Nicole Seah - "I Believe"

The difference between the PAP and the opposition is clear - PAP doesn't know how to leverage the use of Internet.

Chen Show Mao speech at Workers' Party (WP) rally for Aljunied GRC at Aljunied, 29 Apr

Nice speech

Low Thia Khiang speech at Workers' Party (WP) rally for Aljunied GRC at Aljunied, 29 Apr

Introducing the team for Aljunied at the same time, questioning the GRC system, mocking the newest PAP member being voted into Parliament without even contesting, etc. Crowd shouting KELONG!

Mr Low is a man full of humour.

Chiam See Tong speech at Singapore People's Party (SPP) rally for Hong Kah North at Hong Kah North, 29 Apr

An old and frail man but still pushing for transparency in the Singapore government. I wish him best of health.

Appreciate your coming to my blog

Yesterday was an all-time high seeing 8,111 page hits. Please bookmark this blog or subscribe to RSS feed.

Elderly audience at PAP rally leaving on chartered buses

Singapore General Election GE 2011 : Rallies on Apr 30, Sat 7 - 10pm

The respective political parties for the Singapore General Election GE 2011 will be holding their rallies on Apr 30, Sat, from 7 to 10pm. This will be the third day of rally since 28 Apr.

Worker's Party (WP)

Rally: East Coast GRC
Party: WP
Venue: Bedok Stadium, 1 Bedok North St 2
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore People's Party (SPP)

Rally: Potong Pasir
Party: SPP
Venue: Open field bounded by Upp Serangoon Road, Meyappa Chettair & Potong Pasir Ave 1
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

People's Action Party (PAP)

Rally: Aljunied GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Serangoon Stadium, 33 Yio Chu Kang Road
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Rally: Marine Parade GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Open field bound by Geylang East Central, Aljunied Ave 1 & Ave 2, beside multi-storey carpark & Blk
Time: 07:00pm - 11:00pm

Rally: Chua Chu Kang GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Choa Chu Kang Stadium, 1 Choa Chu Kang St 53
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Rally: Hougang
Party: PAP
Venue: Open field in front of Blk 837, bounded by Hougang Ave 4 and Hougang Central
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

National Solidarity Party (NSP)

Rally: Whampoa
Party: NSP
Venue: Open field along Jalan Tenteram near Blk 65A JTC factory
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

Rally: Sembawang GRC
Party: SDP
Venue: Woodlands Stadium, 1 Woodlands St 13
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Reform Party (RP)

Rally: West Coast GRC
Party: RP
Venue: Clementi Stadium, 10 West Coast Walk
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

TOC speaks to a member of the audience at PAP rally who was ferried from the Community Centre

This is funny.

George Yeo: My Dreams for Singapore

BG George Yeo of the People's Action Party for Aljunied is a pretty decent minister. Just too bad he is currently facing the toughest challenge against A-team Workers' Party in the coming General Election 2011.

Whoever loses would be a loss to Singapore.

Low Thia Khiang closing speech in Mandarin at Workers' Party WP first rally for Hougang in Hougang, 28 Apr

Powerful speech. Can actually hear the cheer and jeer in the background.

Low Thia Khiang speech at Workers' Party WP first rally in Hougang, 28 Apr [via]

Sylvia Lim speech at Workers' Party WP first rally for Hougang in Hougang, 28 Apr

A very strong speech.

Chen Show Mao speech at Workers' Party WP first rally for Hougang in Hougang, 28 Apr

Singapore General Election GE 2011 : Rallies on Apr 29, Fri 7 - 10pm

The respective political parties for the Singapore General Election GE 2011 will be holding their rallies on Apr 29, Fri, from 7 to 10pm. This will be the second day since their first rally on 28 Apr.

Worker's Party (WP)

Rally: Aljunied GRC
Party: WP
Venue: Serangoon Stadium, 33 Yio Chu Kang Road
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

People's Action Party (PAP)

Rally: Ang Mo Kio GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Yio Chu Kang Stadium, 210 Ang Mo Kio Ave 9
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

People's Action Party (PAP)

Rally: Moulmein-Kallang GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Open field by Kallang Ave
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

People's Action Party (PAP)

Rally: Pioneer
Party: PAP
Venue: Jurong West Stadium, 20 Jurong West St 93
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA)

Rally: Punggol East
Party: SDA
Venue: Open field bounded by Sengkang East Ave and Sengkang East Drive
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore People's Party (SPP)

Rally: Hong Kah North
Party: SPP
Venue: Open field bounded by Jurong West Ave 3, Jurong West St 22, 23 and 24, diagonally opposite Blk 276D
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

National Solidarity Party (NSP)

Rally: Radin Mas
Party: NSP
Venue: Delta Hockey Pitch, 900 Tiong Bahru Road
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

Rally: Yuhua
Party: SDP
Venue: Jurong East Stadium, 21 Jurong East St 31
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Low Thia Khiang speech at Workers' Party WP first rally for Hougang in Hougang, 28 Apr

Low Thia Khiang closing speech in Mandarin at Workers' Party WP first rally in Hougang, 28 Apr [via]

NSP = National Solidarity Party or Nicole Seah Party?

Erm ...

Nicole Seah speech at National Solidarity Party's NSP first rally for Marine Parade GRC in Geylang East, 28 Apr

Very fierce.

Singapore General Election GE 2011 Super Heroes Posters

Just for fun!

