The Present

Updated 28 Mar 2010: Realised that the original quote is not from Kung Fu Panda. :)

I quote from Kung Fu Panda Babatunde Olatunji:

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.


I think very often all of us are so caught up in our school or our work that we forget all that is happening around us. We worry alot on what is going to happen, but we often do not notice what's happening around us as it happens. Take a break... Sometimes, the answers can be right in front of you, and when you're too busy worrying, you'll not see it.

Learn from the past, enjoy the present, and look forward to the future.

Ban on "naked" shorting, not shorting

Time and time again, I've seen articles in the local newspapers where not enough research is being done, and the articles are not totally correct. Today I see the same thing again!

First, US ban on "naked" short selling of shares, not short selling of shares. Apparently there's a loophole where traders can short shares without borrowing when they do a "naked" short sell. Do read up on the wikipedia article here if you totally do not know what the heck is "naked" short sell.

Next, I totally disagree with the article that states that the market should not follow the US. My question is that does he think the police is an important part of the society? The obvious answer is of course yes. That's what the regulators role in the exchange. They are the "police".

The concept of the exchange is where there are a certain limited number of shares in the market for a company. Therefore, the price is based on a willing buyer, and willing seller basis. One can borrow the shares from a willing owner, and do whatever you wish to the shares, on the condition that you'll return it in x number of days. Now, you're saying that there's a certain rule that allows a trader to bypass this limited number of shares.

This totally distorts the pricing of the shares because

1. The person who did the "naked" short did not even own the share. Therefore, how do the company shareholders stop this person from selling the company at a discount to its true valuation? For normal contra and short selling, you're able to control by just not allowing this person to borrow your shares. For this case, how do you control?
   
   
2. If the shareholders of the company know what's the true valuation of the company, they would never sell it below a certain price. Some use the book value as the "base price" of the company. Do you think this person who "naked" short the share knows anything about book price or any other fundamentals for the matter? No way... See how many perfectly sound companies prices are being driven downwards due to the ignorance of such fundamentals, as the only thing that matters to them is the volatility of the share price.
   
   
3. "Naked" shortists would have the power to control the pricing of the company, and bring a perfectly sound company to its knees. Add the "rumours" and you will see some takeover "actions".
   

If nothing is done to close this loophole, I can think of some consequences:

1. Rise of private equity as private equity will at least buy at a slight discount to your true valuation. Most will buy above valuation.
   
   
2. All the good and sound companies will flock to these private equity investors, or angel investors for capital.
   
   
3. All the remain good and sound companies will find ways and means to delist since the shareholders are no longer value adding to the company, and true valuation is out of the window. Either that, or they will be taken over by bigger fishes that see a very good bargain, and delist it from the exchange.

And guess what? All these things are happening right now, at this instant. Some exchanges have already lost sight of the original fundamentals of a public stock exchange. Very soon, they'll see the ill-effects of this kind of loopholes, and by then, it'll be too late because a stigma has already been attached to it.

To all future companies that wants to go the IPO route, good luck to you... I think you're better off attracting private equity funds, or private companies. At least you get a true valuation.

Leadership

I quote from Nelson Mandela:

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.


It's quite rare now to find this kind of leaders in this world. Nowadays, to see a leader come out and take responsibility for the blunders of their subordinates is like waiting for a blue moon to rise.

This is what I call true leadership... A leader worthy of following.

iPhone 2.0 problems and fixes

Seems like the Internet is alive with some of the problems the iPhone 2.0 has. So far I've only seen 2 major problems:

1. iPhone 2.0 for both 2.5G and 3G drops off connection randomly. A similar 2.5G/3G phone using the same carrier has better signal than the iPhone 2.0. Apparently, this happened all over the world and its not isolated to US AT&T.
   
   
2. Some users have reported sluggish behaviour from the iPhone Contacts list when they had 1000 over contacts. Apparently, you will experience some slowness the moment you access your contacts, no matter if you're in Mail, or directly accessing the contacts list.

So far these are the major problems I've seen that many users are facing. There are more rumours with regards to new versions and patches:

• iPhone v2.01 has been spotted by some people when they looked through their server logs. Seems like some patches might be on the way, hopefully with regards to the problems the users are facing now.
  
