Category: I See I Write

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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)

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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

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I See I Write

Intel Core i7 Launch Party at Equinox, Singapore – A History of Chips Part 2

Could it be that oh-so-confusing video blog I created a while back that earned me a ticket to the Intel Core i7 launch party at Equinox, Swissotel The Stamford?  I have no clue.  This afternoon, I met my good old friend Robert for lunch and he joked that I should write something revelation, something closer to my heart.

And indeed I should attempt to.

Computer processor, quite honestly, is the least sexiest thing on Earth.  It is so behind-the-scene that most of us simply take it for granted, or hardly take notice of its existence.  But yet, the pace of our civilization’s progress depends on not only how many brilliant scientists we have, but also how far we push the envelope of technology.  I am a computer science and engineering graduate.  And I have witnessed the evolution of computer processor since the Intel 80268 era.  Commercially viable processor architecture doesn’t change often like fashion does.  The new Intel Core i7 – or often referred as the Nehalem architecture for those of us who have kept track of its development – is one breathtaking milestone of our digital era.

I have recently upgraded my home PC to an Intel Core 2 Quad (note: try not to click onto that link as it is rather dry and boring for public consumption).  I love my Quad Core, I really do.  It is fast, trust me.  But the Extreme Edition of this new Core i7 scores 60% faster than mine (73.5 versus 117).

To be honest, I am still quite shocked that Intel releases the new Nehalem architecture especially when (1) their only competitor AMD is way behind and struggles so hard to survive and (2) their Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors have been selling well and met 99.99% of the mass public’s needs.  I really thought that Intel would take a back seat on this one.

Maybe Intel simply takes pleasure in putting a final nail to AMD’s coffin (how many of us have gone from AMD4Life to “AMD is Dead” overnight?). And mind you, Intel’s new chip with a feature size of 32nm is on its way to see the world in the year 2010.  For whatever the reason, it is clear to the world which company is out there pushing our limit on how fast we compute.  You can certainly own one of the fastest processors on the planet.  I bought my C2Q 9450 (with motherboard) at S$600 in May.  The new Intel Core i7 with the new Intel chipset X58 costs from S$900 to S$2,200.  For those who are willing to spend up to a grand for each top end graphic card, the future is within reach.  One could overclock the Extreme version up to 4GHz although the official figure given by Intel is 3.2GHz.  Now, that is sick.

Personal Notes:

  • Thank you Intel and Ogilvy for the invite.  Now I can tell my grandchildren that I was there when Core i7 was first launched.
  • It is lovely to see familiar faces at the party – my fellow Singaporean bloggers.
  • Seeing the MSI counter brought back memory.  I had MSI motherboard and graphic card once.  And thank you for those gifts!  Now I can decorate my office.
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I See I Write

Nokia N96 Test Drive Episode 1 – First Impression

Rarely do I play around with my wireless phone when I am having a meal with someone.  But when the three lovely ladies from the Nokia and Text100 teams handed me the Nokia N96 for a test drive, not even the thunderstorm outside The Rogues could keep me from having my hands all over this one true beauty.  I know you wish you were me.  And you could well be!

First Impression

This lovely Nokia N96 could well be your early Christmas present.  Or for your loved one.  Or you could email the link of this post to your loved one and hope that he or she would get the hint.  When I first laid my hands on the new Nokia N96, I was much impressed by the elegance of the overall design.  This new design now comes with the eye pleasing rounded corners, new stylish materials for the side and the back too.  

The new Nokia N96 feels lighter, and certainly slenderer than the Nokia N95 that I have.  There is a total redesign of the keypad as well.  I love the flat surface shiny black material with some of the button labels light up or fade away depending on situation.  The new keypad is scratch resistance too.  I have been sms’ing, msn’ing, facebook’ing, gmail’ing, and more for the entire weekend, not a single scratch.

From N95 to N96 in 60 Seconds

When I choose a wireless phone, I don’t just choose a model or a design, I choose a brand that truly care about its customers.  And I have stayed with Nokia since 2000.  Here is one good example of how Nokia delights me.

My wireless phones contain all my vital contact information, together with my notes, to-do list, and calendar items.  And just how easy it is to transfer all that from my old Nokia phone to the Nokia N96?

60 seconds, the wireless way.

