Yes, it's been a while I posted anything on this blog. It's like owning a vacation home you haven't visited for a while. You can not blame me though. I was somewhat of a slow adopter when it comes to 'keep-in-touch' technology. But slowly I ended up having one of each, almost. Facebook, linkedin, yammer, blogger ... you name it. I recently even signed up for my twitter account. Oh so tempting.
But the trouble you get into having so many ways to communicate is, often you stop using any of these. I really need to get efficient in the way I organise my digital life.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Cool, new E71
Too much has been talked about Apple's new iPhone. I too got very excited to get my hands on this new gadget. Not only because it has got some fancy applications to showoff, but also it boasts some useful little office tools. But here's the frustrating part - 3 Australia for some reason did not manage to convince Apple to allow them to distribute iPhone in Australia. Despite me joining hundreds others on their website to sign the petition to change Apple's mind, Australia's leading 3G provider remained outside the loop as far as the popular 3G phone was concerned.
I needed a new phone however (cause my N95 was showing great stress in the battery department). So I headed down to the three store to see what were my other options. HTC's Touch Diamond was my next preference. While looking through the feature lists, I bumped upon the new Nokia E71.
For one, I thought the qwerty keyboard demanded attention. While it took me a few minutes to get used to typing in qwerty on a mobile (kept pressing the buttons multiple times like the old numeric keypad), it soon occurred to me there were good productivity gains for someone like me who uses email on mobile quite a bit. Tick.
I loved the size and thinness of the unit. Another tick. With 1 GB of out-of-the-package memory, I thought it would be enough for my limited music library, without starving the phone of memory for its day-to-day function. Tick.
Not an impulsive buyer, I went back home to do a quick research. The more I dug, the more I found how much functional this E-series version is compared to its iPhone counterpart. So without much adieu, I went to the store the next day and grabbed one for myself. The fun hasn't stopped since.
With Mail for Exchange preloaded, it took me couple of minutes to get my office synced on my palm. Soon, I have my Gmail account synced as well. The browser got a bit of face lift - but I preferred Opera Mobile. It has a smart mode switch feature which allows me to configure the desktop for home and office use. I can have all my shortcuts configured to suit what I was up to.
What impressed me most was the battery life. With continuous email sync and occasional music playback, and my usual mobile usage, each charge was lasting a good couple of days. All that packed in its slim body. A big tick.
The other feature I find very handy is cut-and-paste. You can use the phone's standard editor to cut-copy-and-paste text. So I can be in a web site and copy some of it's content back to an email and send it out. Very handy for a mobile phone, I thought.
While I still don't have the iBeer application (and I wont have as this model does not have a built-in accelerometer), I am quite satisfied with the E71 overall.
I needed a new phone however (cause my N95 was showing great stress in the battery department). So I headed down to the three store to see what were my other options. HTC's Touch Diamond was my next preference. While looking through the feature lists, I bumped upon the new Nokia E71.
For one, I thought the qwerty keyboard demanded attention. While it took me a few minutes to get used to typing in qwerty on a mobile (kept pressing the buttons multiple times like the old numeric keypad), it soon occurred to me there were good productivity gains for someone like me who uses email on mobile quite a bit. Tick.
I loved the size and thinness of the unit. Another tick. With 1 GB of out-of-the-package memory, I thought it would be enough for my limited music library, without starving the phone of memory for its day-to-day function. Tick.
Not an impulsive buyer, I went back home to do a quick research. The more I dug, the more I found how much functional this E-series version is compared to its iPhone counterpart. So without much adieu, I went to the store the next day and grabbed one for myself. The fun hasn't stopped since.
With Mail for Exchange preloaded, it took me couple of minutes to get my office synced on my palm. Soon, I have my Gmail account synced as well. The browser got a bit of face lift - but I preferred Opera Mobile. It has a smart mode switch feature which allows me to configure the desktop for home and office use. I can have all my shortcuts configured to suit what I was up to.
What impressed me most was the battery life. With continuous email sync and occasional music playback, and my usual mobile usage, each charge was lasting a good couple of days. All that packed in its slim body. A big tick.
The other feature I find very handy is cut-and-paste. You can use the phone's standard editor to cut-copy-and-paste text. So I can be in a web site and copy some of it's content back to an email and send it out. Very handy for a mobile phone, I thought.