  
• iPhone v2.1 also seems to be in beta testing.It seems to have some copying and pasting capability, and the location based API has been expanded, which hints that it might support turn by turn navigation. That means in-car GPS using the iPhone? Push notification API has also been added in. This is suppose to be out by September, according to a promise made previously.
  
  However this iPhone 2.1 beta doesn't seem to be compatible with the current App Store. Maybe that's why it has only been released to developers and its in beta.

I hope that when Singtel release the iPhone, it would have all these patches, and the dropping connection problem should at least be resolved. The dropping connection problem will be a real pain.

Take Joy

I quote from Fra Giovanni in his "A letter to a friend", also known as "Take Joy":

"I salute you. I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got; but there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take. No Heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take Heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see; and to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look.

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the Angel’s hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty: believe me, that angel’s hand is there; the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing Presence. Our joys, too: be not content with them as joys, they too conceal diviner gifts.

Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty—beneath its covering—that you will find that earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage, then to claim it: that is all! But courage you have; and the knowledge that we are pilgrims together, wending through unknown country, home.

And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you; not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem, and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away."

Appreciate what you have around you... All you need to do is to look.

Opt out for Singpost Admail service

I happened to glance at the New Paper and realised that there is actually an opt out service for the advertisement mail (Admail) we get through out mailbox. I will paste this section which I got from Singpost website:

Residents who do not wish to receive unaddressed promotional mail through SingPost’s Admail service, can call our hotline number 6845-6210 to inform us.
Our operating hours are
Monday to Friday: 0830am to 0500pm (but closed for lunch from 1230pm to 0130pm)
Saturdays: 0830am to 1230pm
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays


For me, I still find the Admail useful. Sometimes they do have interesting offers, and the fastfood coupons are useful too. :p

$80psf?? Ridiculous!

Read that the Ion Orchard is selling retail space for $80psf?!?!?! That is ridiculous. As far as I know, the highest rental is only like at the very most $50psf at Wisma. Ion Orchard is just next to it, and its like almost double the rental??

The management of Ion Orchard must be living in some other world... It'll be interesting to see how much of a "ghost mall"Ion Orchard will be when it opens.

Inflation is up 7.5%

These are the Singapore inflation rates for 2008:
January: 6.6%
February: 6.5%
March: 6.7%
April: 7.5%
May: 7.5%
June: 7.5%

Food and Housing is leading the charge, rising by 9.2% and 13.4% respectively year on year. Singapore seems to be controlling the inflation quite well. The currency has been growing stronger almost every month.

Everyone is expecting July inflation rate to be much lower. However, did they know that inflation only jumped 1.3% from June to July, and not the 2% everyone is talking about? I think the inflation rate will still hover at around 6+% before moderating downwards in September.

Believe in yourself II

I quote from Bertrand Russell:

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.


Sometimes I get very frustrated with people who keeps quoting from this so and so book, or this so and so person, and just because it/he/she is famous/popular, whatever that it/he/she says is correct.

This quote pretty sums up my feelings. If I'm wrong, prove it to me I'm wrong. Don't tell me that just because so and so said it, I'm wrong. Likewise, if it can be done, prove to me that it can be done with the current resources available. Just because someone has done it doesn't mean that anyone can do it at anytime.

Believe in yourself, and believe in what you can achieve. Let no one tell you otherwise because guess what? Only you know yourself best.

DL reviews of phones below standard!!

I almost wanted to laugh out when I read Digital's Life (DL) review of some phones. I believe they might have misunderstood something. I'm interested in buying a phone, not a camera. So what on earth are they harping on that stupid 5MP camera that the phone has???

There was no mention of:

• Battery life
• Talk time hours (real)
  
• Standby hours (real)
  
• Clarity of conversation
• WAP/3G performance
• Phone accessories
  

All those that's important about the phone, there was not even a mention of it. Instead they kept harping on how grainy the photo is in indoors. Hello!! If I'm interested in a camera, I will buy a camera, not a phone!

Sometimes I do wonder why I bother to read the phone reviews in DL... Maybe just to get a few laughs.

Stock exchanges only benefit themselves

The harsh reality of the real world. Every "exchange" for itself. Just read an article by a formal securities and exchange chairman (SEC). This is a quote from a few sections:

"Short sellers borrow shares they think are poised to drop in price and then sell them, hoping the stock will fall and can be repurchased at a profit. A "naked" short occurs when an investor sells stock that has not yet been borrowed.
.
.
Short selling provides extra liquidity in the market," he said. "The goal isn't to prevent short selling. The goal is to make sure that people who sell short will have the means to settle their trades when they are supposed to be settled."

