Category: Observing Life

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Diary I See I Write

Day 1 of Unlimited Music Download – So I Surprised Cynthia with a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

The new Nokia XpressMusic 5800 with "Come With Music"

Edit: I have received reliable responses to the questions I raised in this entry and I have edited this post accordingly for sharing!

Words cannot describe the sense of liberation as we spent the entire Sunday downloading music, legally.  Free or not free, it’s arguable.  But for what I pay for, I don’t know which one is a bonus – the entire catalog of music at the Nokia store or the touchscreen phone itself.

I like to surprise Cynthia every now and then, just to put a smile on her face.  Ever since I have attended the official launch of “Comes With Music”, ever since she has read the advertisement of these new Nokia phones the next day, I know she’d love the possibility of unlimited downloading any number of music tracks – even for just a year.

Yesterday, out of nowhere, I asked her to synchronize her personal info from the Nokia N95 that I passed to her, to the Ovi.com Nokia server.  After I’ve backed up her media files, I told her that we were going for phone shopping.  She was shocked, and so was the shop assistance when I handed him the N95 for trade in.  “You don’t want this phone?” he asked.  It was either that or the Motorola that Cynthia wanted last February.  Doesn’t matter to me, either way.

This is not a sponsored post.  Not even for the yearly S$120 phone voucher from the phone operator that I couldn’t use because after the trade-in, the balance is less than that.  This is a little personal journal of mine on day 1 of the free music download service and my 3rd impression of the XpressMusic 5800.

Comes With Music – 12 hours of download, 60 albums, 904 tracks, a play time total of 2 days and 13 hours!

Click here for a screenshot of day 1 achievement!  The Nokia software is pretty neat, as you can see.  I was playing music to my Hi-fi, downloading albums from Nokia Store, uploading albums into Cynthia’s new phone at the same time.

OK, to be frank, the Nokia Music Store doesn’t have everything.  There are tracks I couldn’t find.  But interestingly, there are versions of the albums I wouldn’t be able to find in Singapore either.  Some versions have bonus tracks, some versions have a lot more tracks than others.  Some are digitally remastered.  All of them come with album artworks, encoded in a decent sound quality (192 kbps, mp3).  Yes, you can download as many tracks as you want.  No, you can only play them in your computer or from your phone.  It’s not big a deal to me really.  For what it’s worth, 60 albums would have cost me quite a bit.  And it is only day 1.  My on-board sound card handles mp3 format pretty well (with X-Fi Crytalizer).  I have a very decent cable to connect either my computer or the phone to my Hi-fi.  I am a happy man; Cynthia is a happy girl; we are a happy couple.

So we downloaded albums that are on our to-buy list, albums that we couldn’t get in Singapore, imported albums that are usually too steep in price, old and new albums that worth the listen but may not worth the cost, albums that are digitally remastered, and albums that satisfy our curious minds.  A download speed of half a minute per song seems reasonable.  But all things in moderation, it takes much longer to consume an album than the time it takes to download for sure.

I know there are people who are not entirely happy with the digital rights management (DRM) that restricts how we play the downloaded music from Nokia Store.  I certain have tons of questions in my mind such as what would happen if I too shall buy a “Comes With Music” phone and would Cynthia and I be able to share the same library since we share the same computer at home?  Is the yearly subscription model of “Comes With Music” as simple as upgrade my Nokia phone every year?  How easy it is for me to move the contents when I eventually upgrade my computer?

Reliable responses received as follows:

  • Tracks and playlists can be shared between registered Comes With Music users (subject to confirmation that the user hold an active Comes With Music license)
  • For now, access to the Comes With Music service after a subscription ends is only available with the purchase of a new Comes With Music device.
  • You can de-register your old PC and transfer your Comes With Music membership to a new PC every three months. Following which, you can transfer your entire Comes With Music collection to the new PC via the Nokia Music Store as all your account information is stored there.

Looking at the way we collect and consume music on vinyl to today, I personally wouldn’t think too hard on DRM.  Today, I am a happy man.  That’s all that matter.  You could be too.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – Still loving it

The phone is a beauty.  Before long, Cynthia was showing me how to switch on the predictive messaging in her native language Bahasa Indonesia.  OK, it did take a a good couple of minutes for me to figure out how to download Cynthia’s personal info such as contacts, notes, calendar items from the Ovi.com Nokia server into her new phone.  But the rest of the functionalities are pretty easy to be figured out.  Like tapping onto the clock to set the alarm.  Tapping on a little icon on top that opens up a quick application access bar.  Tapping onto a video on YouTube opens it up in full screen mode.  And etc.  Punching in text messages is a breeze.  I like the alpha-numeric mode with vibration feedback.  Cynthia seems to like the QWERTY keyboard or the handwriting mode.

