Singapore; That's IT! (Information Technology)

Industry sources say SingTel will launch iPhone in S'pore in Sep

2008-03-20T11:22:00.000+08:00

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Apple's iPhone.

SINGAPORE: Industry sources said Apple's iPhone will be launched in Singapore by SingTel this September, but the telco has neither confirmed nor denied this.

With its cool functions and design, the iPhone has got millions of American admirers hooked since its debut in June 2007.

Even before its official launch in Singapore, retailers estimated that gadget fans here have snapped up about 10,000 iPhones through different avenues, with some paying over S$1,000 to be the first in Singapore to own the device.

More people will soon be able to get their hands on the iPhone as a local vendor, who works closely with Apple associates in the US, revealed that "SingTel has more or less sealed the deal". The vendor refused to be named.

Observers said such a deal is consistent with Apple's track record of working with top mobile operators.

They said, however, it is unlikely SingTel will agree on a revenue-sharing model with Apple on phone sales, as it is currently done in Europe and the US.

Aloysius Choong, research manager for IDC Asia/Pacific, said: "We've heard an Apple executive coming out to say that they don't necessarily need to go with that model. So it could be, and it will be in the long term, (going) back to a more familiar relationship where you distribute through the operators, you get a subsidy through the operators."

The iPhone that is making its way in Singapore is likely to be the latest model.

Zachary Wong, retail operations manager of iShop, said: "You never expect what Apple is able to pull out. The 3G model could be in Singapore as well. 3G is the industry platform for this part of the world, so I say the demand for the newer model of the phone will be much, much higher."

Retailers expect the phone to be priced around S$690.

Industry players said there will be no shortage of takers.

"When it first started in late June 2007, the demand was extremely high. It tampered down a little bit but demand is still very strong," said Mr Wong.

Mr Choong agreed: "Consumers are looking for... design and brand. And these two are really what the iPhone has in place. And not just that, one great thing about the iPhone is that it goes beyond the usual business of tech early adopters."

"I think you're going to see demand coming from various segments, from the business users to the moms and pops," he added.

Apple has said it plans to sell 10 million units of iPhone in Asia this year. - CNA/ac

Alienware showcases curved gaming display at CES

2008-01-08T14:30:00.000+08:00

When gaming turns into a way of life or better (or was it worst) yet, a life the hardware used for it is very important. That's what Alienware knows and understands so, beside the latest gaming PCs its CES booth now houses a massive curved display. The grey LED lit Curved Seamless Display (CSD), as that's its official name is from a world of its own, a world where a .02ms response time and 2880x900 pixel resolution is almost gaming perfection.

The display is set to become available in the second half of this year for a yet undetermined price tag. Now until you get so see it in your home (BEd: Never in our case, but we're very negative on Mondays.) please see the pictures below and also a small YouTubed video.

Pictures courtesy of Gizmodo and Legion Hardware.

iPod Touch Firmware Hacked.

2007-12-18T01:00:00.001+08:00

She's really very obedient, do you know? I downgraded her firmware to 1.1.1, modded it like crazy and changed the binaries blabla and wah lah! I got a iPod Touch with iPhone applications! (Minus the mic, speaker and antenna for calling.)

From this old screen:

To something very revolutionary. I can install all kinds of applications on my this little baby, almost any kind like .doc viewer, pdf viewer etc.

You can never ever underestimate the power of this iPod Touch HARDWARE because it does exactly what a pda does, but rather, it's more powerful with the rendering of the graphics. Thus, $498 for this hardware is a great deal but it's such a pity that Steve Jobs always have the obsession to control owners from installing 3rd party applications into his baby creations.

However and unfortunately, there is a group of people who cracks iPhone sim cards to use it internationally and etc has saved us.

Welcome to the new hacking machine, iJailBreaker. I've spent 8 hours (12 midnight to 8am) trying to break into the ipod firmware and it wasn't that really easy. There are TONNES AND TONNES of steps that i've to do. After 8 frigging hours in the night, i am able to use my ipod touch like an iphone.