First, I logged onto the Nokia’s OVI homepage and added a new phone into my online profile.  A sms was sent to my new N96 and I opened it with my temporary PIN displayed at the OVI website (for my eyes only).  I then used the Sync tool provided by the N96 to download all my latest contact, notes, to-do list, and calendar information I have previously synchronized with my old phone.  60 seconds, with no wire or complicated desktop applications.  I now have a copy of my vital information in my old N95, in the Nokia’s OVI website, in the new N96, and any future Nokia phones I will have.

A detail write-up on the Nokia OVI blogger event can be found in here.

Incremental Improvements that Shock Me Off My Chair

The new Nokia N96 is loaded with so many improvements over its predecessor that some put a smile on my face, some shock me off my socks.

The little stand that is hidden behind the camera near the lens is very good to have.  No longer do I need to hand hold my phone while watching CNN video podcast in the morning with my cup of coffee as I wait for my corporate computer to boot up.  There is also a physical keypad lock latch that makes a lot of sense.  I often find the N95 keypad locking mechanism a bit odd at times.

The music player now allows me to adjust the volume with double the precision than before, which is nice.  And the volume output through the headphone is much louder, which is very car stereo friendly.  I have long replaced the CD changer with my Nokia Nseries.  Did I mention that the new Nokia N96 comes with a car charger in the box as well?  Big deal you may say.  But having the flexibility to perpetually switch on the GPS positioning system (Nokia Map) without worrying that I may run out of the phone battery during my road trip in Malaysia, that is very, very nice.

While it still has the same good old 5 mega-pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens that works well (see my favorite sunset photo), the newly expanded 16 GB built-in memory with option to extend to another 16 GB and more put Nokia N96 beyond most (if not all) of the MP3 phones in the market today.  The menu feature has been improved too for better productivity and user friendiness.

Above all that are too many to mention in one post, here are two observations that make me a very happy Nokia N96 user.

  1. “5 seconds” is all it takes for the phone to lock onto the GPS satellites.  It is very fast, lightning fast.  And it is free.  Unlike the N95 that takes up to 5 minutes for initial satellite connection, you don’t need to slide the phone open.  The precision is so great now that it can be used not only for driving, but also for walking.  Think of the possibilities.
  2. “4 megabytes per second” is the transfer speed from my computer to the Nokia N96 via the supplied cable.  Big deal?  Well, this is up to 8 times faster than my N95.  Transferring one music album in MP3 format will now only take 15 seconds.  That is fast for a phone.  I timed this myself, loving it.

In Summary and Coming Soon

Throughout the years, Nokia has created wireless phones with better functionality and better design generation after generation.  It is evident when you hold one and try one, like the Nokia N96.  A big thanks to Angela, Evenlyn, and Felicia from the Nokia and Text100 teams who so patiently answered my questions from communication, to product, and to marketing.

It is impossible to cover all that Nokia N96 has to offer in one entry, nor do I enjoy documenting specifications line by line.  Depending on how long I get to hold onto this new phone for my test drive, here are some of the potential working titles for the upcoming episodes.  Stay tuned!

  • Episode 2: So Cynthia Took Over My Old N95 and My Second Impression on N96 (check out the picture above to see how happy she is)
  • Episode 3: GPS in the Highlands
  • Episode 4: Learning Spanish with Nokia N96
  • Episode 5: It is Spore!
  • Episode 6: Satellite Watches Me Jog
  • Episode 7: Geo-tagging Photos of My Year End Trips
  • And more

Related Tag: More Nokia N96 Test Drive Episodes

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I See I Write

Brüttal: Lingerie

Readers of my site rejoice!  Mention my name and you will get a 10% discount on a single bill for these beautiful, trendy, and colorful brutally chic n sexy lingerie.  Check out these photos I took.  The *ahem* crotchless lingerie is my favorite.  The French maid costume is also my favorite.  And there is this bunny costume, that naughty red devil costume, and a lovely variety of brutally chic n sexy lingerie that I don’t even know where to start.  Gosh, I love them all, from the bottom of my heart.

I am so proud of my old friend Adeline Choo’s new lingerie shop in Bangsar Village II (1st floor).  Malaysian readers of my site can easily pop by Brüttal and if you are shy mentioning my name, you could just say, “Erm … I heard your shop from that Singaporean blogger …”  And you will get your 10% discount.  As for my Singaporean readers, Bangsar is very near to Kuala Lumpur and I have included a direction on how to get there in the end of this entry.  Bangsar is like our Boat Quay in Singapore, a lovely place to dine at after your long day of shopping.  Don’t miss Bangsar.

Coming soon: World’s first coverage on Brüttal Wish List (for weddings, birthdays, and more) here in WilfridWong.com – where good things are meant to be shared!