To those of you who approached me for opinion be it as you have not owned a touchscreen phone before or you are not entirely satisfied with the Apple iPhone or others, I am putting my money to where my mouth is.  Go get one.  You won’t regret it.  If you have the budget and touchscreen is not a must, the N96 Comes With Music is a very good option.  Otherwise, you could also wait for the new touchscreen N97.

Related Posts:

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I See I Write

The Outlook of Digital Music Media in 2009 – Comes With Music Part 2

Cynthia and her Nokia phone and her music collection

Before I dive into my personal thought on the current outlook of music industry, here are some interesting facts.

The big four major record labels that Nokia has struck a deal with account for over 80% of total sales worldwide (read previous blog entry for details on “Comes With Music”).  Revenue from CD sales has been heading south.  That is old news.  The big boys blame piracy.  Some disagree.  In 2008, 2 billion dollar revenue was generated via digital music sales.  70% came from Apple iTune Store and the pie is split three-way: 61-29-9 cents between the record industry, Apple, and the artists respectively.

So how does Nokia come into the picture?

Apple’s foray into wireless phone business may have accelerated Nokia’s counter response by setting up the OVI Store to rival iTune Store that currently contains over 10 million song titles.  The new Nokia service “Comes With Music” allows users to freely download any of the 4 million song titles within OVI Store for the first year.  The new touchscreen Nokia 5800 XpressMusic together with the upcoming N97 take aim at Apple iPhone covering both high end and mid segments.  And Apple’s response?  All tracks sold in iTune Store will be free of DRM (digital rights management) and will be encoded to 256 kbit/s.  The game is on.  It is round one in year 2009.

In layman’s term, what Nokia says is this: look, just buy our phone and you can download all you like for a year (but you can only play them in your PC or your phone).  And Apple’s reply is: you pay for a higher quality music that you can’t find it anywhere (except CDs) and your music is for you to play in any device.

Tricky situation we have here in Singapore.  There are still a group of people who balk at the Comes With Music’s comes with DRM (digital rights management).  And the discussion on Apple iTune Store is purely academic because, well, it is still not available in Singapore.  Nokia has provided us a legal channel to download music online here at home.  Apple has not.

DRM is a thorny issue – both in music industry and in PC gaming industry.  It is a last ditch effort for the big boys to battle piracy (the very last resort is prosecution).  Without going into the nuts and bolts of DRM, its original intend is to deter piracy.  Well, it doesn’t work.  What DRM hurts most are the legitimate users who pay for the products.  At best, DRM inconvenience paying customers.  At worst, it makes the products unusable for the unfortunate few – the ones who paid.

I talk to those who constantly download music illegally and I have the following observations.  Most don’t see anything wrong with their action.  Most have lots of honorable reasons such as “I will buy the CD later if the music is good”, “I can’t find the music in the local market”, “It is for personal use and not for distribution”, “The music industry is evil and they don’t deserve my money”, and more.  Most tend to massively download music round the clock and I always ask them in puzzlement, “Can you really consume all that you download?!”

Maybe the world has changed.  It is the way we consume music.  I have difficulties in thoroughly understanding and internalizing each music album with my average purchase rate of one CD a week.  How could those who massively harvest all the the tracks out there illegally get to appreciate the artwork within the 24 hours we have a day?  What happens to the days of us listening to the album again and again till we memorize all the lyrics, till we can sing along with the tracks, till we can interpret the messages the artists are trying to convey?

To be fair to the old dinosaurs like I, there are still quite a few friends who purchase and collect albums, go back in time to appreciate certain tracks from an album published a decade or two or more ago.  Maybe these days, there are more and more listeners out there who would briefly listen to some tracks within an album and stick to a few tracks they like.  And then they move onto the next album.  To me, paying for a music album knowing that I would listen to it again and again seems worth it.  To some, maybe not.

Personally, I don’t think it is right to download music against the will of the owners.  If you expect people to work for free, would you too work for free?  Having said that, the business model of the music industry needs an overhaul.  Using revenue generated by sales to fund lesser known artists, to fund all the middle layers in the name of music promotion needs to be changed.  Awareness on respecting the intellectual property of others needs to be raised within the mass public too.  One can never fight greed [of the music industry] with greed [of one’s illegal download action].

