Telcos finding reasons again

Just read an article on telcos trying to get service providers to contribute to the maintenance of the data networks again, giving reasons that they are using the bulk of the network. Personally, I think they are trying to shirk their responsibilities.

How do normal consumers like us subscribe to a data connection? We apply to a telco for a line. The line usually gives us the downstream speed but limited upstream speed.

Have you ever thought of how you can access Google website for example? That's because Google has also subscribed to a data connection, and the data connection upstream and downstream speeds are exactly the same as they are sending information to us. This line usually costs many times what normal consumers are paying. Google, the service provider, will most probably estimate the number of users coming in for each server and subscribe to the appropriate speed.

Therefore, it is definitely NOT true that the service provider is not paying the telcos for the content. They are paying it through the more expensive data connection that they are subscribing to.

If the telcos are having network congestion problems, this actually shows that they are trying to push for more user subscriptions with little regard to their existing network capacity.

So whose fault is that?

The new HP WebOS TouchPad looks cool

HP has just launched their new WebOS TouchPad, their answer to iPad. Based on the demo that I've seen, it seems quite cool. I like the idea where you can close applications by using gestures instead of pressing a button and spoiling the button in the process. It also comes with QuickOffice so you can edit simple documents I presume.

The other cool part is the integration of the TouchPad to the other new WebOS phones like the Pre3. Seems like you can tap the WebOS phone at a certain location and it will be able to share the current web page that is being viewed on the TouchPad.

Some quick specs of the Touchpad known so far:

• 1024x768 pixel 
• 1.5 pounds
• 13mm thickness
• front-facing cameras for video chat
• 16GB or 32GB of built-in memory
• Support for Adobe's Flash
• Beats by Dre speakers
• 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor

Take a look at the video below that shows a quick demo of the TouchPad. Cool...

Beware of your negative thoughts

I quote from Robert H. Schuller:

Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.


Bad decisions will be made when you're not concentrating. Make your important decisions with a clear mind.

Are our public holildays fair to all?

I happened to chance across the Thaipusam festival one day and a thought suddenly hit me. Why can't we enjoy the Thaipusam festival together with the Indians? I have never ever seen the festival because Thaipusam is not a national holiday. It just happened that the festival blockaded some roads that I got a chance to look at it.

I took a look at the list of national holidays and tried to categorise it as follows:

• Start of a new year: New Year's Day, Chinese New Year
• Christians: Good Friday, Christmas
• Muslims: Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji
• Buddhist: Vesak Day 
• Hindu: Deepavali (4th day is also known as the new year)
• For all: Labour Day

If you look at it based on the categories above, it would seem that the Buddhists and the Hindu are not having as many holidays as the Christians and Malays. I also know of Indian colleagues that have to take leave so that they could celebrate Thaipusam. Is it fair to them, considering that Indians are also one of the 4 major races in Singapore?

It would seem that the Hindus are under-represented in Singapore. Even in our neighbouring country, Thaipusam is celebrated as a national holiday. On a side note, the Buddhists there also celebrate Vesākha. If we try to compare the number of public holidays we have with other countries, you can see why we have one of the lowest total fertility rate in the world. We're all work and no play.

What's the purpose of NMP?

Recently I just read another interesting forum post on the topic of Nominated Members of Parliament. The issue was that the writer feels that NMPs should not join political parties after their term has ended.

Personally though, I think it really depends on the reason for the existence of NMPs. If one of the objectives is for people to understand how government works and to entice them to join their ranks, then NMPs should be free to join any political parties after their term has ended.

I would think that this should be one of the aims, other than providing alternate views. Personally, I do not think there is any reason why an NMP should be prohibited from joining any political party after their term has ended. It's their right.

Continuing QE = Increasing Cash Reserve

In my opinion, as long as US continues thinking they can use QE to reduce their jobless rates, they will be in for a long era of slow growth.

The evidence is for all to see. The fact is that the big companies are now keeping records amount of cash reserves. Productivity is also up in US.

All this points to only one conclusion, the QE's only purpose is to help generate revenue for the government in terms of taxes, but does little to reduce the jobless rate because frankly, there are no incentives at all for companies to hire.

Like it or not, there is no such thing as free market. The companies are not stupid. If the outlook is not certain and there are no incentives for hiring, the company will rather keep the profit for a rainy day.

Joblessness cannot be reduced by flow of money. Fact, as far as I am concerned.

新年快乐！

Are there too many leaders?

Recently I was reading an article that was questioning if there are too many leaders, and not enough managers in today's organisations. The reason is simple. Many leaders seem to be detached from the ground and are trying to chart the direction forward without fully understanding what's happening at the ground.

Is this the norm? Management says that they are cutting cost, but they are asking you to do magic and produce more. I'm sure this rings a bell for everyone. The leaders now may wish to drive the organisation to a certain direction but they may not understand that it's often the small things that will affect the outcome. When cost is cut, it is often that these significant small things are reduced/discontinued causing widespread displeasure, affecting your branding. Only the managers will understand this because they are closest to what matters, the customers.

Furthermore, what's the easiest way to drive up revenue and profit? It's to cut your expenses and get your workers to produce more, a vicious cycle I would say because it's highly likely that your quality will suffer as a result. It may even be possible that this will result in an opposite effect.

What's the ideal method for increasing revenue and profit? Innovation. Is that the norm? You decide.

Has the Board lost it's importance in the corporate world?

It seems that SMRT has appointed an executive committee (exco) to assist the Board in making decisions. Personally, I think this reflects badly on SMRT.

The Board usually convenes due to circumstances that require their attention. It may be a big purchase decision, or matters that are of high importance to the organization.

SMRT, by appointing an exco, seems to aim to bypass the Board for certain decisions. If the matter is of great importance and requires urgent attention, all the more the Board should hear it as it will definitely impact the organization. Moreover, if the matter requires urgent resolution, it does show a lack of planning and risk management.

Can a listed company bypass the Board in this manner?

Will the Lenovo ideapad U1 be available in Singapore?

I am not really a fan of Microsoft Windows but Lenovo has created a pretty innovative product called the Lenovo ideapad U1. The concept is very simple. It's a normal Windows 7 laptop but the screen can be detached and is able to function as an Android tablet. This is something that will totally fit into the way I use computers. The problem is that the availability of this product is still a question mark. I have also yet to see the specs of this but I will keep an eye out for it.

Below is a Youtube video that I've found on this product. Looks cool.