This is ridiculous! That means a "naked short" can bypass the usual process of borrowing the shares before selling it.

This is already violating the fundamentals of shares investing. It is based on the concept of a limited number of shares in a general market. With this stupid loophole, this is no longer the case. No wonder nowadays no one cares about PTB, DCF, DDM, etc. One can just sell away the shares even though one does not even own it, even for a while (borrowing).

There is going to come a time that all successful companies will only want to be private, and not publicly listed due to these kind of actions. The wave is already coming, all because of these loopholes. If I'm a boss, I would not even want to list in this kind of exchange!

Choose to be happy

Abaraham Lincoln once said:

People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.


No one will be able to make you unhappy if you choose not to. There are many ways to perk yourself up:

• Do something that you like
• Think of happy memories or look through your holiday photos
  
• Be grateful to everything that happens around you

Boils down that everyone has their own unique way of making themselves happy. The choice is always within your power. Choose to be happy, and you'll be.

Park Central @ AMK

Updated 21 Jul 2008: Added the ballot website link
Updated 6 Aug 2008: Number of applications
Updated 16 Apr 2009: Update about balconies and planters

Long ago I've mentioned that I prefer the AMK DBSS to Boon Keng because its more centrally located. Just today, there was an update on it. Apparently, they are going to launch it this coming Wednesday. However, up to now, I'm unable to find the link for this DBSS registration. Anyway, just a short write up to close the loop. :)

DBSS @ AMK will be named Park Central. It is located at Ang Mo Kio Street 52. Click here for the map of the area from HDB. What I like about this area is that:

1. It's near the AMK Central. Plenty of stuff there which is value for money
2. It's near the Ang Mo Kio Town Garden and AMK MRT.
   
3. Ang Mo Kio Town Garden should block off the noise from the MRT so you will not be affected by the sounds from an overhead MRT station.

I've previously written a post about CityView here. Now for a comparison between CityView and Park Central prices:

City View	Park Central
3 room: $349,000 to 394,000 4 room: $523,000 to 597,000 5 room: $536,000 to $727,000	4 room: $400,000 to $500,000 5 room: $600,000 to $670,000 Loft: $580,000 to below $700,000

True to their word, Park Central @ AMK has priced the flats at an average of $490 to $500 psf. I like the 4 room pricing though. The range of the prices for Park Central is also comparable to a unit at the central area, like Toa Payoh. It will also have condo-style fittings such as built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, air-conditioning systems, timber flooring and planter boxes. There are also jogging paths and BBQ pits on the roof-top garden above the carpark. Using this as a comparison, it would seem that Park Central will be more value for money than the HDB flats built by HDB.

What's also different from the other DBSS is that they have 20 loft units which have higher ceilings of 3.6m, compared with the typical 2.6m height. I wonder if they are copying the idea from the Loft @ Punggol.

Like all other DBSS, the $8,000 household income limit will still be there. With regards to my own affordability calculation, you can refer back to my Boon Keng post. I don't think I can afford it though, unless I change to a more stable job.

I wonder if this is the future of DBSS. Renovated HDB flats that will allow you pay for the cost of renovations through CPF. If this is so, then I would say Park Central is setting a good example of affordable HDB flats with acceptabe furnishings for the higher end of the $8,000 household income households.

However, its too early for me to say that its a real good deal because up to now, I have no access to any information regarding Park Central. Even a visit to United Engineers website here reveals nothing about it. For those who are interested in emailing them, you can refer to the DBSS website here.

I would keep my eye open, just for the fun of it. :)

Update 1: I've found the link to the official balloting website for Park Central here. Happy balloting... :)
Update 2: Over 2300 applications were made, which is about 4 times unsubscribed. The applicants have already been screened for their eligibility before they apply. There were also over 23000 visitors to their showflats. I see a high take-up rate for this DBSS, especially their 4 room flats.
Update 3: Realised from The Peak that there seems to be a trend of balconies and planters. I've double checked the floor map for Park Central and it seems like they have it too. Personally to me, that's a big minus. That means I'm playing for space that I can hardly use. For a 4 room flat, it's not really worth it because your small space will be further restricted.