In 2000, horror book writer Stephen King published a serialized novel “The Plant” online.  It cost $1 to download each installment.  But here is the deal.  You could download the installment without paying a dime.  Or you could pay the nominal sum of $1.  120,000 paying readers downloaded the first installment.  By the fifth installment, only 40,000 were paying.  Most no longer paid.  I did pay for all 5 installments and after such a disappointing result, Stephen King stopped the series briefly.  Paying readers cried out loud as we wanted to read the ending.  If my memory serves me right, King did publish the remaining installments free.

So, what’s the morale of the story?

In an online world, honor exists, but is rare.  The fact that digital media can be duplicated poses challenges to the art creators, the publishers, and the paying consumers.  The key to success, in my humble opinion, is to give the mass public what they want, their most preferred mode of accessing the media.  Consumers are willing to pay if the experience enhances their lives, and not to cause inconvenience.  The Amazon wireless reading device Kindle and the new Kindle 2 is a good success story.

Nokia’s “Comes With Music” has taken a major step to the right direction.  Even with the cost of music factored into the phone, having the entire music collection at our disposal 24×7 is as close to what some are experiencing today.  As a market leader having a market share of close to 40%, the first year result of “Comes With Music” is expected to be spectacular.  People would still buy their new 5800 touchscreen phone or the high end Nseries phones anyway with or without “Comes With Music”.  I am keen to see that one day Nokia stripping the DRM technology away to give the consumers total freedom to play the downloaded music in any device.  Whoever – be it as Nokia or Apple or any other brand – able to grant the consumers a complete freedom while having a sustainable business model will be the ultimate winner.  But till that day – since my N96 and N95 are still in pretty good condition – I will stick with CDs and stay away from illegal download like I always do for now.

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I See I Write Photography

Part One: Nokia Comes With Music – Too Good to be True? – A Media Event

Nokia Come With Music - Media Event

Imagine this: you buy a phone and it comes with 4 million songs for you to download for free for a year – via your PC or your Nokia phone.  And you get to keep all the tracks even after the service period is over.

It is not a question if what Nokia is attempting to do is revolutionary.  It simply is.  No doubt about it.  The questions are: Is this a step towards revitalizing a dying music industry that the existing business model is unable to cope with the way the mass public consumes music?  And more importantly, what is it in for Nokia and what is it in for you and I?

October last year, I had the privilege to attend the Nokia Remix event when the upcoming Nokia model 5800 XpressMusic was announced.  Last Friday, I have attended the media launch event of “Comes With Music”, had the opportunity to try out the phone one more time and find out more from the Nokia team on this new service.  In part one of this blog entry, you will get to read more on what this service is about.  And in part two that I will publish next, you will get to read my personal take on the impact of this new service in a larger scheme of work.

Comes With Music and the New Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

The new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen phone is awesome.  I will not repeat what I have experienced last October.  What I did try out last Friday though was the browser capability.  Intuitively, I touched the screen, moved my thumb up and down and the web page was scrolled accordingly.  Neat.  I tried double clicking onto the page and it zoomed right in.  Very cool!  All by intuition.  I could zoom in and out smoothly via a side bar too.  In case if you wonder from the pictures below what kinky video I was watching, it was nothing R rated.  I opened up YouTube and watched one of the videos from my favorite French artist Mylene Farmer.  When I double clicked onto the video, the player went into full screen mode.  I may consider an unlimited mobile data plan if I have one of these hot babies.

OK.  Some pictures to show taken during the event.  The band All American Rejects was in the house, our local DJ team The Muttons was in the house, the event was held at Velvet Underground, and many were queuing outside for the band to perform live!

Below are some key facts about the new service “Comes With Music”.

  • Selected Nokia phone models including the new 5800 XpressMusic literally comes with music.  You can download any of the 4 million tracks from the Nokia Store for free for a year.  And you get to keep all that you have downloaded via your PC or your mobile devices.
  • Nokia is yet to announce what the service fee for subsequent years is going to be.  I am not sure how often people upgrade their wireless phones.  Personally I hope that Nokia will take this into consideration when they create a service model for “Comes With Music”.
  • You can only listen to the music downloaded via your PC or your wireless phone.  I asked: what if I upgrade my PC?  According to Nokia, I can deactivate my old PC and then active my new PC.  Pretty much like the DRM (digital right management) model that the gaming industry has adopted.  DRM doesn’t go too well with the legitimate paying gamers.  “Comes With Music” is an interesting case because of the shear amount of songs you can potentially download over the service period that come with the phone.  But if “Comes With Music” comes with a price after the first year, it all depends how much it would cost to justify the inconvenience.
  • No, you can’t burn the music onto the CD.  Again, you are not paying a lot for that 4 million song list at least for the first year.
  • What if I need to upgrade my PC after my “Comes With Music” service period is over?  I was told that there is quite a long grace period.  You can still transfer your downloaded tracks from one machine to another.
  • Which are the music giants on board “Comes With Music”?  EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music, as well as Asian independent labels.