While I still don't have the iBeer application (and I wont have as this model does not have a built-in accelerometer), I am quite satisfied with the E71 overall.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Silence, maybe not a bad thing
Ever wondered the number of plastic bottles that gets littered every year? Well, in US alone this year, that number would be 68 billion and counting. No, I am not suddenly motivated by the recent buzz about climate change. Generally speaking, it always bothered me how little we think about this. But I am no active campaigner. I simply try to do my little bit ... switch off the light when I see it lit for no reason; power off the mains on many of my electrical gadgets; or consciously turn off the tap little before I am fully satisfied with my shower.
But the reason why I mentioned the worldwide problem of littering is to highlight the other symptom that has raised its ugly head recently - littering the Internet. An article recently attributed Internet to be the reason behind falling pass rates in exams. The problem is rapidly growing.
So, with that introduction in place, let me draw my excuse for abandoning you (the reader of this blog) for several months. If that isn't good enough - then the birth of my beautiful little daughter would certainly be. But I have been busy - I really managed to keep my friends and family far away well informed of what was going on as this precious little one came to the world. How? Blog of course. And by combining the fascinating world of YouTube, Picasa Web Albums and mobile phone with cameras, I have managed to share her world with all far and dear ones. I suppose long gone are the days of bound picture albums and once-a-year birthday post card post outs. As soon as the little one's born, it was snap on my mobile camera (little video clip as well) and off goes the MMS. Then through YouTube and Web Albums, those clips and shots made its way through to possibly hundreds of mailboxes. Litterally, within minutes.
After creating that much litter on the Internet already, I am not so guilty not keeping this blog up-to-date. But I am keen to write soon - about my fixation on the next big thing ... iPhone.
But the reason why I mentioned the worldwide problem of littering is to highlight the other symptom that has raised its ugly head recently - littering the Internet. An article recently attributed Internet to be the reason behind falling pass rates in exams. The problem is rapidly growing.
So, with that introduction in place, let me draw my excuse for abandoning you (the reader of this blog) for several months. If that isn't good enough - then the birth of my beautiful little daughter would certainly be. But I have been busy - I really managed to keep my friends and family far away well informed of what was going on as this precious little one came to the world. How? Blog of course. And by combining the fascinating world of YouTube, Picasa Web Albums and mobile phone with cameras, I have managed to share her world with all far and dear ones. I suppose long gone are the days of bound picture albums and once-a-year birthday post card post outs. As soon as the little one's born, it was snap on my mobile camera (little video clip as well) and off goes the MMS. Then through YouTube and Web Albums, those clips and shots made its way through to possibly hundreds of mailboxes. Litterally, within minutes.
After creating that much litter on the Internet already, I am not so guilty not keeping this blog up-to-date. But I am keen to write soon - about my fixation on the next big thing ... iPhone.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Master Data Management
I recently realised I have been happily creating problems for some time now. Each time I walked into an organisation, I listened to their woes and sat down to think about a solution. How they could react quicker to their competitors' challenge; how they could reduce their costs; how they could improve their sales; you get the gist. Often the solution was to build or employ a system that magically healed their particular pain. After a while, like the messy drawer full of prescription medicines, the organisation starts to have another pain of having to manage across these 'solutions'. Suddenly, the cool CRM solution, the life-saving billing system, the amazing data-warehouse reporting engine, the document repository - all starts having bit of a trouble talking to each other. IT department gets busy again pulling data together from different sources to provide a simple, single view of what is going on.
While we all have seen or heard of this situation - we have been taking it for granted (well, at least I did). Often it seems to appear as a minor hiccup to a big-picture solution - but slowly tends to grow into a larger problem as companies continues to invest in a myriad of IT solutions. So it was very refreshing for me to learn about the technology that is becoming so powerful to really extend the ROI's of those individual systems to their full potential - while providing an easier way for organisations to manage their massive stockpile of 'information'. Healthcare providers to manage all their patients, governments to handle citizen's queries, commercials to get the true and complete relationship story with their customers - and so on.
I have joined a company that is a market leader in Master Data Management space, MDM in short.
