealed a dark side of the media industry. I wouldn't say this is happening only in CNA.

Excerpt of the leaked marketing email from CNA:
Be a Part of Channel NewsAsia’s Breaking News Coverage on the Japan Tsunami

Channel NewsAsia: Massive Tsunami Hits Japan after Massive Quake

A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook Japan in the early afternoon today, unleashing a powerful tsunami that wrecked havoc along the streets of coastal towns. Book your spots in the Weekday Evening News Bundle as the channel brings viewers comprehensive coverage reports on the disaster with extended versions of news bulletins tonight.

… Call our sales representatives now!"

Friday, March 11, 2011

Video Footage: Tsunami in Japan

20 countries are in the path of the scary tsunami, triggered by a massive 8.9 richter scale magnitude that hit Japan today. God bless everyone!

Tsunami slams northeast Japan
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/raw-video-tsunami-slams-northeast-japan-24485635

U.S. West Coast Braces for Tsunami
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/u-s-west-coast-braces-for-tsunami-24489413

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Problems syncing after iOS 4.3 upgrade

Do you have problem syncing your iPhone after upgrading to iOS 4.3? According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), the culprit could be your photos. The problem as described during the syncing process is a message "The required file cannot be found".

Quoted from TUAW,
I called Apple right away, and the support rep, after checking with a few higher levels of tech support, asked me to uncheck the box to sync photos. The sync worked. I was then told that the problem had to be with one of the photos in my iPhoto library, and I would have to find it using the process of elimination. This didn't sound like fun since I have over 3600 photos, and this would take quite a long time to accomplish.

I tried to find a simpler solution and found it. Incorrectly thinking that it might be in the last import, I had my iPhone 3GS sync all events except the last one. The sync worked flawlessly. Then I added the last event, and the sync still worked. Next I added all the albums and faces, and the sync worked again. I girded my loins and decided to try to sync all photos, events and faces ... and was able to sync perfectly.

My iPad had the same issue, but first unchecking syncing and then re-syncing everything (which took a while, as all of the photos were re-optimized and copied over) worked just fine. So, at least for me, there was a problem with syncing photos, and in both cases, deleting the photos and then having the computers and iDevices sync all photos, events and faces solved the problem.

Demo of VMware View Client for iPad

Global Logistic Properties to join STI after half-yearly review (Confirmed)

A news release on the Singapore Exchange confirmed that Global Logistic Properties (GLP) to join the benchmark STI after half-yearly review, in place of SMRT Corp. SMRT Corp will move and join the FTSE ST Mid-Cap Index.

Hutchison Port Trust tightens IPO range to US$0.99 - US$1.03

Hutchison Port Trust has decided to tighten IPO range to US$0.99-US$1.03 from its original US$0.91-US$1.08. The new price range translates to a yield of 5.8 to 6%, versus the orginal range of 5.5 to 6.5%.

IT SHOW 2011 Price Lists, Flyers, Brochures, Promotions Roundup

IT Show 2011

10 - 13 March 2011
12 noon to 9pm daily
Suntec Singapore
Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6

Check out the latest IT SHOW 2011 Price List, Flyers, Brochures, Promotions including brands like Acer, AC Ryan, ASUS, Blackberry, Brother, Canon, Cisco Linksys, D-Link, Epson, Fujifilm, Fuji Xerox, HP, Lenovo, Lexmark, LG, Microsoft, MSI, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Seagate, Sony, Toshiba, Western Digital here: http://vr-zone.com/itshow/it-show-2011-price-lists-flyers-brochures-promotions-roundup/11502.html

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Hutchison Port Holdings IPO Prospectus

Download here.

Bill Gates' philanthropy costs him richest-man title

Bill Gates earns my respect!

Bill Gates didn't lose his title as the world's richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say.

Bill Gates' philanthropy costs him richest-man title [via]

Hutchison Port Holdings IPO closing date on Mar 10 - earlier than planned for being heavily oversubscribed

According to sources, the Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's US$5.8 billion ($7.3 billion) Singapore initial public offering has been heavily oversubscribed. As such, the book will close early ahead of schedule.