Closing Note and Coming Next

Now you have read what “Comes With Music” is as well as get to hear more about the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  I am a passionate music listener and I have had the opportunity to talk with many on the current situation the music industry is facing.  I get to have a better appreciation on what are the different types of listeners out there and their preferred mode of music delivery.  In part two of this blog entry, I will share more on my take on how brilliant Nokia’s move is going up against the successful Apple iTune and its products by defining their own rules and what are the implications.

When Cynthia read the advertisements on the Saturday papers, she got very excited by the new Nokia touchscreen phone that comes with music.  And she asked, “So I can download the entire album of Pussycat Dolls for free?”  I smiled and replied, “Not only that, you have 4 million songs to choose from!”  I looked at the pricing of a new “Comes With Music” Nokia phone and it doesn’t seem excessive.  For what it is worth, you can think of paying a nominal amount that is factored into the price of a phone and that opens up a world of music for you to listen to, a freedom that now you can legally experience.

As you may have noticed by now that I always love to write a small thank you notes on most of the events I have attended.  It is because what I usually enjoy most is the people I come to interact with, time and time again.  So, cheers to the Nokia team especially to the one who was so patiently showcasing the new phone to me last October and again showed me what else 5800 can do last Friday.  And of course to the lovely Text100 team, thanks for the chat and the little walk around at the stage area.  Yes, one day our band would be there and I will get your help!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for part 2.

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I See I Write Photography

Journal of a Blogger Attending “Showcase Nokia 2009” Event

The New Nokia e75

I always enjoy attending Nokia events.  With a brand valued at $36 billion, as a consumer, I am keen to learn what new products and services Nokia have in store for us in the year 2009.  Nokia has always been more than just a phone to me.  It represents a constant advance of the technology frontier and new concepts, opening the door of possibilities to the end users.  Granted, not all new ideas become instant hits at the first launch.  Nokia always finds ways to improve.  That’s why I like the brand.

Arrived at ZIRCA formerly known as Ministry of Sound 15 minutes before the start of the media registration, by the Singapore River I took half an hour break and finished reading the book sent by McGraw-Hill.  As their book review blogger, I try to publish one book summary a month.  Some asked how I find time and energy to do all the things that I do – at least from what you read in here.  I guess if we actively manage our time, there are a lot we can accomplish.

When I entered the venue, I recognized some familiar faces from the local blogosphere as well as one overseas blogger from our friendly neighboring country.  Then I learned that “Showcase Nokia 2009” is a regional event and Nokia flew in the media teams – traditional and new – from around the region.  There was one from Vietnam too!

At around 7pm, Chris Carr, VP Sales of Nokia took the stage (event photos below).  The anticipation was high; cameras were ready; the video camera from the local news station was in position.

The first new phone that took the stage was the e75.  For those who want the best email experience and are into office productivity applications, this e-series baby is no stranger.  It looks slim and stylish and I took a picture of it as featured on top of this post.  I have tried out the QWERTY keyboard and I love the feel of it.  It is not ordinary rubber, yet there is this anti-slip feel to it.  The red color model is very striking.  e75 is planned to hit the store in Q1 this year.

Next was the e55.  Up to 28 days standby time, imagine spending a month in Timbuktu without the need to charge the phone!  e55 comes with a somewhat slightly extended keypad and it is dubbed the smallest Nokia messaging device.  In this small island that the residents are so in love with email and messaging, this could do well.  9.9mm is a pretty slim phone.  Scheduled to release on Q2.

Remember the days of the good old “banana” phone that the film Matrix has made famous?  Nokia 6720 Classic (Q2) and 6710 Navigator (Q3) are interesting additions to the family.  OK, they are not quite like that good old phone that Neo used to step in and out of the Matrix.  They do have the ergonomic design that curve slightly to our faces.  With the Nokia 6710 and 6720 Classic, you can pre-plan your trip at your computer via the OVI Map (I tried that last night and it works), get plugged into your phone and be awed by the high resolution aerial images, 3D landmarks, terrain maps, weather service, traffic warning, and for those who tend to get lost on foot or inside a vehicle like me, a compass is provided (that I haven’t tried).  I really shouldn’t mention that Navigator may even have the knowledge of where the speed cameras are.  Beware!  Agent Smith is around the corner!