I have been actively in touch with Adeline ever since her lingerie shop opened this April (and she gave us some of her lingerie that without making Cynthia blush, I love every single piece!).  And she has been inviting me over for an exclusive blogger coverage.  OK, that business trip may be harsh but I am happy to take time off and pay Brüttal a visit.  When I reached Bangsar Village II, I was impressed by the classy shopping mall that wasn’t there when I was working in Malaysia 10 years ago.  Finding Adeline’s shop was easy (1st floor) and I was even more impressed by how spacious and comfortable the shop is (and it comes with a huge changing room too!).  I literally ransacked the entire shop and gosh, I love the collection.  As I was holding up some of those enticing brutally chic n sexy lingerie, I casually asked Adeline who would wear those costumes.  She giggled and told me that a lot of ladies buy the costumes for their friends’ bachelorette nite party.  Oh wow!

Enough of words.  Check out the pictures above.  Just how much would these lovely brutally chic n sexy lingerie cost?  OK, I confess that I have a tough time memorizing what is what so I asked Adeline what would the damage be like if Cynthia was here.  Affordable she said!  Uh-huh I don’t buy that!  Adeline then said: RM18 to RM159.90.  That works out to be S$7.50 to S$66.60.  And with that 10% discount, you do the maths.  Time to bring along Cynthia in my next visit to Malaysia.

How to Get There

If you visit Kuala Lumpur, most likely you will stay in town.  Bangsar is just a 15-30 minutes drive from KL or Petaling Jaya.  If you take a taxi, simply tell the driver to drop you at the McDonald’s.  Once you align, on your left is the main street and on your right is where the restaurants and shops are at.  Turn right and you will see a long street with shops on the right and 2 long streets on the left.  Do check out both streets for there are a wide variety of restaurants and pubs.  At the end of either street is the mall Bangsar Village II.  Brüttal is on the 1st floor – 2 levels up from ground level.

Of course, you could do what I did, just ask around.  Malaysians are the friendly bunch.

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

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I See I Write

A Fun Read: I Picture Myself as a Surfer Part 2 – Raining Questions That Tickle

Seems that every time I watch F1, I am in Malaysia.  I really hope to be in Singapore for the season finale in 2 weeks’ time.

My apology to have confused you on that surfer entry.  Let’s get down to some of the questions that tickle and skip 90% of the questions I was bombarded by the International crowd on the global initiative last week that will bore you to sleep.

 Some questions are pretty easy to answer.

  • Where do you come from?  Love this question, certainly the easiest of all.
  • Where are the tourist attractions in Malaysia?  Well, the KL city, the highlands, the casinos, the beach resorts, how much time do you have?

But being a consultant at heart, I get a headache going into specifics.

  • Where to buy cheap electronic goods?  Mid Valley nearby came into my mind.
  • Where to buy … ?  Mid Valley.
  • Where to … ?  Mid Valley.

Some are like comments about our currently location that I can’t quite answer directly without embarrassing my bosses who chose it.

  • We could get ourselves killed crossing these roads!  Erm … just be careful?  Look left, and right, and then left again?
  • Why did we choose Malaysia?  Yes, why?  I’d love to have this workshop in Singapore.  And I bet many do.

In this International setting, there bounds to be some who are pro-environment.

  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of papers filling up these forms.  I wish the world is perfect but it isn’t.  I wish there are better ways than paper-based approach but there aren’t.
  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of water.  Looking at those half drank water bottles going into the bin, I can certainly comprehend.  But I can’t force people to finish drinking their water, can I?  I am not a nanny for this crowd.  Or am I expected to be one?

Leading the workshop doesn’t mean that I am the fixer for all-good-problems.  Here are some questions that keep coming back to me.

  • I can’t log onto my desktop computer.  Erm … OK.  Medic?
  • I can’t read my emails.  Medic?
  • I’ve lost my emails.  Do you know how important they are to me?  Seriously, they are just one’s and zero’s.  Technically they are.  Life moves on.  Another electronic mailbox bites the dust.
  • The air conditioner is too noisy.  Shall I call the aircon man?
  • The air conditioner is too cold?  It is centrally controlled.  Nothing much I can do.  Sorry!
  • I may get sick!  Shall I get you a blanket?
  • Can you print this for me?  The printer is just down the hall but sure, that’s my job.  And what happens to that being green initiative?

And when I told y’all that I am a coffee boy at work, no one believes.