I have games and applications to open up the disk inside the iPod.

Want to play Sudoku?

She got it.

Can't understand ambiguous words?

She got the explaination.

She loves you too. (Done by Sketcher.)

She wants some TICK AND A TACK AND A TOE.

Accessing the drives with iFinder.

See my girl flys and sketches!

I bet not many is able to hack into iPod and they are risking themselves for damaging the firmware. But Melvin does it and tested it and running it now. For those who really want cool applications and break free from just having the default softwares on their iPod Touch, i am able to crack it for you and can fly off downloading cool applications for your iPod Touch.

Email or text me if you want your iPod Touch to have the freedom to CHOOSE.
Cracking the firmware and installing those apps, i charge $30.

Significant Improvements on Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC

2007-12-17T01:53:00.000+08:00

I'm a Vista user and the thing that everyone loves to hear is that Microsoft comes out Service packs for it's operating system.

Thus, it's a great holly Christmas present from Microsoft to release the RC for Windows Vista (All versions).

Once you have installed it, there are 2 significant views that tells you it has been upgraded to Service Pack 1.

The watermark that resides bottom right of your desktop.

Right Click Computer - > Properties.

Total installation takes around 1.5 hours for my Core 2 Duo 1.66Ghz laptop.

Reliability Improvements

- SP1 addresses issues many of the most common causes of crashes and hangs in Windows Vista, as reported by Windows Error Reporting. These include issues relating to Windows Calendar, Windows Media Player, and a number of drivers included with Windows Vista.
- Improves reliability by preventing data-loss while ejecting NTFS-formatted removable-media.
- Improves reliability of IPSec connections over IPv6 by ensuring by ensuring that all Neighbor Discovery RFC traffic is IPsec exempted.
- Improves certain problem scenarios where a driver goes to sleep with incomplete packet transmissions by ensuring the driver is given enough time to transmit or discard any outstanding packets before going to sleep.
- Improves wireless ad-hoc connection (computer-to-computer wireless connections) success rate
- Improves the success of peer-to-peer connections, such as Windows Meeting Space or Remote Assistance applications, when both PCs are behind symmetric firewalls.
- Improves Windows Vista’s built-in file backup solution to include EFS encrypted files in the backup.
- An improved SRT (Startup Repair Tool), which is part of the Windows Recovery environment (WinRE), can now fix PCs unbootable due to certain missing OS files.
- Users who did not opt-in to the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) will be prompted again to join after installing SP1. The experience will remain the same and the default will continue to be opt-out.

To view more advancement and improvements:
Click here to view more.

In conclusion, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC is a no frills update that does significantly boost your PC performance by around 20% as this Service pack focuses a lot on reliability and performance. Why wait? Just download!

The brave new world of SMS2.0

2007-12-17T01:48:00.001+08:00

By Joseph Yadao, TODAY | Posted: 30 November 2007 1059 hrs

SINGAPORE: The humble short message service (SMS) has been duly serving its purpose for the last 15 years, letting our fingers do the talking.

To make the messaging experience even more engaging, M1 has launched SMS2.0, making its customers the first mobile users in Singapore to sample the new and improved version of what is arguably the world's most popular mobile application.

Breaking news headlines, merchants' offers and other additional information are delivered real-time to users' mobile phones. These appear at the bottom of the message screen where the user can click to find out more.

"Unlike traditional mobile marketing, the customers are unlikely to feel intruded upon as the delivered content forms an integral part of the messaging screen and they can choose to access only those that interest them," said Mr Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer.

SMS2.0 works on Nokia phones that run on Symbian software. To download SMS2.0, M1 customers can send "SMS2" to 8887.

There are no downloading and registration charges and SMS charges remain unchanged. Content received on SMS2.0 is free and standard data charges apply only when the customer clicks on specific items.

M1 is offering the Nokia 6121 pre-loaded with SMS2.0 at a promotional price of S$68 (terms apply). M1 plans to pre-install SMS2.0 on other Nokia models progressively. - TODAY/ym

Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)

2007-12-16T18:25:00.000+08:00

Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system. This white paper summarizes what is new in Windows XP SP3.