The highlight of the evening is perhaps the new Nokia N86 8MP (Q2).  The press related information was embargoed until yesterday.  I previously had a N80.  This N86 is a pure beauty.  For those who are into taking good photos with your phone, check this out.  Wide-angle 8MP Carl Zeiss Tessar optics with variable aperture to cater for low light condition, N86 comes with a premium authentic design: scratch resistant glass front face surrounded by prestige metal details.  It looks good on day one.  It may still look good when you take it to Timbuktu and back.

I met Damien from Helsinki in the event.  He is the man behind the new OVI Mail initiative.  OVI Mail is an interesting new service targeted at those countries that may not have a high Internet penetration.  In Singapore, email is part of our daily lives.  But that may not be the case elsewhere – like the remote towns of Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and etc.  So what Nokia has done is to integrate OVI Mail into the new series of low-cost phones.  I was at the counter and Damien proudly handed me one of the new phone and said, “Try it and see how easy it is to create your mailbox!”  I tried it on the spot and the registration is very straightforward.  No guessing of what my ovi.com email address is.  With email integration and support to a dozen native languages, these devices could be a life changing experience to many.  Imagine the first experience of email ever, on a wireless phone.  I have travelled to remote towns in the region that do not have a decent Internet connection.  It is easy to take whatever we have around us for granted.

I reckon some of you may be interested to see how the new Nokia 2009 lineups look like.  I am a simple guy so what I have done is to dump all the press images into OVI.  Enjoy!  As always, thanks to Nokia and Text100 teams for the invite.  Supriya and Felicia, good to see you in the event.  You both look fabulous!

External Link: OVI by Nokia

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I See I Write

Relaunch of Yesterday.sg – Our Heritage Leveraging on Social Media with a Whole New Look

Yesterday.sg Banner as of Today

So I was invited to attend the Relaunch Party of Yesterday.sg as a blogger, alongside with the traditional media.  The party was held during the lunch hours, which is friendly to my day job.  I wonder how other Singaporean bloggers manage to find time to attend to so many events that happen during my office hours.  Don’t they need to … make money or study?  If heritage is defined as something that is passed down from preceding generations, a tradition, I wonder if the Singapore Blogosphere would become a facet of our heritage beyond a direct archive of some (celebrity) bloggers’ sites like today.

The new Yesterday.sg site is pretty, or more appropriately described as relevant, vibrant, and professionally made.  When one of the bloggers at the event highlighted to me that the clock at the logo goes backward, I went ah-ha!  I suppose they have their in-house bloggers to provide the contents and I was told that we can all sign up and contribute.

I am a simple guy.  And I like the “Today in History” section the most.  It is short and sweet and as a new citizen of Singapore, it gives me a constant dose of Singapore history that is of heritage value.

This new comprehensive social media initiative driven under National Heritage Board is an ambition one, in my opinion.  Besides the blog entries at the 3 years old portal, HTV or better known as Heritage TV is launched with in-house videos created to target those who prefer something visual, other than words.  For a mere team of 3 or so it seems, it is a job well done.  Check out the video clips at the Yesterday.sg website.

Will there be active discussion and exchange of ideas within the new forum?  Will the Heritage gaming initiative targeting at the online game developers and the online gamers alike take off?  For a start, I think Yesterday.sg is very promising to connect (or reconnect) online readers to Singapore heritage.  While I am looking forward to what is to come our way, I am happy to start with “Today in History”.

Below are the few pictures I took during the event.

PS. Ah … now you know when this post was written.

External Link: Yesterday.sg

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I See I Write

Taken For Granted That We Are Alive and Kicking?

A Cathedral in Hong Kong taken from the Zoo

What if all Catholic priests blog and write their weekly / daily sermon sharing it with the community of the same faith?  I often ponder upon this as some sermons are pretty well delivered and they deserve to have a wider audience.  Why does The Bible stop at the Book of Revelation?  OK, I know why from the theology point of view.  But all these God inspired sermons, what if we keep compiling them and create a definitive copy for generations to read?