JB 24hrs Crime hotline

For those who frequent JB, take note of this hotline: 07-2212999

This crime hotline is manned 24 hours by staff conversant in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Johor police chief assured that all complaints will be responded to within 15mins.

I would feel is a very useful number to call if you meet "bogus" police. It never hurts to be safe...

Eating in California

Updated 29 Jul 2008: The steak house I went to is Ruth's Chris, not Roth's.

Just a couple of places I thought worth mentioning during my recent US trip. :)

1. IN-N-OUT Burger
   
   Everytime I see it, it seems to be near a MacDonald. :) Anyway, its popular for its Double Double burger. The burger, and the fries are fresh and tasty. Fast food pricing... Click here for the menu.
   
   
2. Fish Market
   
   I love the grilled red snapper. Tasty and affordable, with a very good view of the area too. Refer to my post on the iPhone rant with a picture. That picture was taken at the back of the restaurant. If I recall correctly, we ate somewhere near Santa Clara. The service is not bad too. Click here for the menu.
   
   
3. Amardillo Willys
   
   If you're a ribs person, go for it. I'm not really into ribs but I would say I pretty much enjoyed the Famous Baby Back Ribs. Delicious, and affordable too. If I recall correctly, we ate somewhere near Santa Clara. The service is great! Click here for the menu.
   
   
4. Shalimar Indian & Pakistan Food
   
   If you like Indian food, this is the place to go. Affordable, and it tastes real good. The tandoori chop and boti. Yum yum... :) There are a few shops around. One is in San Francisco, and another that I know of is at Sunnyvale. Good Indian food, and frequented by many Indians too. Click here for the menu.
   
   
5. Ruth's Chris
   
   Okay, this is a rather expensive place. I was told that you need to reserve way in advance to be able to get a seat. You will get first class service here, with good recommendations on what to drink and eat. I shared a Porterhouse for Two with a colleague. The meat was tender and juicy. So far I think it's one of the best steaks I've eaten. Click here for the menu.
   

Finally some good conducting...

I managed to catch the Keat Hong CO performance at the Esplanade last Sunday. All the pieces were arranged by the conductor.

This is one of rare performances where I see the conductor actually doing some serious conducting. I think that the conductor tried to make his movements quite big and clear so that the whole orchestra can see the beat just by glancing. I had more fun looking at the conducting than the orchestra itself.

Maybe the reason is because the conductor has more than 20 years of experience... Anyway, his conducting is the best I've seen so far, and much much better than the "snake" conductor I've seen the other time. Nearly laughed out loud the other time.

His arrangement though doesn't seem to be easy. The time signature kept changing, which could be because they are mostly medley pieces. I love the last piece where he combined a few local folk songs like Rasa Sayang, and a few others. For the first time, I heard the Liu Qin section solo. Usually you can hardly hear them and I did tell people that its such a pity because I could see them do some quite interesting runs, which I cannot hear.

This esplanade performance was also the only performance I've seen with an encore. :p However, I didn't really like the Indian arrangement. A little ... ... weird? Indian pieces on CO instruments. :D

Shopping in California

For my trip to California, these are the shopping areas that has left an impression on me due to either its size, or its huge variety of products:

1. Stanford Mall
   
   This mall is located right next to Stanford University at Palo Alto. It has a variety of shops including small ones like Apple Store, Coach, and big departmental stores like Macy's, Bloomingdale's.
   
   It is at this location where I bought the premium Contour casing for the iPod touch. This is still by far the coolest iPod touch casing I've seen, and its not even sold in Singapore. Oh well... Luckily I did not hesitate. :)
   
   Refer to this link here for the mall directory.
   
   
   
2. Great Mall
   
   This mall is also known as the Great Mall of the bay area. It is located at Milpitas, around 50 miles away from San Francisco. There is also a Home Depot directly opposite the Great Mall if one is interested.
   
   This mall is another big mall that has many many different types of shop, including a number of outlets like Levis/Dockers, Gap, Nike, and normal shops. It is rather big, with a number of mall exits, so try not to get lost. :) If my memory serves me correctly, one of the exits also lead to a cinema.
   
   Refer to this link here for the mall directory.
   
   
   
3. Gilroy Premium Outlets
   
   This place got to be the biggest shopping area that I've ever been to. It is located at Gilroy, and it contains many outlet stores (145 as of last count), spread among 4 blocks, A, B, C and D.
   