Click to download White Paper Summary

OR
those who hesitate to get the major update

Click here to download

Windows xp sp 3 (RC1)

Ultra-high speed connectivity to cover more than half of S'pore by 2012

2007-12-16T14:47:00.000+08:00

SINGAPORE: More than half of Singapore homes and offices are expected to have ultra-high speed broadband access by 2012.

That's a requirement of the bid for what is called Singapore's Next Generation National Broadband Network, which was thrown open on Tuesday.

Ultra-high speed of up to 1 gigabit per second - or 10 times faster than the maximum speed currently available on broadband.

That's the connectivity speed the Next Generation National Broadband Network will have and which the next generation will certainly appreciate.

Three out of four homes in Singapore already have broadband access, with an increasing number opting for wider bandwidth.

And, the benefits of this ultra-high speed network will pervade all areas of life - from online trading to e-learning.

"These may include close to real-life high-definition video conferencing, high-speed online transactions and graphics-based data visualisation. For example, the healthcare sector will be able to process and share high volume and complex medical data, including tele-radiology and MRI, to provide more timely and better medical care to patients," said Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications & The Arts.

The government will provide grants of up to $750 million to the company or consortium which wins the bid to build the island-wide infrastructure.

The successful bidder will have to ensure that the ultra-high speed network will be available to more than 50% of homes and offices in Singapore by 2012.

It will also be held to the wholesale prices it sets out in its bid.

That's one of the parameters to ensure an open market for what would be a natural monopoly.

Potential bidders include SingTel, StarHub and M1.

M1 has partnered Hong Kong Broadband Network to bid as a consortium.

The Next Generation network will be available nationwide by 2015. - CNA/ir

Windows Vista Sevice Pack RC 1 is out!

2007-12-16T14:41:00.000+08:00

The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate (RC) is now available to the public. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several new technologies. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.

Things to know before you download

If you have a prior version of SP1 beta installed, you must uninstall it prior to installing SP1 RC.
Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission critical systems.
Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate is time-limited software.
Support is through self-help and peer support via the Windows Vista SP1 forum and FAQ page.
Additional information about the above items and others. Be sure to review.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

First look on iPod Touch

2007-12-14T14:39:00.000+08:00

She surfs my body, her slim body slims down to my pants in an instant. Her skin is so cold and she always give me a tingle when her body touches me. My fingers always pinch her body and she will respond it super well. She obeys my command and when i command her to play, she plays. When i command her to surf, she surfs with so much ease.

It's none other than my wife, my iPod Touch. (THAT ONE LA, WHAT DO U THINK?) Chey!

It's already 4 days old and she's my real beauty baby. She checks my email, facebook and my blog in the go. I need not have to wait for my laptop to load it's Operating System. By the time my laptop loads everything, I've already checked my email, my blog and surfed at least 5 websites on my iPod Touch.

Her sound system has a significant boost from my previous iPod Video, there is a noticeable bass difference as the sound processor is handling audio clips in a better way.

Not only to that, this are her specifications of her battery life though i didn't get the chance to let it run my entire songs library till the battery drains out. But one significant boost is that even my Wi-fi antenna is operating non stop, the battery life still has it's capacity to last.

A noticeable difference between the 5th generation ipods and iPod Touch is the new connector for the 6th Gen iPods.

You can immediately pull off the connector without pressing the sides and it has slimmed down quite a fair bit.

This is my dearest iPod touch. I heard from forums that many hackers has successfully installed third party softwares such as reading .pdf files, viewing google maps on the iPod touch and it will be very interesting to learn all this amazing hacks. One significant hack will be iJailBreak where a 13 year old boy has broken the brick of the stripped down Mac Operating System of the iPod Touch.

The main menu of iTouch.

When it syncs with my laptop, it also shows the capacity of the battery in large detail.

My Wallpaper.