Global Logistic Properties included into STI; SMRT removed?

The FTSE ST Advisory Committee is expected to announce the results of its index review Thursday, with any changes taking effect at market close March 18. Nomura believe the review could feature one addition, Global Logistic Properties (MC0.SI) and one deletion, SMRT (S53.SI).

One benefit of inclusion into a benchmark index for example the STI can see an increased fund participation. The selling impact on SMRT could be around US$1.1 million if this switch materialise.

Burger King VS McDonalds

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

CNBC Warren Buffett Transcript, March 2, 2011 - Video and Transcript

CNBC Warren Buffett Transcript, March 2, 2011

Part 1: Most Berkshire Businesses ‘Inching Along’



Part 2 : The ‘Zebra’ That Got Away



Part 3: ‘Elephant Gun’ Targets & Riding the Railroad



Part 4: Blame Bankers, Bankers, Bankers?



Part 5: Cars and Bricks



Part 6: China and America’s Diminishing Dominance



Part 7: What Should Happen to CEOs of Failed Companies

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust IPO

Hong Kong billionaire tycoon Li Ka-Shing is launching a IPO in Singapore. The Hutchison Port Holdings Trust IPO, Southeast Asia's biggest ever, comes at a time when sea-borne trade in Asia is swelling and global container shipping firms are putting more ships and resources to serve Asian routes from Europe and North America. The assets of the Hutchison’s subsidiary, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, are located in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, two of the world’s busiest container ports in 2009 with a total throughput of 39.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the prospectus showed.

Some of the cornerstone investors for Hutchison Whampoa Ports include heavyweights like Capital Research and Temasek Holdings. Capital Research will invest US$634 million in the offering, according to the term sheet. Paulson & Co., managed by John Paulson, will buy a US$350 million stake and Lone Pine Capital LCC will invest US$186 million, it said. Jenkin Hui and family, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, Cathay Life Insurance Co. and Metropolitan Financial Services will each invest US$100 million, and Ally Holding Ltd. will buy a US$50 million stake.

The offer price ranges from US$0.91 and US$1.08 per unit. Investors subscribing for units under the public offer will need to pay S$1.383 per unit upfront. If the final offer price is less than US$1.08, they will get the appropriate refund. The implied Distribution per Unit (DPU) yield for 2011 is between 5.5% and 6.5%, and the implied DPU yield for 2012 is between 6.1% and 7.2%.

The public offer opens at 12 noon on 7th March 2011 and closes on 14th March 2011 at 10am. The units are expected to start trading on SGX at 2pm on 18th March 2011.

Firefox 4 Beta Features

Official list of new features in Firefox 4 Beta.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/beta/features/

MM Lee says his comments on Muslim are outdated and irrelevant

Following the release of Minister Mentor's latest book launch titled "Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going", he commented,

I would say today, we can integrate all religions and races except Islam.

I think we were progressing very nicely until the surge of Islam came and if you asked me for my observations, the other communities have easier integration — friends, intermarriages and so on.

I think the Muslims socially do not cause any trouble, but they are distinct and separate, calling on the community to be less strict on Islamic observances.

His comments stoked a sense of unhappiness among Muslims and had thus resulted several clearing of misunderstanding among ministers, including Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who so happen to be son of MM Lee.

Today, after more than a month since his debatable comment, MM Lee said that comment on Muslims integrating with other communities was made probably two or three years ago. The latest book was based on 32 interviews over a period of two years. This comment was relevant two years ago but am not today. MM Lee viewed today's Singapore is very much different in a span of just two years, with the Muslim community integrated with the other races. He hopes this trend to continue.

Change in just two years? That's revolutionary isn't it?

Hutchison Port Holdings IPO

IPO offering price is at S$1.38 per piece.

Monday, March 07, 2011

Chris Medina - What Are Words (Lyrics)

Chris Medina, who won the hearts of America with the story of his fiancee's tragic accident, which happened five months before their wedding, has released his first video for "What Are Words. It's a song about making promises and fulfilling them, about telling someone you love that you'll be there and having them be able to count on you because you said it. Because the words that you say really mean something.