  • Can the project cater lunch for us here inside this building instead of us going out?  Sure, there are only 50 sandwiches in total.  I can do that.  So, how many of you want Turkey Breast?  What?  No pickle and onion?
  • Where is our lunch?  Good question.  It should be here any minute.  Besides, I gave my entire wallet to two admin staff (who are not trained in buying takeaways) and where are they?!
  • Where is our lunch (half an hour later)?  I am sure the sandwiches are on the way.
  • Where is our lunch (one hour later)?  Time to hide behind the cubicle somewhere.  Were we in Singapore, this wouldn’t have happened.
  • The sandwiches didn’t go too well, could we have … ?  Oh dear, is it not?  Certainly tasted OK to me.  I must be hungry.  Maybe I shall be the cook.  My cooking skill is pretty decent.  Cynthia can vouch for me. 
  • I know that we have 2 tea breaks and now 1 catered lunch, how about coffee and tea first thing in the morning?  Yes, how about that?

OK.  Some questions may have taken out of context just for entertainment’s sake.  But I guess by now you have a vague idea on what my job last week was like.  These questions are really not that bad compare to 90% of the other questions.  Last week was big ocean wave number one.  Now, onto the second wave.

And I still picture myself as a surfer.

PS. I do love the audience on the record – every one of them!

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Concert I See I Write My Favorite

Nokia Remix: Singapore – Pictures from Lifehouse Concert and the Upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Will the new Nokia touch screen phone that comes with one year unlimited music download and more redefine what a phone can be?  I was holding one last Friday and I was thrilled by its potential.  And there is no event like a Nokia event.  Lifehouse was in the house, together with the local bands and my favorite radio DJs “The Muttons” too.  I took a picture with them.  It’s priceless.

I couldn’t attend the press conference during the day due to work commitment.  But the Nokia team was kind enough to give me a 1-hour personal demonstration on the upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  Again, I tried to distract them and see if I could slip one into my pocket.  Again, I failed like the last time.

Come With Music

When it comes down to functionalities and user-friendliness, Nokia is king.  No doubt about it.  What the world has been silently waiting for is Nokia’s answer to Apple’s iPhone and its clones.  I certainly do.  While Apple threatened to shutdown iTunes early this month due to royalties dispute (current model is 61-29-9 cents split between the record industry, iTunes, and artists respectively), Nokia has worked out a deal with four major labels – EMI, Universal, Sony, and Warner – and more to give Nokia users one year unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue across a range of devices.  Is this new service “Come With Music” too good to be true?  Looking at how Nokia gives away free maps to the users, I am pretty sure that the only catch is “go buy a Nokia phone”.  Allowing users to unlimitedly and legally download music is as close to the Internet user behavior as it can get.  I am holding my breath on what the cost structure may be.

Touch, Play, Share

The new phone is a beauty.  If you are familiar with the XpressMusic series, the design of 5800 is a big leap ahead.  Weighted less than an iPhone, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with a touch screen that supports wide-screen format and has an impressive resolution – best in its class.  I checked out a video clip played and the color is stunningly vibrant.  Another surprise is the quality of the internal speakers.  The music played out loud, really loud, and the sound is crisp clear.  These features alone are enough to put my beloved N95 to shame.  Can you visualize how badly I would drool to play the Ayumi music videos on this?

Unable to resist poking at this new baby, I am delighted that everything is literally at my fingertips including being able to put 4 of my top hot looking female contacts (with profile picture) onto the home-screen.  Maybe a bit too convenience.  Imagine one day Cynthia gets hold of my new 5800 while I was away and is able to track down my past communication and their respective blog updates with just a touch onto their profile pictures?!  Disastrous.

To be honest, I was skeptic on how this new touch screen phone handles my obsessive love in sending short messages, jotting down new blogging ideas, and drafting blog entries anytime, anywhere.  I asked for a demonstration and the enthusiastic product manager casually rotated the phone and the screen switched to landscape mode automatically.  Nice!  He then brought up the virtual QWERTY keyboard and I was like: though my fingers are not that fat, no way I can type a message with that!  Like a magician, he pulled out a stylus from nowhere (actually from behind the phone) and started typing.  Not bad.  Being a difficult consumer, I complained that QWERTY is not my cup of tea.