For those who are new to Catholic faith, regardless of where in the world you are in, if you attend a Mass today, the exact same set of Bible passages will be read, the exact same opening and closing prayers will be delivered.  The only difference is the sermon after the reading of the Gospel.  Another interesting thing that I observe is that seldom do the parish priests stay in the same Church for a long time.  They move around from Churches to Churches, across the geographies.  Vatican has a global reach (and it is going YouTube!).  Once in a while, I come across beautifully crafted sermons that I wish I had written it down somewhere.  Today I have encountered one.  So I shall write it down for my future reference.

Today’s sermon was long, as always.  But there is one touching true story within that makes me ponder.  I think it has something to do with taking living for granted.  One day, a man has decided to visit a Church more often than just a Sunday Catholic (side track: I just asked Cynthia what’s wrong with being a Sunday Catholic and she said we shall talk to God everyday … everyday?!).  It was because his wife has cancer and the doctor told him that the chance of surviving an operation was very low.  On the day of his wife’s operation, this man was feeling worried and lonely and so, he went to Church.  Coincidentally, it was Ash Wednesday.  When the priest anointed the ash onto his forehead as part of a Catholic tradition and said, “Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return” (note: there are 3 versions by the way … and he got the dust version).  It suddenly hit him that whether it was his wife’s life or his, life is finite.  Unto dust we would return.  That evening, he wife passed away.

Our priest went on to link this true story to today’s reading and he ended the sermon with something for us to ponder.

Everyone of us should find our answers or reasons of why we must continue to live.

Maybe it is good to stop for while and self reflect on just that.  Maybe we shall look at a bigger picture than the small things in life.

PS. Photo taken when I was in Hong Kong.  A shoot from the Zoo into the Cathedral near my old school.

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Memorable Events Other People's Lives

Featured in My Paper – Behind the Scene

My Paper

This must be the first time I see my Chinese name (黃健暉) printed on a local newspaper.  I think my parents in Hong Kong would be happy if they read that.  The first time I saw my English name printed on newspaper was back in the Project Eyeball era.  How I miss Project Eyeball.  The good old days.  Had it been published free of charge like My Paper and TODAY and let the advertisement funds the operation, I think it would survive.  I still believe that the 80-cent Project Eyeball was ahead of its time.

After numerous long email exchange, MSN exchange, and short message exchange with the friendly My Paper journalist Koh Soo May (who has a lovely Chinese name that unfortunately I don’t know how to type it out here) over the weekend, I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into my favorite Coffee Bean at the Republic Plaza looking at the pile of My Paper at the counter.  You know what it is like when you interact with a journalist.  There is this element of uncertainty on what he or she is ultimately going to write, whether you will be in a positive or a not so positive light.

I tried to keep my cool but couldn’t contain my excitement.  I flipped opened the bilingual paper.  Front page (the Chinese side), I saw my site.  Gosh!  And on the third page as well.  I am much impressed by the level of details on the coverage of the topic: Bloggers – Power to the Commercial World (something like that in English).  Journalist Soo May has managed to interview the Companies, the PR firms, and the bloggers covering the areas of social media, product and service reviews and endorsement, and the trend within and outside Singapore.  Bravo!

Good read it is, I was so excited and delighted that I told one of the staff in Coffee Bean quietly behind the counter that I was on My Paper.  That was, by the way, after she asked me for a career advise if she should study Medical Science or Nursing (I love the staff of Coffee Bean at the Republic Plaza, very friendly people always with a smile).  She too was so excited that she grabbed one of the papers.  And then I realized that she cannot read Chinese, and I realized that quite a number of my good friends cannot either.

Oh well, for those who can read Chinese, click here to view the first page and here to view the subsequent one.

I guess most of us read the paper or any publication without really given much thoughts on what’s behind the scene.  After briefly worked with Soo May observing how much time she put into the articles in the middle of the night and over the weekend while busy reaching out to the network, I think I now read the newspaper with a better appreciation.  I always thought that my few hours spent per blog entry is hard work.  I certainly wouldn’t wish to write for a newspaper agency for now.

And so, this blog entry is dedicated to all the hard working journalists who face all sorts of challenges to deliver us stories, stories that don’t usually have a long lifetime and before they are even published, these journalists need to work on the next topic, and the next.

External Site: MyPaper.sg

PS. There is this one person from TEXT100 I would like to thank for all the wonderful opportunities and you know who you are.  Thank you!

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I See I Write

If There is One Thing I Can Change On How Singapore Retail Market Operates … OK, Make it 10

I love my country but not certain aspects of our retail market.  I am not an economist, just a layman consumer on the ground.  My everyday observation as such.