While we all have seen or heard of this situation - we have been taking it for granted (well, at least I did). Often it seems to appear as a minor hiccup to a big-picture solution - but slowly tends to grow into a larger problem as companies continues to invest in a myriad of IT solutions. So it was very refreshing for me to learn about the technology that is becoming so powerful to really extend the ROI's of those individual systems to their full potential - while providing an easier way for organisations to manage their massive stockpile of 'information'. Healthcare providers to manage all their patients, governments to handle citizen's queries, commercials to get the true and complete relationship story with their customers - and so on.
I have joined a company that is a market leader in Master Data Management space, MDM in short.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Two-O-O-Eight
Wow!! 2007 flew past like the Concorde. Well, A380 probably is a more timely reference. I hope it was just as tall and big for you. But yes, the phrase 'time travel' is probably taking a new meaning. Did anyone look into the concept of 'velocity of time'? Cause it certainly appears to be increasing for me.
If you are traveling from point A to point B these days, you are likely to take less time. For one, the transport is faster and smoother. Secondly, you are likely to use a GPS to find your way through the shortest routes - and if you are in one of the cities that has the technology (Sydney is yet to - possibly later in the year), then you will be able to bypass the traffic jam in between. The ad for Navman gave me a chuckle - 'shorter route, longer marriage'. It is even saving those lengthy arguments you often get into on how to hold the map.
IP Video conferencing or mobile 3G video calling has also become commonplace if you feel traveling is not your cup of tea or you simply prefer your couch over the car seat. Seminars, forums etc are now thing of the past (almost). MySpace, LinkedIn are some of the places people meet and network instead. Surely, we are doing a lot more in lot less time.
So, here I am bracing for another fast year to zoom by. Click-clack, front and back.
If you are traveling from point A to point B these days, you are likely to take less time. For one, the transport is faster and smoother. Secondly, you are likely to use a GPS to find your way through the shortest routes - and if you are in one of the cities that has the technology (Sydney is yet to - possibly later in the year), then you will be able to bypass the traffic jam in between. The ad for Navman gave me a chuckle - 'shorter route, longer marriage'. It is even saving those lengthy arguments you often get into on how to hold the map.
IP Video conferencing or mobile 3G video calling has also become commonplace if you feel traveling is not your cup of tea or you simply prefer your couch over the car seat. Seminars, forums etc are now thing of the past (almost). MySpace, LinkedIn are some of the places people meet and network instead. Surely, we are doing a lot more in lot less time.
So, here I am bracing for another fast year to zoom by. Click-clack, front and back.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Small is efficient
It's funny how often large corporates don't quite get their customer. With so much money spent on customer relationship management systems and initiatives alike, you'd think they would get a better hold on what turns their customers off.
I recently moved house. Those of you have done it a few times would know how frustrating the whole experience can be. Despite plenty of effort to keep things on a plan - it doesn't quite go right all the way. One of them has been my Internet connection. At first - I started to check on naked DSL availability. A number of providers are currently doing trial runs of it but none is offering it as a product yet (possibly by end of the year one or two may begin their offering).
Not having that as a possibility - I had no choice but to call up Telstra and get my phone line hooked up. That was pretty quick. In fact, within a few hours, I got the dial tone. While setting my phone up, I asked about their Internet package for ADSL2+. They managed to put together a decent package for me (price-wise) and I said, why not! The following day, I called up to find out how my Internet order was going. Order? What order? The lady asked. They lost my order!!! So I had to go through it all again. And this time, she couldn't offer me the same package any more. Upon insisting, she unwillingly accepted it. And desperate to get my Internet connected, I continued along the path of a BigPond Internet.
Another two days had passed - I called up again. This time, I was told my order is active and is waiting to be verified. Surprise! Surprise!! Telstra owns the copper line. They are waiting to verify. For whom? By whom?
Ok, I ran out of patience. I went to their website to cancel my order and clicked on the support button which invitingly displayed a link to the chat room. I thought, very well - I don't have to wait on a phone queue to get my order canceled. After going through a series of questions and answers with the friendly chat operator on the other end, I was handed in a phone number to call to cancel my order. Back on the phone again.
The next few things happened very quickly. First, I canceled my order over the phone. Then I logged onto another Internet provider's site, TPG, and put in an order for ADSL2+. Within a few minutes, I got an email message advising me that I cannot have ADSL2+ since my phone is on a sub-exchange that possibly uses optical fiber. So, why couldn't Telstra make that discovery in 3 days and TPG could, considering Telstra owns the line? You wonder.