No problem at all, he said.  He then switched to a handwriting recognition mode that if you are from the Palm era, you would probably leap in joy (not to forget to mention the copy-and-paste function this new baby has).  Not bad.  But I am the type of guy who loves the old way of doing things.  The product manager did something to the phone and all of a sudden, I saw a life-size virtual alphanumeric keypad!  I pressed onto the virtual buttons and the phone vibrated in response.  Neat!  Lastly, for the musicians, the phone comes with a plectrum (see picture above … in my language, I call it a guitar pick) as an alternative to interact with the touch screen.  I know.  Who would have thought?

Final Thought

This entry is more like a preview than a review due to my limited time with the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  There are tons of other cool functionalities I am running out of space to write including the synchronization to the social networking sites such as Ovi by Nokia, Facebook, YouTube, and etc.  I would like to leave you with this final thought.  Towards the end of “Sex and the City” movie, Carrie wanted to call her missing groom and she asked for a phone.  Someone passed her a touch screen phone (that looked like an iPhone).  Her immediate response was like: don’t give me that, give me something I can use.  I can relate to her.  And I don’t think I will have a problem with this new Nokia phone.  It is that easy.

Below are some of the pictures I have taken during the Nokia Remix: Singapore event with Lifehouse in the house with my point-and-shoot camera.  Enjoy!

PS. A big thanks to the Nokia team and the TEXT100 team!

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I See I Write My YouTube

The Unofficial Coverage of Singapore Motorshow 2008 with Pictures and Video Clips

The first thing after I have clocked 848 km driving to PJ Malaysia and back for a band practice was to head directly to the Singapore Motorshow.  Check out the montage below and guess which one is my favorite model?

I have created a video using the clips I have recorded during the stunt performance.  The performance is really awesome and if you have some time to spare, do click onto the link below.

Related Entries: Motor Show Singapore 2008, Motor Show Singapore 2006, Super Import Nights – Worth The S$10 For The Cars And Babes? You Decide!

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I See I Write

So You Really Don’t Want That 60″ Full HD Plasma TV For Free?

Did you know that the higher the resolution of your flat panel TV is, the shorter the optimal viewing distance?  OK.  Your eyeballs or your brain may get fried staring at those life-size-like … erm … eye candies.  Watching that beautiful Korean actress Kim Ah-joong at Singapore blogger EastCoastLife’s home on that 60” TV almost made my nose bled.  What was the gathering about?  I can’t recall a thing.  I want that TV (and that “200 Pounds Beauty” DVD too)!

Fortunately I did take some pictures last Sunday (see above).  Those lovely popiah she made.  Delicious.  Though I am literally (and proudly) a Singaporean and have lived here since 95, rarely do I get to taste home cooked Singaporean food.  Especially when I don’t live with a born-and-bred Singaporean.  Come to think of it, rarely do I get to taste home cooked Indonesian food either.  Something must be wrong in this picture.

Back to that contest I was blogging about, your humble Mr. All-good-things-must-share has made a site visit and confirmed that this 1.5 meter wide 60” beast does exist, in good shape.  I am not sure why Singaporeans are so shy.  If this contest was to host in Hong Kong, people would have dreamed of a hundred-and-one ways to up their chances.  Perhaps even getting your baby to pop out a bit earlier to enter the draw.  Seriously, all you need to do is to read her blog, answer 10 questions from now till October, drop her a snail mail (it is her contest, her rule, so please don’t be lazy!) and viola.  And if you don’t want the 60” TV for whatever the reason, for the love of Kim Ah-joong, please pass that to me.  Thank you.  I promise to cook you a very nice Cantonese meal while we watch “200 Pounds Beauty”, at my living room.  You can have my bottles of wine too since I don’t drink anymore.

On a more serious note, you may wonder why I so passionately wanting to spread the news.  New media is here to change the social landscape and I am glad to be a tiny part of it.  Do I wish to see some positive impacts to people’s life via the blogosphere as a new channel?  Certainly.  Bloggers are getting involved into areas that are dominated by traditional channels, doing impactful things that have never been done before.  To my best knowledge, LG did not ask blogger EastCoastLife to give the TV away.  I wonder what I would do had Nikon given me a D700 DSLR equipped with some of the top lenses and accessories.  Gosh, it is hard to give away an item that comes with a 5-figure price tag.

On a less serious note, forget about bribing EastCoastLife with breakfast and feet massages like many are doing right now.  Now that I know where she lives, I am going to infiltrate her home and invalidate the rest of the application forms except mine when the time comes!  Kekeke!