Recently I bought a camera.  If you are to buy the exact same one I have at a major chain store, you would have to pay 25% more compares to getting one from a small shop.  Same camera.  Why pay more?  It’s not a plate of chicken rice here that you have to pay S$1 more because you are in the Orchard area.  We are talking about adding a few more zeroes to that.

The moment I discover instances like this, I vow not to buy anything from these chain stores unless absolutely need to.  You should vow the same too and say no to daylight robbery (unless you are loaded with $$).

I used to purchase books from the major bookstores in Singapore.  Then I discovered the vast difference between buying one here and ordering one from Amazon.com (even with shipping fees and your items are likely to arrive in a few days’ time).  Take one photography book (ISBN 0321555619) as an example.  Times bookstore sells it at S$70.  Amazon.com sells it at US$30.  Even with a US$10 extra on shipping fees, you would have saved S$10.  Or 14%.  More savings when you order more books online (US$5 is fixed regardless on the number of items).

So, I vow not to buy anything from the bookstores here unless absolutely need to.  You should too.  What has gone wrong with these stores?  Maybe you have a clue for I have none.

Maybe you think … hang on, we are paying for the superb knowledge of the salesmen right?  Observe our sales people next time.  How many of them are label readers?  You ask a question, they read the label, and tell you an answer.  You ask which one is better, they read each label one by one, and you still cannot decide.

Not all are label readers, I must admit.  But do our salesmen use or have passion on what they sell?  Most of the time, I got the answer no and the most common reason is: I don’t have time for this.  Ask the sales person next time: do you actually use anything you sell?

Cynthia needed a Korg chromatic tuner (the pitchback series) for our gig.  And we finally got it just days before our live performance, after we have placed the order for 3 months.  I have been hunting for the Nikon zoom lens for ages.  No way I am going to pay 20% extra to get one from a chain store.  I literally have to camp over a few camera shops in order to get one.  Countless time I called in or walked into the shop only to find that a walk-in visitor just bought the last piece.

Gosh … I’m tired of waiting.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the newspaper agent littering “Today” at our doorstep.  Over the years, I have called them so many times to stop “Today” from appearing.  But every now and then, perhaps as and when they need to up the readership, “Today” piles up at my doorstep.  Every weekend, we have to take the unread “Today” and dump them away.

Huh?

The price we pay for a dead cold fish in Singapore, we could have gotten a live fish in Hong Kong.  Do the small camera shops actually want to sell me anything at all?  Of all the salesmen in Singapore, the ones at the camera shops rank the lowest in my book.  Seriously, photography isn’t that expensive as a hobby.  My guitars ain’t cheap.  Neither are my computer components.  Music instrument stores and computer stores welcome me to camp over their shops like a long lost child of theirs.  Maybe you do, but I don’t get it.

And hence, I sigh at our retail market, though I love my first world country.

PS. A random picture of my first lens taken with my second zoom lens.

Categories
I See I Write

Lingerie Shopping Spree at Brüttal, Bangsar Village 2 (Malaysia)

After I have posted my rather unsightly photos taken inside my friend Adeline’s lingerie shop October this year, here are my responses to some of the commonly raised comments.

  • Yes, that 10% discount on the brutally chic n sexy lingerie by merely saying the passwords of either my name or “that Singapore blogger” is true.  In fact, I fought so hard for you all lovely readers that it is still valid.  Christmas is round the corner.  A great opportunity to spice up … your life.
  • No, I really don’t have the X-factor to model for lady’s lingerie.  Hence, I am bringing my new troop to get the job done this time.
  • No, I do not intend to pursue my career as a male escort for men, nor for the ladies.  But if that is the only talent I can make money in this economy downturn …

Ever since those pictures have made public, once in a while or rather very often, Cynthia would poke me and ask, “Why didn’t you get that for me?”.  Good question.  Why didn’t I?  I was too engrossed in taking pictures.  Adeline was too engrossed in showing me what picture to take.  And we both forgot to get Cynthia something.

Recently, we have made a trip to the lovely Fraser Hill (more photos to come later!) and have decided to make a stop over at Bangsar and visit our friend’s shop Bruttal.  I pulled along my old good friend Kah Lok and he gamed for it.  Lovely!  Time for a serious shopping spree!

I think all men on earth should put aside a healthy budget for the lingerie shopping of their loved ones.  Come to think of it, who else on earth are going to see these lovely flimsy pieces of garments that tantalize our bodies and minds but us.  I personally have a monthly non-cumulative use-it-or-lose-it revolving lingerie credit line for Cynthia.  You should have yours too.