Breaching 100,000 hits soon!

Singapore General Election GE 2011 : Rallies on Apr 28, Thu 7 - 10pm

The respective political parties for the Singapore General Election GE 2011 will be holding their rallies on Apr 28, Thu, from 7 to 10pm.

Worker's Party (WP)

Rally: Hougang
Party: WP
Venue: Open field in front of Blk 837, bounded by Hougang Ave 4 and Hougang Central
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Reform Party (RP)

Rally: West Coast GRC
Party: RP
Venue: Clementi Stadium, 10 West Coast Walk
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

Rally: Holland-Bukit Timah GRC
Party: SDP
Venue: Open field bounded by Commonwealth Ave , Commonwealth Drive and Commonwealth Close
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

National Solidarity Party (NSP)

Rally: Marine Parade GRC
Party: NSP
Venue: Open field bounded by Geylang East Central, Aljunied Ave 1 & Ave 2, beside multi-storey carpark & Bl
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

People's Action Party (PAP)

Rally: Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC
Party: PAP
Venue: Open field bounded by Sengkang Central, Sengkang East Road , Sengkang East Ave and Buangkok Drive ,
Time: 07:00pm - 10:00pm

Profiling Multi-Threaded Applications with Visual Studio 2010

Workers' Party WP Candidate - Chen Show Mao

English introduction from beginning until 2:26. Mandarin from 2:26 onwards.

Chen Show Mao: Why I joined WP, not PAP

WP candidate Chen Show Mao continued to be bombarded by questions from the media even after the press conference ended.

Find out why, with his impressive credentials, he did not join the ruling PAP instead.

'Suppressed' video of Vincent Wijeysingha on gay issue

Tin Pei Ling on Education and Healthcare

Transfer, migrate and upload videos from Google Video to YouTube

It is now possible to transfer, migrate and upload videos from the going-to-be-closed Google Video to YouTube. This is according to a blog post from the Google Webmaster Central.

An update on Google Video: Finding an easier way to migrate Google Video content to YouTube [via]

Nice duet songs

王菲 & 陈奕迅 -- 因为爱情

劉德華 & 陳慧琳 -- 我想我不夠愛你

莫文蔚 & 张洪量 -- 广岛之恋

Want to get your clear complexion back? Prank your friends by being a #GarnierSaboKing

Want to get your clear complexion back? Prank your friends by being a #GarnierSaboKing

Advantage of using char over varchar data type

Read on here.

Apple iPhone 5 design (rumoured)

It is rumoured that the new Apple iPhone 5.0 design would boast a "teardrop" shaped profile similar to the Macbook Air.

Is this what the iPhone 5 will look like? (updated) [via]

Nicole Seah at Aljunied Market

I find her sincere.

Related Reads:

• Celebrity Deathmatch: Nicole Seah vs Tin Pei Ling
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/celebrity-deathmatch-nicole-seah-vs-tin.html
• Nicole Seah, NSP candidate for Marine Parade GRC
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-nsp-candidate-for-marine.html
• Nicole Seah interview
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-interview.html
• biggest regret - tin pei lin (PAP) vs nicole seah
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/biggest-regret-tin-pei-lin-pap-vs.html
• Mediacorp actor Tay Ping Hui spoofs Tin Pei Ling
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/mediacorp-actor-tay-ping-hui-spoofs-tin.html
• Tin Pei Ling Introduction Video
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/tin-pei-ling-introduction-video.html
• Ms Tin Pei Ling - Articles on the youngest PAP candidate since 1963
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/ms-tin-pei-ling-articles-on-youngest.html
• Siew Kum Hong views on recent criticism on Tin Pei Ling - Gutter Journalism
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/siew-kum-hong-views-on-recent-criticism.html
• Tin Pei Ling Speech on Income Disparity
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/tin-pei-ling-speech-on-income-disparity.html

Celebrity Deathmatch: Nicole Seah vs Tin Pei Ling

Interesting.

Celebrity Deathmatch: Nicole Seah vs Tin Pei Ling [via]

Related Reads:

• Nicole Seah, NSP candidate for Marine Parade GRC
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-nsp-candidate-for-marine.html
• Nicole Seah interview
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-interview.html
• biggest regret - tin pei lin (PAP) vs nicole seah
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/biggest-regret-tin-pei-lin-pap-vs.html
• Mediacorp actor Tay Ping Hui spoofs Tin Pei Ling
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/mediacorp-actor-tay-ping-hui-spoofs-tin.html
• Tin Pei Ling Introduction Video
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/tin-pei-ling-introduction-video.html
• Ms Tin Pei Ling - Articles on the youngest PAP candidate since 1963
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/ms-tin-pei-ling-articles-on-youngest.html
• Siew Kum Hong views on recent criticism on Tin Pei Ling - Gutter Journalism
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/siew-kum-hong-views-on-recent-criticism.html
• Tin Pei Ling Speech on Income Disparity
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/03/tin-pei-ling-speech-on-income-disparity.html

Facebook for iPhone - Unable to load News Feed "No Internet Connection"

Facebook for iPhone seems to be getting the following error when loading News Feed.

By following the following simple steps, the problem may be resolved (at least for some).

On the main FB page, click the "Account" (on top left) and select "Help Centre" then login and then back to "News Feed".

When a field is declared with nvarchar(max), is this a waste of space?

hongjun [via]

• It is flexible length but then the field cannot be indexed.

acperkins [via]

• In general it is considered poor practice not to define explicit sizes. You should also ask yourself if your really need to support unicode data types.