Related Website: Win a LG 60″ Full HD Plasma TV from ECL

PS. The optimal viewing distance for a 42” plasma TV is 99 inches for a HD-ready quality (720p) and 66 inches for a full HD quality (1080p).  As for a 60” flat panel full HD TV, it is 94 inches (versus 141 inches for a HD-ready one).  Time to reconfigure my living room for a 2.4-meter of viewing distance!

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I See I Write

Jazz Up Your Life with Ovi by Nokia

And the good news is, you don’t have to own a Nokia phone to benefit from some of these cool services.  Check out the ticker below.  Avid readers of my site know my passion in organizing event photos in mosaic style for sharing.  Now, I can share my photos easily in ticker, slideshow, and mosaic styles.  How cool is that?

Share Photos Anytime, Anywhere

And if you do have a Nokia phone, you can upload your photos anytime, anywhere (note: all the features described here, I have experienced them personally over the weekend).  You can even create a live feed channel to have multiple friends of yours contributing on the contents.  What if your friends don’t have a Nokia phone?  Not a problem.  Each public channel comes with an unique email address.  Your friends can email the pictures to this address and they will appear at your channel, live.  Not comfortable to share your media to the public?  Create a private invitation only channel instead.  Truly connecting people as what Nokia inspires to do.

So I was invited for an interactive demo of the new Ovi services at Geek Terminal presented by Raj Sambwani (director) and his team.  Apparently, Ovi means door in Finnish.  And you don’t need to own a Nokia phone to sign up at Ovi.com.  Besides Ovi Share for photos sharing, it features music download too. 

Making Use of My Nokia Music Voucher

After I have bought Shakira’s recent album during initial launch, she released a deluxe edition later that features a new song “Hips Don’t Lie”.  Boo!  I ain’t going to buy another CD because of that one song.  To my limited knowledge, I don’t think we can buy music online via the iTune Store or Amazon.com here in Singapore.  So, the first track I wanted to download from Nokia Music Store was obviously my beloved “Hips Don’t Lie”.

The music download process is relatively painless.  I was required to install a component to my browser and the downloaded song is in Windows media audio file format with a bit rate of 192kbps.  Pretty decent quality and it is comparable to the rest of the online stores.  The good thing is that you can download the same song multiple times and you can play it in any device that support this format.  For some reason, I can’t get it recognized by iTune, which is a bummer because my entire music collection resides in iTune.  Also, first time authentication is required to play the song.  Each song costs S$2 (or for album, S$16).  If you are willing to spend S$176 upfront, you can get it down to S$1.66 per song.  Personally, I think the price is a bit steep compares to iTune Store or Amazon.com.  If Nokia could get it down to S$1.49 per song before discount, that would be really compelling.  Perhaps my music taste at times may not lean towards the pop culture, I do have a bit of challenging time finding what I want.

Other Cool Features from Ovi by Nokia

For the Nokia phone users, Ovi offers maps, games, files, and sync.  In the event, one friendly Nokia personnel helped me to set up my Ovi account and within seconds, all my phone contacts, notes, to-do list, and calendar items are uploaded to Ovi.com via the Wi-fi connection at Geek Terminal.  That is some really powerful tool.  Imagine this, for whatever the reason you don’t have your phone with you, you can still look up your contacts and other personal information from the Internet via the Ovi site.  All the important information from within the phone can be backed up over the air.

Another really neat feature is to the ability to send an attachment that resides in either your PC (that is switched on) or from Ovi.com via your Nokia phone.  You can even preview the contents before sending it off.  For those who are always on the go, I personally think that it is an useful feature to have.  Imagine you are having a nice holiday overseas and you bosses or your clients wants you to send that document to them right now.  And you don’t have the document with you.  Fear not, all you need is to take out your phone, browse for the right document from Ovi.com that you have uploaded earlier on, and send out the link .  You can even set the time of expiry for that link.  The real benefit behind this feature is that you don’t need to pay a hefty fees for the air time.  Effectively, you are simply sending a download link out, not the actual attachment that could be large in size. Subscription fee applies though.

Conclusion

Ovi by Nokia is still in beta.  Though I do encounter some difficulties over the weekend such as multiple files upload and different service offerings within Ovi requires individual registration and sign on, it does have offerings that are ready to face the world.  But how will Ovi flair?  It is easy to say only time will tell.  Personally, I think the success of Ovi will still very much link to the success of the Nokia phones in the short term. What Ovi may have an advantage over others is the seamless extension to our hand-held device – a mobile phone.

PS. A big thanks to the lovely Communications team of Nokia for patiently answering all my questions and helping out this rather low tech user!

Related Website: Ovi by Nokia