I replied to the email advising to switch to standard ADSL. Within a few minutes, here were a few more emails from TPG advising me of all the configuration settings I'd need. Within the hour, I had access to a online site with all my details and user account activated and an estimate of 3-5 days to get my line activated. "Activated"? Guess who? Yes, Telstra.
So here I am connected to the net through my good old dial-up connection, waiting for Telstra to activate my ADSL line, so TPG can provide me the service. I wonder what does a loss of a customer equates to Telstra database. Clearly not significant enough to improve their efficiency. These days not having connection to the Internet is like losing a limb or two - you become virtually paralyzed. And with a lead time of 10-15 days to get someone connected, I'd suspect Telstra will be ending up with zombies for customers.
I recently moved house. Those of you have done it a few times would know how frustrating the whole experience can be. Despite plenty of effort to keep things on a plan - it doesn't quite go right all the way. One of them has been my Internet connection. At first - I started to check on naked DSL availability. A number of providers are currently doing trial runs of it but none is offering it as a product yet (possibly by end of the year one or two may begin their offering).
Not having that as a possibility - I had no choice but to call up Telstra and get my phone line hooked up. That was pretty quick. In fact, within a few hours, I got the dial tone. While setting my phone up, I asked about their Internet package for ADSL2+. They managed to put together a decent package for me (price-wise) and I said, why not! The following day, I called up to find out how my Internet order was going. Order? What order? The lady asked. They lost my order!!! So I had to go through it all again. And this time, she couldn't offer me the same package any more. Upon insisting, she unwillingly accepted it. And desperate to get my Internet connected, I continued along the path of a BigPond Internet.
Another two days had passed - I called up again. This time, I was told my order is active and is waiting to be verified. Surprise! Surprise!! Telstra owns the copper line. They are waiting to verify. For whom? By whom?
Ok, I ran out of patience. I went to their website to cancel my order and clicked on the support button which invitingly displayed a link to the chat room. I thought, very well - I don't have to wait on a phone queue to get my order canceled. After going through a series of questions and answers with the friendly chat operator on the other end, I was handed in a phone number to call to cancel my order. Back on the phone again.
The next few things happened very quickly. First, I canceled my order over the phone. Then I logged onto another Internet provider's site, TPG, and put in an order for ADSL2+. Within a few minutes, I got an email message advising me that I cannot have ADSL2+ since my phone is on a sub-exchange that possibly uses optical fiber. So, why couldn't Telstra make that discovery in 3 days and TPG could, considering Telstra owns the line? You wonder.
I replied to the email advising to switch to standard ADSL. Within a few minutes, here were a few more emails from TPG advising me of all the configuration settings I'd need. Within the hour, I had access to a online site with all my details and user account activated and an estimate of 3-5 days to get my line activated. "Activated"? Guess who? Yes, Telstra.
So here I am connected to the net through my good old dial-up connection, waiting for Telstra to activate my ADSL line, so TPG can provide me the service. I wonder what does a loss of a customer equates to Telstra database. Clearly not significant enough to improve their efficiency. These days not having connection to the Internet is like losing a limb or two - you become virtually paralyzed. And with a lead time of 10-15 days to get someone connected, I'd suspect Telstra will be ending up with zombies for customers.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Push Gmail
If you are trying to get push email working on you mobile phone, check out emoze. They have got a Gmail connector that allows you to configure your Gmail account, and let it scan for mails to alert you as they arrive. Best of all, it's free. It was quick to setup - you can download the installer from your email's browser itself. Alternatively, they allow you to use PC to download and configure your phone. It synchronizes your emails, calendar and contacts stored on Gmail. One problem I found with it was that it didn't allow me to disable certain sync option (e.g. if I didn't want to sync my contacts).
I was using the mobile client for Gmail for a while but it wasn't giving me the push function. Unless Gmail provides an upgrade to its client with this much needed feature, I suppose I am sticking to emoze for a while.
I was using the mobile client for Gmail for a while but it wasn't giving me the push function. Unless Gmail provides an upgrade to its client with this much needed feature, I suppose I am sticking to emoze for a while.
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