There have been quite a few new items added to Bruttal’s collection since my last visit.  There is this red colored wings that a girl can strap onto her back.  Great for a party costume I suppose.  Practically, I can only think of one or a few realistic … erm … positions (time to consult the Kama Sutra manual).  Speaking of costumes, Adeline shared with me that Malaysians are really big in wearing those for parties of all sort.  Adeline, if your customers need a photographer for the event, you know who to recommend.  Thank you!

There is this super plus size bra that has to be a cup size of H or J.  According to Adeline, it’s quite a popular item.  Hmmm.  And there is this nurse outfit that comes with the stethoscope.  That crotchless lingerie is out-of-stock.  Gasp!  See that lovely necklace that Cynthia was trying on?  She wore it during our band’s gig at The Heeren.

Do check out these affordable brutally chic n sexy  lingerie at Brüttal (RM18 to RM159.90 or S$7.50 to S$66.60) the next time you visit Bangsar, Malaysia.  Spread the words and don’t forget to get your 10% discount by mentioning my name … happy shopping!

Special Promotions

  • Christmas Sales: From Dec 15th to 25th, with every purchase of RM 250 and above on a single receipt, you will get (1) free imported hard case gift box and (2) RM 50 discount.
  • Boxing Day Sales: Dec 26th, 50% storewide discount + best buy items.

External Website: Brüttal.us (tel: +603 2287 7172)

Categories
I See I Write

Nokia N96 Test Drive Episode 2 – GPS in the Highland

Ever since I got that lovely Nokia N96, I have not stopped playing with it.  I am a big fan of GPS.  And this post is dedicated to the computer gamers who often get to experience some forms of what the future will be like, today.  Or to experience some forms of what today is like decades ago.

As we were driving up from Singapore to Fraser Hill in Malaysia, I had my Nokia Map switched on throughout the trip.  One could argue that the screen is a bit tiny and question the necessity.  But not having to pay for an extra GPS device just to tell me where I am serves my need.  I now can see when the next highway intersection is coming up before I see the roadsigns.  That is neat as I do at times miss the opportunity to bypass the Kuala Lumpur traffic.  I can easily zoom all the way out to the country view (or to the planet view if to feel like living in the Moon makes you happy) and look at the overall progress of the trip – very much like what we see inside the plane.  Or I can zoom all the way into the street level and see where are the upcoming towns nearby.  All the landmarks are categorized into different icons.  Including … petrol stations.

Unfortunately, not for the one above.

Before I continue the story of finding a petrol station at Fraser Hill, let me go back to the topic of why I dedicate this post to the gamers.  For decades, we gamers explore the virtual world with a mini-map on the computer screen and to know exactly where we virtually are.  It adds a lot of fun to our exploration activity.  We humans love to travel because it is our innate nature to visit new places, explore new frontiers.  Next time when you travel to a new city, try what I do when you are inside a cab.  Take out your GPS phone and observe how your position moves across the map towards your destination.  I did that often with my old Nokia N95 when I was in Jakarta.  First, it gives me comfort that the cab drivers are taking me to where I want to go.  Second, I develop a strong sense of where the landmarks are relative to each other.  It adds a lot of meaning to my traveling too.  Besides, it is closer to the virtual reality I have experienced for decades – a little GPS map right next to my car’s dashboard (note: Nokia Map does work well when you are on foot).

Now, back to the mini-story of our Fraser Hill trip.  I had no idea why I did not top up my fuel tank before we climbed up the hill.  We were low in fuel and could not find a petrol station within the town.  I pulled out my Nokia N96 and did a search for the nearby petrol stations.  Horror sank in when the nearest petrol station was more than 20 km away.  20 km may not seem much but with the 8km stretch of one-way-odd-hours-up-even-hours-down road and the average speed of 20-40 kph of bends and ups and downs, it seems far.  Fortunately, we found a mini-store that sells … petrol.

I have taken 1,500 pictures with my Nikon D700 over our stay at Fraser Hill and Petaling Jaya and am eager to share some of better ones with you in the next few weeks’ time.  Stay tuned for more pictures and stories of our trip.  And stay tuned for more episodes on my Nokia N96 Test Drive journey too.

I wish to end this entry with one picture I took when we found a proper petrol station in one of the neighboring town of Fraser Hill – thanks to Nokia Map.

Related Tags: More Nokia N96 Test Drive Episodes, Our trip to Fraser Hill in the November of year 2008