   It is very possible that you can spend the full day in this area, and yet not cover every single store. I'm serious...
   
   So far, the stuff in thie area I would say is value for money. However, as they are outlet stores, the design might not be the latest. Heck.. That's the reason why its cheap. :) There are some designs that are quite unique though. As an avid window shopper, I can say that I've never seen these kind of designs in Singapore. :)
   
   Refer to this link here for the directory of shops. I would recommend that you download the map too so that you will not get lost. ;)
   

For these malls, do not worry about food. There are plenty of fast food, or restaurants around. Starbucks too. :)


One disadvantage of these shopping areas though... It is very VERY tiring! :p

iPhone isn't locked to the carrier!! Like real...

Updated 22 Jul 2008: iPhone is locked to carrier
Updated 27 Jul 2008: iPhone sold unlocked in HK

Today's Straits Times has just confirmed what I've suspected for a long time. The iPhone is no longer locked to the specific carrier!

You can get the iPhone, with some kind of plan, and use it across any other telco network. The cons however will be that some features of the iPhone will not work well on other networks. The iPhone requires some new features that the carrier might not have, so it might not work as well.

It will be interesting once Singtel announces its plans...

Straits Times is crap. Anyway, just got the latest news from the US that the iPhone 3G is indeed locked to certain networks. Even the latest jailbroken iPhone 3G is unable to connect to unauthorised networks. There are rumours though that there's a special SIM card adaptor that can trick the iPhone 3G that you're on an authorised network.

Latest news however says that only selected iPhone 3G phones are unlocked in certain countries. Today's newspaper stated that the HK iPhone 3G is unlocked. However, in other countries, it may be locked.

Translated, that means the locking of the phones has shifted from Apple to the carrier itself. The carrier can decide whether to lock it or not. So if you've encountered a locked iPhone 3G, it's not the fault of Apple, but the fault of the carrier.

PTC Fare Adjustment Formula

The Singapore PTC Fare Adjustment Formula (Maximum cap) for 2008 to 2012 will be:
0.5(YoY change of CPI) + 0.5(YoY change of Average Monthly Earnings) - 1.5%

The 1.5% represents the productivity extraction component. I have no idea what does it mean though. The news did say that the new formula will see the public transport operators sharing the productivity gains with the commuters. Is this the one?

Therefore for year 2008, the maximum fare increment will be:
0.5(2.1) + 0.5(6.9) - 1.5 = 3%


Anyway, what I'm looking forward to though is the distance based fare calculation. Hope they will announce good news soon. Finally some action from the government. At least they are listening...

iPhone plan costs $250/month????

This is the first time I see a plan being much more expensive than the phone itself. Today in New Zealand, the iPhone only costs $199 (150 USD), but the plan that comes with it costs a whopping $250/month?!?!?!

I wonder if iPhone will really take off in New Zealand?? $250 a month?? This doesn't make any sense at all, and most probably you're also tied with a 2 years contract. Taking advantage of Apple's brand??

All the way at Brussels though, a store is selling the iPhone for 525 euros, unlocked, and no contract! That would be like 1.2k SGD.

Biasness against iPhone?!?!?!

Recently read a few reviews of the iPhone in our local papers. I see a certain amount of biasness against the iPhone.

Reason... Although the header is about "reviewing" the iPhone, almost the whole article is bashing iPhone. They never pointed out the following:

1. Find me a 3G phone with HSDPA, Wifi (b/g), GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, 2MP camera with 8GB of internal flash for USD199. Go on... Find me one.
   
   
2. Find me a 3G phone that gives me a 1 short-cut icon to an App Store (Apple App Store to be launched on 11 July) that gives you access to paid and free applications. Yes... I really mean free. No need to crack any passwords or do any weird things. There are developers who just like to program free applications.
   
   If I'm free, I can write a simple iPhone app in less than half a day!
   
   
3. Find me a phone that gives a talk-time/internet surfing on 3G for 5 hours, 6hours Wireless, 7 hours video playback, or 24 hours of audio playback.
   

I have not even mentioned the superior web surfing experience of the iPhone. I'm not asking for a love iPhone review, but at least highlight the advantages of it if you're writing a d*** review for that phone. Instead, they kept harping that the phone only has 2MP camera. Tell me... Can your camera phone take this picture below?