IJZ [via]

• It will not waste the space as per varchar space allocation concept definition

Browsing through time and space with GigaPan and Chrome

The sophisticated cameras the GigaPan team uses for their photographs capture hundreds or even thousands of digital pictures and stitch them together to form an interactive panorama. With Time Machine, the cameras capture these image mosaics at regular intervals to create a video with hundreds of millions or even billions of pixels in each frame. The result is a video that viewers have the ability to zoom in on while it’s playing and see incredible detail.

With Time Machine, watching paint dry or grass grow is actually pretty cool. Take a look at a table full of potted plants grow and bloom into flowers. Zoom in to examine a specific plant or even a single leaf, or watch a caterpillar bite off a leafy green for lunch.

Browsing through time and space with GigaPan and Chrome [via]

Both Apple and Google collect user data

Apple Inc.'s iPhones and Google Inc.'s Android smartphones regularly transmit their locations back to Apple and Google, respectively, according to data and documents analyzed by The Wall Street Journal—intensifying concerns over privacy and the widening trade in personal data.

Apple, Google Collect User Data [via]

30 ÷ 2 (2+3) ÷ 5 = ?

What should be the answer?

Apple secretive time-based location tracking a bug?

Apple's CEO is in hot water this week as security researchers discovered that the iPhone keeps track of a user's location history and saves the information in an unencrypted "secret file". The geolocation coordinates are kept in a file named consolidated.db.

This revelation got Minnesota Senator Al Franken all fired up, causing him to write an open letter to Apple and quiz Steve Jobs on why and how the geotracking is happening. Rumor has it that Apple is calling this a bug.

Samsung Countersues Apple for Patent Infringement

Samsung this week countersued Apple for infringing on five patents relating to wireless networking technology. This is after Apple suit against Samsung days ago claiming a huge number of Samsung Android phones are so much like iPhones, that they'll confuse consumers.

Samsung Countersues Apple for Patent Infringement [via]

Nicole Seah, NSP candidate for Marine Parade GRC

Nicole Seah (佘雪玲), a newly introduced candidate from opposition party National Solidarity Party (NSP) is contesting Marine Parade GRC in the 2011 Singapore General Elections. She is a 24 year-old executive with a multinational advertising agency. She graduated with an honours degree from the National University of Singapore, under the University Scholars’ Programme. Prior to that, she spent most of her education within the Marine Parade precinct, having graduated from Victoria Junior College, Tanjong Katong Secondary School and CHIJ Katong.

Nicole has a facebook here.

Read more about here:

• Nicole Seah is NSP's Little Nonya
  http://blinkymummy.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-is-nsps-little-nonya.html
  
  
• Nicole Seah interview
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicole-seah-interview.html
  
  
• biggest regret - tin pei lin (PAP) vs nicole seah (NSP)
  http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2011/04/biggest-regret-tin-pei-lin-pap-vs.html

Nicole Seah interview

I thought she is pretty cool in handling questions from media.

biggest regret - tin pei lin (PAP) vs nicole seah (NSP)

Briss - Crop margins out of PDF to make them more eReader friendly

Crop margins out of PDFs to them reader friendly for your Kindle, Kobo or other e-reader device. Briss aims to offer a simple cross-platform application for cropping PDF files. A simple user interface lets you define exactly the crop-region by fitting a rectangle on the visually overlaid pages.

Download Briss now at http://sourceforge.net/projects/briss/

Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 for professionals and small businesses is a subscription service that combines the familiar Microsoft Office Web Apps with a set of web-enabled tools that are easy to learn and use, that work with your existing hardware, and that come backed by the robust security, reliability, and control you need to run your business.

Chan Chun Sing: 100 years & beyond for Singapore

Feel so like a CO Parade speech. Very army-style.

New Google Analytics version 5 available to everyone

Google has released the latest version of Analytics to all users, introducing a completely redesigned interface, multiple customizable dashboards, event goals, more powerful custom reports, and a search term cloud visualization.

I’m very excited to announce that the new version of Google Analytics is now available to all Google Analytics users in all languages. When you sign into Google Analytics you’ll see a link to the new version in the top right of your account.

Read on here for the host of new features to help you do better analysis.

The New Google Analytics Available to Everyone [via]

Long label names now possible in Gmail

Previously, Google Gmail only allowed up to 40 characters long for Label names. Now, it is possible to add and edit label names up to 225 characters.

Long label names in Gmail [via]

Apple jumps ahead of Nokia in phone revenue

Apple now tops other handset makers in terms of revenue, according to new estimates.
With big iPhone sales during the quarter, Apple passed mobile giant Nokia in revenue, making it the world's largest handset vendor based on that metric, according to Boston-based Strategy Analytics.

Apple jumps ahead of Nokia in phone revenue [via]

Apple tracks geo location's of users in plain unencrypted text

The controversy surrounding the security of Apple’s iPhone and iPad escalated Thursday as some European governments said they would investigate whether the company had violated privacy laws by collecting and storing users’ geographic location data.

A joke

You get "Find my iPhone." We get "Find my Apple customer." Fair trade.

