Claim your free iPhone 4 Bumper or Case before 30 Sep 2010

For the Singaporeans who have purchased the iPhone 4 before 30 Sep 2010, do note that you're eligible for a free iPhone 4 Bumper or Case. To qualify for this though, you also need to claim within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. Refer to the Apple's website here to claim your free iPhone 4 Bumper or Case.

Business first, IT next

Some time back, I read that a certain restaurant has invested in a PDA wireless ordering system and has yet to see any benefits out of it. In my heart, I felt that the person who authorized the project has totally missed the point.

Before you embark on any project, there should always be a business need that requires it. Using the example above, there should be a project objective that will resolve a problem that the restaurant may be having. For example, wrong orders being taken, ability to inform the customers that a certain item has sold out, etc. The above example may be a classic case of buying the technology and waiting to see what benefits they will reap from it.

It is really no secret that many big IT projects fail. Most of the time, the IT companies get the blame. I however feel that the problems lie in 2 broad areas.

First area is the above example that I have used. Technology does not automatically reap benefits and benefits need not directly translate to monetary terms. How do you measure customer loyalty or returning customers? One should always purchase technology if there is a need for it and it resolves one or more problems that are currently encountered.

The other area is actually trained IT staff to manage the IT needs of a company. Who has heard of cases where the IT department of a company actually know nuts about IT and how to apply it to the business? How about cases where the company is totally reliant on the vendor to provide the solution and blames the vendor if the solution fails even though the company should know their business operations best?

The problem now is that many businesses think that IT is a chore and it doesn't bring benefits to the organization. However, they fail to realize that someone is ensuring that the technology runs seamlessly and smoothly 24 x 7 to support the business. Most IT staff only gets the blame if something goes wrong but never the credit when a certain solution works.

Because of a lack of trained IT staff supporting the business, it is no wonder that IT projects fail. IT projects are not just about project management. IT knowledge and how to apply it to business operations are also important. Only the company staff, not the IT people, will know their business operations best. Without their contribution to the project, IT projects will fail.

MRT Services @ Jurong East will be down in Sep

MRT Services at the Jurong East MRT station will be down over 2 weekends in September due to upgrading works to improve the train frequency. The frequency should improve to 2 to 3 mins during peak periods after the works are completed.

On Sept 4 and 5, there will not be any trains running between Jurong East and Clementi stations. And on Sept 18 and 19, services between Jurong East and Bukit Batok stations will be disrupted.

During this time, bridging services will be provided by Bendy buses I presume to shuttle the passengers to the respective stations.

Do I really know that small sample of people who had problems with Mio TV?

Singtel has time and time again refuted complaints that there are problems with Mio TV. My question is quite simple. All my friends with Mio TV are having problems with it. Just recently, someone has complained that it took 10mins (at 3am in the morning) just to connect to Mio TV to watch soccer. So am I that lucky to know that small sample of people that had problems with Mio TV as explained by Singtel? I guess we know the answers.

Is Singtel ultimately responsible if the broadband service drops ridiculously low when Mio TV is switched on? I find that it is quite ridiculous to pay for broadband speeds when your line is obviously being used by Mio TV. The telcos should be responsible for the speeds of the broadband that consumers subscribe to, and not push the blame to line problem, line too old, etc. It seems that it's always our problem and not their problem. Remember the Jalan Kayu incident when the lines were down for 3 hours during a routine maintenance? I repeat. A routine maintenance.

Anyway, if Mio TV requires a separate line, then it should be compulsory for the subscription of that additional line. No use trying to pretend that you're cheaper than Starhub when you're not.

Releasing more land doesn't seem to push down the price

Today the government has announced that they may be releasing more land in the first half of 2011 if the demand remains strong. As written in my previous post, I do not think this will do anything in pushing down the price that the developers are paying for the land. Have you seen any drop in price in the recent land sales? Instead, we're seeing records being broken.

The problem I see is that there is a slight conflict of interest in the current process. The URA is interested in selling the land as high as possible. After all, it's revenue. However this will lead to an increase in property price and will lead to an overall higher inflation.

I still think that capping the land price to a certain percentage of the valuation as written in my previous post will force the developers to provide value added service instead of bidding up the price sky high. The prices will never stabalise if there is no change in the evaluation process of the land sales.