Chris Medina - What Are Words (Lyrics)

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see
How every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they don't
When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

And I know an angel was sent just for me
And I know I'm meant to be where I am
And I'm gonna be
Standing right beside her tonight
And I'm gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they don't
When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
And I'm gonna be here forever more
Every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

I'm forever keeping my angel close

Chris Medina - What Are Words


Chris Medina, who won the hearts of America with the story of his fiancee's tragic accident, which happened five months before their wedding, has released his first video for "What Are Words. It's a song about making promises and fulfilling them, about telling someone you love that you'll be there and having them be able to count on you because you said it. Because the words that you say really mean something.

Looking forward to next week

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Apple iPad 2: 10 Big Questions

Apple iPad 2: 10 Big Questions or 10 Big Jokes (to me)?
  1. Why No Memory Specs?
  2. Why No 4G?
  3. Why No Apple TV Gaming?
  4. Why No 7-Inch Tablet?
  5. Why No Flash Support?
  6. Why No Display-Resolution Boost?
  7. Why Can't the iPad 2 Be a Phone?
  8. Why Didn't We Get a 128GB Model?
  9. Why No SD Card Slot or USB Ports?
  10. Can the Smart Cover Really Clean the iPad 2's Screen?

I certainly do not see why the "new" iPad deserves a major release. It should have been a minor release from 1.0 to possibly 1.5, certainly not to 2.0.

Helluva joke and simply a business and marketing strategy to earn more money. If Apple can earn so much money, they should start sponsoring global projects like what Microsoft and Google have been doing. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been working as long as Microsoft Bill Gates, should pass his executive baton to someone else, retire like Bill Gates and start giving back to the society doing philanthropic work.

Apple iPad 2: 10 Big Questions [via]

Facebook Is Said to Resume Talks With Skype on Video-Calling Partnership

If the deal between Skype and Facebook on providing video calling goes through, this is going to be a threat to Google Talk video chat.

Facebook Is Said to Resume Talks With Skype on Video-Calling Partnership [via]

U.S. smartphone market share and battle of demographics

The battle for smartphone market share isn't just a battle for market share. It's a battle of demographics and the opportunity to build a loyal customer base for the future. Android appears to be pulling ahead in this contest in the U.S. This is according to a research report by Nielsen.


When it comes to consumer marketshare by operating system, Android (29%) leads the race with rivals Apple iOS (27%) and RIM Blackberry (27%) close behind.


When it comes to capturing the young demographics group of age 18 to 34, Android (14%) leads too, followed by Apple iOS (12%) and RIM Blackberry (11%).

Who is Winning the U.S. Smartphone Battle? [via]

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Confession of an S-chip CEO

Interesting read.
http://www.lioninvestor.com/confession-of-an-s-chip-ceo/

Soccer mascot owl dies after fatal kick by Luis Moreno

I label this as brutality.

Get the most of Google Voice on Android and iPhone

How to Get the Most Out of Google Voice on Your Phone [via]
Get the Most Out of Google Voice on Android [via]
Get the Most Out of Google Voice on Your iPhone [via]

Singapore GE: Seats opposition parties interested in

Singapore's major opposition parties are said to contest all 27 constituencies in the next General Election (GE), which is due before February 2012. In that case, the next General Election is likely to see a situation where the PAP will not be able to get its majority with walkovers on Nomination Day.

The following are the constituencies the respective parties are interested in.

Worker's Party (WP)
  • Aljunied GRC
  • East Coast GRC
  • Moulmein-Kallang GRC
  • Hougang SMC
  • Joo Chiat SMC
  • Punggol East SMC
  • Sengkang West SMC
  • Whampoa SMC

Reform Party (RP)
  • West Coast GRC
  • Chua Chu Kang GRC
  • Radin Mas SMC
  • Pioneer SMC
  • Hong Kah North SMC

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
  • Tanjong Pagar GRC
  • Marine Parade GRC

National Solidarity Party (NSP)
  • Tampines GRC
  • Jurong GRC

Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA)
  • Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC
  • Punggol East SMC
  • Radin Mas SMC
  • Sengkang West SMC (maybe)

Singapore People's Party (SPP)
  • Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
  • Potong Pasir SMC
  • Hong Kah North SMC

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
  • would not reveal the constituencies it is interested in and said it will only do so after Parliament is dissolved

Singapore GE: Opposition parties to contest all seats [via]

Gmail accounts restored to all

According to Google App Status Dashboard, health status for Gmail shows "No Issues". This is after almost a week since a bug in Gmail had resulted in 150,000 inboxes being wiped out.