Inquiries Grow Over Apple’s Data Collection Practices [via]

the mrbrown show: politician training school

Guy Kawasaki on Singapore innovativeness and entrepreneurship spirit

Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur extraordinaire, famous for his role in making the Macintosh computer a cult-like worldwide phenomenon, visited Singapore recently as a speaker and a judge at the Stanford Global Entrepreneurs Challenge held in Singapore. INNOVATION's Tan Lay Leng talked to the founder of multiple personal computer companies and current Chief Executive Officer of Garage Technology Ventures to get his opinion on entrepreneurship in Singapore.

I: Does the small population base in Singapore serve as a barrier to success in entrepreneurship?

Kawasaki: From day one, Singaporeans have to think "international" because a population of three to four million people does not provide a large enough market. Israel proved that this can work. It has clearly created great technology that has been exported around the world. Israel has five million people, six million entrepreneurs, and fifteen million opinions. Singapore has five million people, six entrepreneurs, and one opinion.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SPECIAL: Made-in-Singapore Entrepreneurs [via]

Inexplicable

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Major General Chan Chun Sing being introduced as a PAP new candidate (English)

A typical army person.

Prince William and Catherine Middleton royal wedding LIVE on YouTube

As the historic day approaches, the much-anticipated royal wedding of Britain's Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton has people around the world buzzing with excitement.

The Royal Household has just announced that footage of the entire ceremony will be live-streamed on their official YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel.

The live stream will begin at 10:00a BST (9:00a GMT, 2:00a PT, 5:00a ET) on Friday, April 29, and will follow the wedding procession, marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey and balcony kiss. Alongside the live stream, The Royal Channel will also feature live blog commentary of the event to give timely updates and insights as the day unfolds. For those of you in different time zones, the footage will be reshown in its entirety directly following the event and will be available in full on the site to view afterwards.

The royal wedding live on YouTube [via]

Apple's Sloppy, Fearful Samsung Lawsuit

Read on here.

Why Apple Isn't The Top Tech Brand

Read on here.

Truths Behind PAP GE 2011 Manifesto

This is in response to the original unedited GE 2011 PAP Manifesto Video.

GE 2011 PAP Manifesto Video

An edited version of the PAP Manifesto video which you may be interested.

More effort

Will put in more effort.

Mediacorp actor Tay Ping Hui spoofs Tin Pei Ling

Ms Tin Pei Ling pose with Kate Spade

Tay Ping Hui spoofs Tin Pei Ling (appeared on 8 Days magazine)

C++ is now C++11

The next iteration of the C++ programming language, C++11, passed review by the technical standards committee. The new C++, according to Bjarne Stroustrup, will be easier to write correctly and will perform better. Professor Stroustrup is a computer scientist notably known for the creation and the development of the widely used C++ programming language.

The new standard provides language features that make it easier to write correct and well-performing code in C++ together with more standard libraries. For example, C++11 provides facilities for writing concurrent code (e.g. for multicore machines) in a type safe-manner. The improved language facilities are focused on allowing better specification and use of abstractions (classes and templates). Examples are a more efficient way of getting results out of functions (move semantic), better facilities for object initialization, and a simpler for loop. Examples of new library components are hash tables, threads, and regular expression matching.

Introducing C++11 [via]

Is Twitter in trouble?

Read on here.

Hitler: Friday by Rebecca Black

Lame. Watch Rebecca Black - Friday music video here.

Rebecca Black - Friday

Lame song.

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today is Friday, Friday
We we we so excited
We so excited
We going to have a ball today.

Create own Gmail themes, background image

Google Gmail allow setting themes to give a more personalised look-and-feel. Now, it is possible to get your creative juices to work by creating your own theme! Setting and loading preferred background image is now possible.

Just go to the Themes tab in Settings and choose “Create your own theme.” There, you can select background images for the main area and the footer.

Custom background image themes [via]

Google celebrates Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday with a video doodle

In honor of Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday, Google has crafted a second live-action doodle for its homepage.

Charlie Chaplin video doodle

To play the video doodle, simply click on the Play control. The same video, hosted on YouTube, is embedded below.

As a bonus, Google has posted some fun behind-the-scenes shots.

Lights, camera, doodle! [via]

RIM BlackBerry CEO walked out of an interview

WOW!! RIM BlackBerry CEO walked out of an interview. So "COOL"!

Google Calendar’s Favicon changes everyday to display current date

Before, Google Calendar had been showing 31 as its favicon daiily.

Google Calendar Favicon (before: showing 31st always)

Today, Google Calendar announced that it would not always display 31, but will instead change to reflect the current day of the month.

Today’s date is now always a short glance away.

If you don't see the new up-to-date favicon already, it should be available to all soon within the next couple of days as it slowly get rolled out.

Google Calendar Favicon (now: showing current date instead)

5 years of Google Calendar and a new (useful) favicon [via]

Goo.gl url shortener adds easier copy and paste, delete existing links

Google url shortener service, goo.gl, is now much improved with newly included features like easier copy and paste, and ability to delete existing links. Though it is still far inferior to other longer-standing similar service, without ability to (1) auto shorten detected link(s) and quickly generate a single or bundled shortened url for single link or multiple links respectively, and (2) publish texts to twitter, just like how bit.ly can, I believe Google will make it more competitive one day.

Easier copy and paste

When a new short URL is created, the short url will be automatically set to focus and highlighted, so you can simply press Control+C (or Command+C on a Mac) to copy it.

Delete existing links from dashboard

It is now possible to select one or more short urls from your dashboard and hide them. Hidden short urls will still work for hiding simply means removing them from your own dashboard.