Surprise Yourself

I quote from Alan Ball:

It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about.


When you surprise yourself in being able to do something thought impossible, this usually means you're capable of doing more than you think. However, the question is whether you enjoy doing it.

Why I Won't Jailbreak my iPhone

I was recently offered assistance in jailbreaking my iPhone. It's now super easy with the JailBreakMe workaround. However, I declined. People think I'm nuts but there are reasons why I hope Apple quickly patch the iOS.

The reason is very simple. If someone can easily hack an iPhone using a Safari, what is stopping someone from installing a malicious malware that will SMS or call a premium number in the background, racking up call charges that the telco will not waive because you did not use the official software?

The Safari and PDF vulnerability is quite serious and apparently, it allows anyone to bypass the iPhone security mechanisms just by accessing a website. Furthermore once you jailbreak, you'll not be able to upgrade to the latest iOS so easily because Apple will patch the Safari hole. So how will those people upgrade?

Anyway think twice before jailbreaking, especially if you're not technically inclined.

Avoid using Plastic Type 3 or 7

I've gotten the table below from Wikipedia. It basically describes the different types of plastics and according to what I have read, type 3 or type 7 plastics may contain Bisphenol A which is cancerous.

Morale of the story? Don't use plastic bottles for long periods of time. Get a water bottle.

Look at the bottom of the plastic bottle and you'll be able to see the indicator of the type of plastic being used. Refer to the table below on the different types of plastics.

Plastic Identification Code	Type of plastic polymer	Properties	Common Packaging Applications
	PET, PETE	Clarity, strength, toughness, barrier to gas and moisture.	Soft drink, water and salad dressing bottles; peanut butter and jam jars
	HDPE	Stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to moisture, permeability to gas.	Water pipes, Hula-Hoop (children's game) rings, Milk, juice and water bottles; the occasional shampoo / toiletry bottle
	PVC	Versatility, clarity, ease of blending, strength, toughness.	Juice bottles; cling films; PVC piping May be cancerous as it uses Bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming
	LDPE	Ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, ease of sealing, barrier to moisture.	Frozen food bags; squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard; cling films; flexible container lids.
	PP	Strength, toughness, resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil, versatile, barrier to moisture.	Reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; yogurt containers; margarine tubs; microwaveable disposable take-away containers; disposable cups; plates.
	PS	Versatility, clarity, easily formed	Egg cartons; packing peanuts; disposable cups, plates, trays and cutlery; disposable take-away containers;
	Other (often polycarbonate or ABS)	Dependent on polymers or combination of polymers	Beverage bottles; baby milk bottles; electronic casing. May be cancerous as it uses Bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming

Ways to increase productivity

The buzz word for Singapore has always been to improve our productivity. In fact, one of our ministers also reminded companies to be more innovative in their productivity drive instead of getting their workers to work long hours. Easier said than done.

Companies are driven mainly by profits. Like what the government used to say, their excuse of not getting into solar/renewable energy is the cost factor (although they have later invested in this technology). Who won't use the excuse of improving productivity to pile more work onto the employees to improve their bottom line? Only the good employers will care for their employees.

Are there ways to increase productivity without piling more work on the employees, or even releasing them? I believe so. In my personal opinion, I would think that to increase productivity and still improve the bottom line, the company has to

1. identify the direction that they will go towards;
2. decide how to use the technology to further enhance their competitiveness;
3. communicate these changes to the staff, retrain them, and invest into the new technology to further differentiate themselves from their competition.

To do this, you must be able to look far ahead, take risks and be willing to get your returns in 3 to 5 years time, and not immediately. I believe that would be a challenge because not many companies are willing to bet their careers on returns that you will not be able to see immediately, and in fact will look like it's loss-making in the short-term.

That's the problem and that's also the reason why most companies will take the easier way out to pile work on their staff. I don't think the situation will change much.

Our lives are fashioned by choices

I quote from Anne Frank:

I do not complain, complaining is an activity just as jumping rope or listening to the radio is an activity. Our very lives are fashioned by choices. First we make choices, then our choices make us.
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Greatness does not care if one is a girl or a boy. If, in fact, it is what's inside us that makes all the difference, then the difference is made when we choose what goes inside.