Wireless / Safari Web Browser:
One significant advancement for iPod is that there is wireless intergration in it, thus there is Safari browser installed and it's able to view almost all websites but there is some limitations due to the processor speed and etc. Thus, Safari on iPod Touch is unable to decode

window.showModalDialog()
Mouse-over events
Hover styles
Tool tips
Java applets
Flash
Plug-in installation
Custom x.509 certificates

That means that you can't simply log into imeem and hear songs on the fly because there is no flash player to support imeem player.

My blog displays exactly the same as my laptop does.

When tilted horizontally, the GUI rendering is so powerful, it rotates the entire display with full frame rates. I didn't see noticeable frames dropping despite a heavy graphical user interface on my blog.

In the process of tilting.

HOWEVER, there is another great integration of YouTube browser and to tell you the fact, the interface of the youtube on iPod touch is so much user friendly than the website itself.

I could find our group, Bondevia videos on the fly and play them.

Clicking on the light blue small button, it shows the full description of the video!

Buffering videos can never be so fast in iPod Touch.

And you're off! Watching millions of youtube videos on the net!

As a facebook lover, iPod touch never fails me to simplify my task. A simple user interface that is optimize soley for iPod Touch and iPhone.

Music:

This is the interface when you're hearing songs, a large display of the cover art is smacked behind all the buttons.

When tilted again, the interface shows the cover flow of all your albums.

Viewing Pictures:

Viewing pictures can never be so easy.

Can't see the picture properly because it's too small?

PINCH IT!

And if u still need to view it in greater detail, iPod touch lets you pinch closer!

I simply LOVE pinching those photos because it has the smoothest transition of zooming photos.

iTunes Store:

iTunes store is also intergrated into the iPod and i love iTunes store because i can preview songs on the fly. Right now, i can preview those new songs on my iPod Touch with the help of a wireless connection. Darn easy!

There are many applications and one significant programme that i like is CALCULATOR.

It just look like a calculator, until someone shouted, HEY! THAT'S AN IPOD!

Say bygones to my 30GB iPod Video.

And welcome my 8Gb iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch is much thinner than the iPod Video but compromisable because iPod Video is worth 30GB.

The screen:
This is a real baby. The screen is scratch resistant to every material except diamonds. The surface of the iPod is made of a special glass (not cheap plastic) thus, I CAN SAVE MONEY ON SCREEN PROTECTOR!

See the video of the man tries to use penknife/needle/keys and scratch the screen of the iPod as hard as he can.

Flaws:
The only flaw that iPod touch has is when a heavy Html coded website is being viewed, iPod touch shuts down your music so as to reserve more CPU and memory spaces to load the particular website.

iPod wireless doesn't support ad-hocs and encrypted 802.1x technology thus it's a disappoint for those who wants to access Campus or Company network, be disappointed or petition to Apple inc. to have a 802.1x support firmware.

http://www.petitiononline.com/iphonewf/petition.html

To sum things up, iPod has really revolutionalize the way i hear my music and work. There are some other features such as iCal and the calender is synchronizing strictly from my Outlook. Therefore, i got a strong Calender of events because my Laptop, iPod Touch and my k800i synchronize the calender as one. Thus, where ever i go, i got my calender ready in my iPod or handphone!

Specifications:

The specifications as listed on Apple's website are:[5][15]

* Screen material: Glass
* Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in)
* Screen resolution: 480×320 pixels at 163 ppi
* Input method: Multi-touch screen interface
* Operating system: OS X
* Storage: 8 or 16 GB flash memory
* CPU: 620 MHz ARM
* RAM: 128 MB
* Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
* Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 5 hours of video playback, and up to 22 hours of audio playback, times vary.
* Size: 110×61.8×8 mm (4.3×2.4×0.31 in)
* Weight: 120 grams (4.2 ounces)
* Direct iTunes Wi-Fi store access
* Wide screen video
* Integrated Safari web browser and YouTube client
* Access to Starbucks music (currently only in New York, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. Coming soon to Chicago in March 2008)[16][17]