Beefing up goo.gl with new features [via]

White iPhone begin manufacturing

It is reported on Reuters that white iPhones 4.0 has begun manufacturing after a delay of almost 10 months. If this report is true, then the white phones will hit the stores within a months' time.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, would assemble the iPhone.

Make your day sweeter at #BurgerKingSG. Get your coupon for a #free sundae with any burger bought!

Make your day sweeter at #BurgerKingSG. Get your coupon for a #free sundae with any burger bought!

Microsoft issues record biggest ever vulnerability Tuesday patch

Microsoft has patched a record 64 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office and five other software packages, many of which allowed attackers to remotely install malware on end user machines. On top of that, Microsoft introduced a Rootkit Evasion Prevention tool and Office File Validation, while was originally announced in December 2010 but is now available for Office 2003 and 2007

April 2011 Security Bulletin Release [via]

Android In-app Billing

Read more here http://developer.android.com/guide/market/billing/billing_overview.html

Google Talk Guru - Get answers instantly via chat

Google Talk Guru is an experimental service that allows people to get information like sports results, weather forecasts, definitions etc via chat. It works on many popular chat applications that support Google Talk.

To start using Google Talk Guru:

1. Sign into a chat client that supports Google Talk
2. Send a chat invitation to guru@googlelabs.com or click the link "Sign in and invite myself to chat with Guru" at the bottom of this page.
3. Find guru in your contact list and send chat queries to guru.

The Apple Museum

Apple Museum, dedicated to the history of Apple Computer, Inc, provided vast information on the history of Apple.

Interesting site.

Get rid of the Legal Disclaimers in email - they are useless

The Economist mentioned that the often used or over-used legal disclaimers in email are in fact useless, adding them do not protect one from the legalities.

Spare us the e-mail yada-yada [via]

Blogger new HTML5 views in a whole new perspective

Blogger added five dynamic templates that transform blogs into interactive apps. To try these views on your own blog, simply add "/view" to the end of the blog URL—for example, http://hongjun.blogspot.com/view.

These new views use the latest in web technology, including AJAX, HTML5 and CSS3, to deliver a host of benefits to you and your readers:

• Infinite scrolling: read more posts without having to reload or click to a second page
• New layouts: different views suited to different types of blogs
• Speed: download images as you view them, not all at once in advance
• Interactivity: there are now more ways to experience and engage with blog content

Click on any of these links to take the new dynamic views for a spin on the five new templates: Flipcard, Mosaic, Sidebar, Snapshot and Timeslide.

Fresh new perspectives for your blog [via]

Facebook launches ONE mobile site

Social networking site Facebook has announced the launch of a single mobile site m.facebook.com to replace all versions of its mobile sites. Previously, Facebook built multiple versions of mobile Facebook: m.facebook.com for less feature-rich mobile devices and touch.facebook.com for touch devices.

Our new site is powered by a UI framework based on XHP, Javelin, and WURFL, a detailed database mapping user agents to device capabilities. This enables us to very precisely target experiences and features to thousands of different devices.

This mobile UI framework allows engineers to focus on building their product and not on supporting device edge cases. Rather than directly writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, our product engineers write XHP and use these mobile components to build new features.

One Mobile Site to Serve Thousands of Phones [via]

A Google a Day - Trivia Game

A Google a Day is a new daily puzzle that will be hosted at agoogleaday.com and printed above the New York Times crossword puzzle. Answers will be revealed the next day online and in the paper. Like the Times's crossword puzzle, the Google trivia questions will increase in difficulty as the week goes on, so by Thursday or Friday, even the most seasoned searcher may be stumped.

agoogleaday comes with a special version of Google search that excludes real-time updates and other things that are likely to include spoilers as people post the answers to the puzzle online.

A trivia game where using Google is allowed [via]

12 apr

- mbk
Luggage deposit, Ha Zart thai movie

- airport

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

McDonalds buy-one-get-one-free Filet-O-Fish

THIS IS REAL FROM THE MCDONALDS PAGE ITSELF.

Print or flash this coupon at any McDonald's restaurants on 15-24 April 2011 to enjoy the buy-one-get-one-free à la carte Filet-O-Fish offer! Valid for dine-in or takeaway only.

Borders Clearance Sale

Borders is having a books clearance sale on 13 and 14 April 2011, with everything going at unbeatable prices of only $5 or less! Yes, we are not hearing things - Borders sale yet again.

Event Details
Date: 13 – 14 April 2011
Time: 10am – 9pm
Venue: SCAPE L2 Warehouse, 2 Orchard Link

Suck Seed ห่วยขั้นเทพ Trailer Official

Nice show with strong story line.

11 Apr

- read kindle + coffee at starbucks
Starbucks at Central over Rama 3. Enjoying life in the late morning. omg! so many uncles surfing net here!

- SuckSeed thai movie
At Central Rama 3

- Dinner at a shanghainese restaurant with moe

King Naresuan 3 trailer

Watched this in Bangkok. NICE! Plus I visited the Prommitr Film Studio at Kanchanaburi earlier.

Apr 10 - nothing much to do

- movie
Watched King Naresuan 3 - a very popular thai show with eng subtitles at the Emporium. Refer to http://www.prommitrfilmstudio.com/ for more information. Movie was shot in kanchanaburi - visited that place yesterday.

- Movie
Watched an eng movie - Source Code at MBK

One interesting thing abt watching movie in thailand is all need to stay up for a few min when they play a short video clip on their beloved King.