As posted on Mar 3 2:51PM (GMT+8):
The problem with Google Mail should be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better.
Gmail should be back to normal for the vast majority of people affected by this issue. If you are still experiencing an issue, please contact us at gmail-maintenance@google.com. Thanks again for bearing with us.

Five Reasons Not to Buy an iPad 2

These are the five Reasons not to upgrade from your iPad 1 to an iPad 2.

  1. The iPad is as good a media player as the iPad 2
  2. The iPad is as good an ebook reader as the iPad 2
  3. The iPad can access the same online content as the iPad 2
  4. The iPad can output video to an HDTV just like an iPad 2
  5. You'll still be able to use GarageBand on the iPad

Five Reasons Not to Buy an iPad 2 [via]

Using CPF to pay for your flat as you grow older – possible?

Read this article http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/03/using-cpf-to-pay-for-your-flat-as-you-grow-older-possible/

Microsoft unveiled website to countdown IE6 usage

Microsoft on Friday unveiled ie6countdown.com, a site to encourage IE6 users to ditch away the decade old browser and start using the latest version.
10 years ago a browser was born.

Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye.

This website is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6, saving hours of work for web browser.

Android Job Listings Overtake iOS For the First Time

In 2010, most mobile developer job descriptions read: 'must have iOS experience, Android optional.'

But according to one employment firm, the platforms may soon flip. According to tech recruitment firm Dice, jobs requiring Android skills have overtaken those requiring iOS experience, for the first time.

On March 1, Dice.com listed 987 jobs looking for Android skills versus 970 for iOS skills.

Android Job Listings Overtake iOS For the First Time [via]

Watch Bill Gates TED Talk on Importance of Education

People need to investigate their state's budget and get involved in helping to make the right choices. My TED talk is sort of a call to action for citizens, taxpayers, parents, everyone.

Yes, I like people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates; rich and philanthropic.

Burger King $1 Tender Grill Chicken - Make it Even Better

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Keyword searches got my blog as top 3

Keyword searches

  • li ka shing mega ipo (1st)


  • Singapore Electoral Map 2011 (1st)


  • mcdonalds 1 for 1 (3rd)


Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Experience the new Yahoo! Mail Beta

Some features of the new Yahoo! Mail Beta:

  • Speed - Third party tests show that Yahoo! Mail Beta is "2X Faster" than the previous versions of Yahoo! Mail (i.e., New Yahoo! Mail) in Indonesia, United States, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Germany. Exact speed of Yahoo! Mail Beta in Singapore will vary based on internet connection, browser, device, user location, and user action.
  • Spam – We continually improve our advanced spam protection technology to help protect your inbox from unwanted messages.
  • Unlimited Storage – Consistent with Yahoo! Mail terms of service. Learn More.
  • Mobile – Device must have an active internet connection for user to access e-mails.


The "bad" with Yahoo! Mail Beta works best with these browsers is it actually works best on really recent browsers: Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3 and newer, Safari 4 and newer, and Chrome 5.

Standard Chartered 15% Dining Rebate

Standard Chartered Bank is offering a 15% cash rebate for any dining expenditure made on your Standard Chartered credit card islandwide from 1st March 2011 to 30 April 2011.

Standard Chartered 15% Dining Rebate

Just follow these simple steps
  1. Be the first 50,000 to register.
    SMS GET1516-digit Card Number to 78722.

    For example: GET15 4509123456789000

  2. Spend at least $500 on anything each month and get 15% CashBack (up to $200) on dining.

There is a cap of $100 on cash rebate.

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