Heck... Serious photographers will never use their phones to take pictures. This camera only costs USD250! (Canon SD870 IS if anyone is interested)

Write a review for the phone and never even highlight the advantages of the phone. Ridiculous...

Random Pictures around Fisherman's Wharf

Shops surrounding the Wharf

Wharf

Horse carriages around the wharf

Seagull with bread, at an area cordoned off specially for them

A ship moored near the wharf

Ship, with the golden gate bridge at the background

Alcatraz, with a sail boat nearby

Alcatraz, with a closer zoom

Alcatraz, taken from the submarine deck

Foggy Alcatraz, with a ship on its right

Closest zoom of Alcatraz

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf is a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco. Think Clarke Quay... :)

We have reached there close to evening so we did not really explore the whole area. There is a submarine moored nearby which you could optionally pay to go on-board I think. Some pictures below:

Submarine Tour

Submarine, with Alcatraz in the background

The island you see on the right of the submarine above is the famous Alcatraz. There are several ferry tours you can take around Fisherman's Wharf that takes you to the golden gate bridge, and the famous prison island. It ranges from USD10 to USD30 for a ferry tour. However, to step into Alacatraz, according to the locals, you'll need to pre-book the tickets as it is quite popular. You better prepare warm clothings and a windbreaker if you're going for the ferry tour. It is very very cold out there. :) Below is a picture I took of Alcatraz. Will have a separate post later for all the random pictures I took. :)

Alcatraz

Near the area where you can see Alcatraz, you cannot miss Pier 39. Its quite a popular place because of the Sea Lions that like to rest themselves on the pier itself. Below is a picture of the pier:

Sea Lions at Pier 39

The area behind pier 39 also has many shops, including a shop opened by Forrest Gump, called Bubba Gump. It sells mainly shirts, hats, souveniers, and many pictures of the actual Forrest Gump. There are many shops behind Pier 39, and you can spend alot of time there.

Some pictures that I took around Bubba Gump:

Bubba Gump shop

Bubba Gump wanna-be, anyone?

I had my dinner at a Sourdough shop opposite the Wax Museum I think. Did not really go there to take a look. The clam chowder I had looks remarkably like the Old Chang Kee curry loaf, except that it instead contains clam chowder. :) Some pictures below of the area where I ate:

Sourdough shop

Sourdough with many interesting shapes

Dinner

Personally, I was full after eating it. Maybe because I like the Sourdough and I ate quite a lot of it. My other colleagues however went out for a supper later that night because they were hungry. :p

How does Sourdough tastes like?? Well... Sour. :D
I find that it matches well with the clam chow though.

WWDC Bash

On Thursday evening of the WWDC conference, Apple held a WWDC Bash for all developers in the Yerba Buena Gardens, next to the Moscone West. In short, beers, soft drinks, food, and music... There are basically 4 different categories of food that I've tried. Japanese, Chinese 点心, Normal Chinese Food, and the American food. Frankly, I prefer the American food. The burgers and nuggets were good, and popular too. The Chinese 点心 tastes a little weird. :p

Later on, the live band started playing. They actually composed an iPhone song. I remember it was quite hiliarious. :D

I managed to take a few shots of the bash. Heard that in previous years, it was held in Apple Campus. Its a pity this year it wasn't held there. The shots would be more interesting.


Yerba Buena Gardens, where the bash was held


Crowd eating and drinking


iPhones everywhere. :p


Live band

iPhone to be unlocked only when purchased

Latest news coming from AT&T. It seems that you will definitely need to get some sort of subscription from AT&T if you're getting an iPhone.

It sells for USD199/299 if you're getting it with a 2 year contract. However, if you do not want the 2 year contract, you will have to pay USD599/699 provided you subscribe to some kind of service from AT&T.

Judging from this news, I can safely say that iPhones definitely need to be activated by the provider upon sale. That means there is almost no way you can get an iPhone without subscribing to some sort of service from the provider.

Fast forwarding to what Singtel might do, I would say it will closely mirror what AT&T is doing. My guess is still that the iPhone plan will be bundled the voice together with the data plan by default. Price of iPhone? Cheapest 299SGD?? Hmmm....

Anyway, seems like there's still no news on when is Singtel launching the iPhone. No news from Starhub and M1 too. Wonder how the other countries will react on July 11.