- back PST
took bts to chong nonsi, BRT bus service to Nara-Ram 3, motorbike back to pst. Yes, BRT is my first :)

Kanchanaburi

kanchanburi - Prommitr Film Studio (a place where they film a very famous thai vs burma old movie), Hell Fire Pass Memorial (death railway), Krae Sae Cave (got nice scenic railway tracks an a cave), famous River Kwae Bridge (where I happened to see a group of Falun-gong members, obessesed themselves, chanting around; asked them some questions but ignored me!!! nvm.. i took video of their weird actions) plus a factory outlet.. Then on way back to Bangkok, we detoured to visit famous Angpahwa (night market where they also selling food on the river; this is not reli the floating market i visited the other time; just another unique experience).

8 Apr

- lunch treat
1130 thanks to myo, moe and alfin for the sumptuous thai lunch at Central after Rama 3, 1345

- nana, sukhumvit
1400 taxi to chong nonsi > bts > nana

- mo chit bus terminal
no more train tickets from nco company to chiang mai, need to make a trip down to mo chit personally and try my luck, but all sold out, chiang mai trip not possible

- sukhumvit
taxi > jj part mrt > sukhumvit mrt 1645

- phrom phong, emporium
kul sanee said let's meet at emporium ard 1815, and i said ok without asking where. bangkok navigation one more level up.

- dinner at fuji restaurant
1830, emporium fuji restaurant

- somerset lakepoint songkran festival party
2000, met up with mr sarawut of somerset lakeside, songkran festival at their swimming poolside 2100

back to pst
- complimentary tuk tuk by SLP to asoke bts > chong nonsi > taxi

Gmail now lets you disable auto-adding contacts

Google gmail has finally allowed the disabling of auto-adding contacts after so many years! Google called this little things but to me, it is a big big tweak. Auto adding strangers' contacts when replying all to an email will auto add strangers to your Google Contacts is annoying.

The switch for turning off Gmail's auto-save feature is in the General tab of your Gmail Settings, and it's going to make many happy, including myself.

Fixing the little things [via]

Open letter to SM Goh on

Wing Lee Cheong sent this open letter to SM Goh about his remarks on the poor quality of life as a farmer. He also sent his photos to show his quality of life in Canada as a retiree, living in nature and at a low living expense.

Read his letter in SGEP.

7 Apr part 2

- central world, zen, siam paragon
1515 walk from pratunam approx 30 min, friendly naraya staff from central world brought me to siam tower, 1 long sleeve, 2115 starbucks

- back at pst 2230

7 Apr part 1 - Lots of travelling and walking

All times in bangkok time.

- to rcl
0900 Airport rail link
Airport> Phaya thai (blue colour) >bts >siam >chong nonsi >taxi>panjathani tower (regional container lines limited) 1100

- pantip plaza & platinum fashion mall
1100 motorbike> bts> chong nonsi > siam > ratchathewi> walk 15min 1150

- 1340 left platinum with 2 polo t, 1 3 quarts, 2 jeans, 1 camera screen protector

- 1340 way to pratunam, baiyoke, 1 dozen 上標油, 3 peppermint, sim card, 1410

Bangkok is a city I can move around without a map! Yes, I didn't print one for bangkok.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

MAS Welcomes Launch of Private Banking Code of Conduct

Singapore, 5 April 2011 [Monetary Authority of Singapore]

1. The Monetary Authority of Singapore welcomes the launch of a Code of Conduct for the private banking industry in Singapore (PB Code) by the Private Banking Advisory Group (PBAG) today.
2. The PB Code is the result of an industry-led effort to enhance the competency of private banking professionals and foster high market conduct standards. It is applicable to financial institutions and their staff engaged in private banking activities in Singapore. The PB Code has been developed with recommendations from the PBAG, which comprises representatives from the private banking industry. The broader private banking industry has also been consulted and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Allen and Gledhill LLP have assisted in drafting the Code.
   
3. Under the PB Code, private banking professionals are expected to pass a common competency assessment called the Client Advisor Competency Standards (CACS) before they provide any financial advice. The CACS focuses on broadening and deepening the capabilities of these professionals in the provision of comprehensive private banking services. This assessment will be administered by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF). In addition, the PB Code sets out market conduct principles relating to the business conduct of financial institutions and their staff engaged in private banking activities. These principles cover areas such as ethics and professionalism, client relationship management and risk management. The PB Code seeks to promote good industry practices and contribute to the long-term sustainable growth of the private banking industry in Singapore.
   
4. Mr. Ng Nam Sin, Assistant Managing Director, MAS, said, “Investors want trusted and competent client advisors who are able to safeguard their longer term interests. Financial institutions which get their fundamentals right will be more assured of success and sustainable growth. The PB Code is a positive step taken by the industry. MAS is supportive of this industry-led effort to strengthen competency levels in a coordinated, industry-wide manner. We look forward to strong participation by the industry in implementing and observing this Code.”
   
5. Mr. Tee Fong Seng, Vice Chairman - Asia Pacific and Head of Private Banking Singapore, Credit Suisse, said, “The industry is committed to upholding the competency standards stated in the PB Code. This underscores our efforts to build a competent pool of quality talent within the private banking industry.
   
6. Mrs. Christine Ong, Chief Executive of UBS Wealth Management Singapore, said, “The PB Code encourages private banks to invest in talent development. Ultimately, the wealth management business is a people-centric one. Clients want to deal with client advisors who understand their needs, are technically competent, and who are able to help them navigate through market uncertainties and uncover opportunities. They also want a partner who can operate within the tightened standards and regulatory requirements without compromise.”
   
7. Mr. Ravi Raju, Private Wealth Management Head of Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank, added, “In an environment of fast growth where investors become much more sophisticated, successful private banks will be those which are at the forefront of new trends, have invested in portfolio and risk management technology, and have invested in their people to keep pace with the times. Apart from exceptional client service, it is important for relationship managers to build trusted relationships with clients. This can only be achieved if the private banks operating in the region impose some form of self- regulation to ensure that certain professional standards are upheld in the industry. The PB Code encompasses standards that seek to achieve this, signaling the industry’s commitment to improving investor confidence.”
   
8. The PB Code can be accessed on the website of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) at www.abs.org.sg. The Code will take effect from 1 September 2011.

Will Android, Windows Phone Be the Top Mobile OSes in 2015?

Android is poised to become the number one mobile operating system in 2011, while the recent Nokia-Microsoft deal could propel Windows Phone to the number two position by 2015, according to Tuesday data from IDC.

IDC predicted that Android will capture 39.5 percent of the global mobile OS market in 2011, followed by Symbian with 20.9 percent, Apple's iOS with 15.7 percent, and RIM's BlackBerry with 14.9 percent.

By 2015, Android will still be number one with 45.4 percent of the market, but Symbian will dip to only 0.2 percent while Microsoft's Windows Phone captures the number two spot with 20.9 percent.

Will Android, Windows Phone Be the Top Mobile OSes in 2015? [via]

LinkedIn's Hoffman - What is Web 3.0?

According to LinkedIn's Hoffman: Web 1.0 consisted of files, where users operated under pseudonyms in chat rooms; Web 2.0 is the emergence of Web apps, where a community of users utilized their real name. Finally, there's Web 3.0 - unfortunately, the platform that it uses isn't a mobile one, but one that's predicated upon data. As a general principle, you should only ask for data when you think you can provide a value proposition for users.

Android now - 1 in every 3 phones in U.S.

According to a comScore February 2011 report, Google Android now led among smartphone platforms with 33.0 percent market share.

Google Android grew 7.0 percentage points to 33% since November to top the chart. RIM ranked second with 28.9 percent market share, followed by Apple with 25.2 percent. Microsoft (7.7 percent) and Palm (2.8 percent) rounded out the top five.

If it is gaining grounds in a developed country like the U.S., the growth of Android will be even stronger in the developing world due to its low cost.

Business Insider's Henry Blodget notes that it's an issue of strategy:

Google's Android growth is only compounded as the market standardizes to a common system–like Microsoft for desktop PCs or Facebook for social networking. If Google is able to provide the de facto operating system for a significant chunk of the market, then developers suddenly have an increased incentive to code Android first, others second.

comScore Reports February 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share [via]

Facebook slapped and sued for $1 billion over Intifada page

Facebook and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg are being sued for more than $1 billion over a controversial page on the social networking site which advocate violence and death to Jews.

Facebook was accused to have delayed in taking down a page that called for a "Third Intifada" soon enough and willfully kept it up in order to further their revenues and the net worth of the company. The page had about 500,000 before it was finally shut down.

Facebook shut down the page on Tuesday, several days after Israeli Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein sent a letter to Zuckerberg urging him to remove it. Facebook said the page was initially tolerated because it "began as a call for peaceful protest" but direct calls for violence began appearing and the page was removed for violating Facebook's policies.

Facebook has said it would fight the case, dismissing it as being "without merit".

Facebook sued for $1 billion over Intifada page [via]

Amazing soccer skills by a 9 year old Japanese kid - Future Messi

He has already attracted the attention of Messi's former coach at the Barcelona youth team - Francisco Javier García Pimienta – who posted a link to the video on his Twitter feed.

Big appetite for buffets despite price rise

Big appetite for buffets despite price rise
The Straits Times
28/3/2011

PRICES of buffet spreads in Singapore might be heading north - but foodies are still ready to splurge for variety.

Buffet-goers are forking out anything from $15.80 to $64 each for spreads that range from porridge with side dishes to oysters and rotisserie fare.

When The Straits Times checked with 20 popular buffet joints here, it found that 13 had raised prices by $1 to $9 per diner over the past six months.

They cited rising costs - for food ingredients, electricity and labour - as reasons for the price hikes.

Even so, 11 of these 13 establishments actually saw a rise in patronage.

At Quality Hotel, the Taiwan porridge buffet welcomes 15 per cent more customers now than it did last year. About 400 people flock to the generous spread at the cafe over the weekends.

'Every weekend, we have a waiting list of at least 20 people a day. They put their names down and then mingle in the lobby,' said food and beverage manager Dennis Muthu, 37. 'We've even had to open the lounge to diners.'

The hotel, located on Balestier Road, now charges $15.80 for its dinner buffet spread, up from $14.80 in January this year and $13.50 last year. Laksa has been added to the spread.

Other outlets, even the pricier ones, are telling a similar tale.

Tarafuku Japanese Buffet, at 313@Somerset in Orchard, now serves 570 diners on the weekends, up from 220 when it opened in September last year. These days, it charges $27.80 for dinner; last year, dinner prices from Monday to Thursday were $2 cheaper.

Sunday buffet lunch at Italian restaurant Basilico now attracts 20 per cent more diners than it did a year ago.

A check with the restaurant last Friday found it fully booked for yesterday, with a waiting list of 30. The buffet is priced at $64, against $55 last year and $49 in 2009.

On Jan 1, Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts started charging $62 for its weekday dinner buffet, up from $58 last year and $52 in 2009. The restaurant, which also started offering fresh oysters instead of frozen and a wider range of seafood, is now welcoming an average of 720 customers on the weekends, up from 600 last year.

Regular buffet-goer Clara Sim, 29, said she did not mind a slight price hike.

'I just have to eat more,' said the teacher, half in jest. She hits the buffet trail at least once a month.

'I skip lunch and go to the buffet restaurant early. It's like two meals for the price of one.'

Said Ms Nikole Ow, 22, a student who dines at buffets once a month: 'Nowadays, even food courts charge quite a lot. If you can find a buffet for under $20, it's actually better value for money.'

She said ordering Indian food and a fruit juice at Food Republic in 313@Somerset cost her about $10.

'I might as well pay more and enjoy a wider variety of food that is usually better quality as well,' she noted.

Experts say most might find the trend counterintuitive, expecting patrons to be turned off by the price hikes. But the increase in numbers actually makes lots of sense.

'Prices at eateries all over Singapore are going up, so people are willing to pay a bit more to get a lot more. They see a buffet as value for money,' said marketing and retail lecturer Andrew Lee at Singapore Polytechnic's business school.

The higher buffet prices, he said, have not discouraged people as they are used to such increases by now.

Others point to a recovering economy.

'Consumers have raised their price threshold. They now want it all - variety, quality and quantity,' said Mr Dennis Toh, 34, a marketing lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic's business school.

Noting that buffet spreads are also widening in choice, he said: 'Singaporeans love to eat, and food is the first thing they will start to indulge in again.'

Foodie Jerry Fernandez, 62, said the improved economy had prompted him to visit buffets twice a week now. During the downturn, he went twice a month.

'It is affordable, and the spreads are splendid,' said the businessman.

'If you go a la carte, you can't eat as much for the same price. Prices at hawker centres are also going up, so the difference is no longer as great.'

Nevertheless, nutritionists such as Ms Ho Yi Fei of DaySpring Corporate Wellness caution buffet stalwarts against overdoing it.

'When people pay a flat amount for a buffet, they want to eat their money's worth. This can lead to overeating and a less balanced diet because they usually eat less vegetables,' she said.

'These spreads normally offer foods that are high in carbohydrates and protein. Eating too much of such foods can lead to a host of problems including diabetes and heart disease.'

Better gmail ads

Coming soon: Better Ads in Gmail

• Fewer irrelevant ads
• Gmail’s importance ranking applied to ads
• Offers and coupons for your local area

According to Gmail, the number of ads shown per Gmail user is already being cut by more than a third. Signals from e.g. Priority Inbox that indicate important and unimportant messages are used to enable Gmail to continue to show fewer, better ads in Gmail. As with many Gmail features, you can control the use of these signals from the Gmail Settings page.

Coming soon: Better Ads in Gmail [via]

Tin Pei Ling Introduction Video

Experts-Exchange premium expert status expiring soon

It is so hard to maintain my Experts-Exchange premium expert status these days. Simply no time :(

Dear hongjun,

We noticed you did not earn 3,000 points last month and you are now in your Grace Period. Don't worry! Just earn 3,000 points by 5/1/2011 and you'll maintain Qualified Expert status, which includes FREE premium membership.

To start earning points, create a question alert to answer questions in your area of knowledge or write an article. Either way, we know you'll have 3,000 points in no time!

Jurong Hospital name change to Ng Teng Fong Hospital sending wrong message

As quoted from Straits Times

FORMER Member of Parliament Tan Cheng Bock has stepped down from the board of the upcoming hospital in Jurong because he disagrees with its new name: the Ng Teng Fong Hospital.

Dr Tan said that while he had nothing against the late property tycoon, whose family donated $125 million to the hospital, this was 'a moral issue' as it looked as if a rich man could pay to have a public institution named after him.

GE 2011 in a soundbite

Interesting quotes [via]

Google to be audited every 2 years

Google has reached an agreement with the FTC over its privacy concerns over Buzz.

Google violated its own privacy policies and used "deceptive tactics" when it launched Google Buzz in 2010. According to the FTC, when Buzz was integrated into Gmail, users were not given a good enough explanation about how the new social network would operate. Specifically, controls for limiting the share of personal information were hard to find and trying to leave the network all together was confusing and sometime ineffective.

For this, Google has officially apologized over this mistake on its blog:

We’d like to apologize again for the mistakes we made with Buzz. While today’s announcement thankfully put this incident behind us, we are 100 percent focused on ensuring that our new privacy procedures effectively protect the interests of all our users going forward.

An update on Buzz [via]

Photo of NSman carrying field pack himself is fake

Original Photo - Maid carrying field pack for NSman

Fake and doctored photo - NSman carrying his own field pack; maid removed 

Read more on Stomp [via]

Introducing Gmail Motion - Official Gmail Blog

Google April Fool prank on Gmail - replacing mouse and keyboard with body language.

Introducing Gmail Motion [via]

Google's April Fool

Google's April Fool

Gmail is moving, fingers are fitter, YouTube goes centennial [via]