Mi Choza De Nipa

From Tech News Today • Friday • June 27, 2008   Rolling your eyes to turn up the volume of a portable music player and tapping your fingers to turn on a DVD player are among technologies Japan ’s top mobile carrier is testing for “wearable” gadgets.   In one version, sensors and chips inside headphones detect the electrical current produced by movements of the wearer’s eyeballs, said Mr Masaaki Fukumoto, executive research engineer at NT DoCoMo.   NT DoCoMo believes wearable control technology will be adapted for mobile devices that download music, play video games and allow users to shop online and keep up with their emails.   In a demonstration, researcher Hiroyuki Manabe wore a giant headset covered with wires to show how computer graphic lines in a monitor connected to the headset darted wildly whenever his eyes moved. He turned up the volume on a digital music player by rolling his eyes and h...

From Technology Today • Friday • June 27, 2008   Location-based applications for mobile phones are going to be a really big deal   HEDIRMAN SUPIAN hedirman@mediacorp.com.sg   LOCATION-BASED applications for mobile phones seem to be the next big thing after social networking websites. Dr Vint Cerf, one of the famed “fathers of the Internet” and Google’s chief Internet evangelist, told the local press on a recent visit that he was a big believer in investing in the geographical indexing of information and making it useful for people.   “The idea of having information relevant to where you are is hugely appealing,” he said. “It’s tremendously valuable to find out what you can do nearby.”   It’s no surprise that quite a number of top applications developed for Google’s upcoming Android platform for mobiles are location-based. Apple chief Steve Jobs is als...

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY T o day • Friday • June 27, 2008   By Dr James Dobson   I’m sure you’ve heard the old story about the father who said that giving his daughter to the man she loved was like giving a beautiful hand-made violin to a gorilla.   I think all dads feel that way about their little girls, and maybe for some very good reasons. Sometimes, it seems that courtesy and respect have been replaced by hostility towards women.   Pornographic material, for example, typically depicts women in degrading and dehumanising poses. And a favourite theme of R&B music is the abuse and disrespect of women. Now, predictably, this attitude is even evident at times in the young men who date our daughters.   There’s an approach to this problem that I like. A father in northern Virginia has allowed his seven-year-old daughter to start dating. But here’s the catch: He’s always the date. ...

From My News, Home MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   ON THE LOST ART OF READING   MAURICE QUEK   I T STRUCK me earlier this week while jostling with the morning crowd on the MRT train on the way to work.   In the past few months, I’ve witnessed scores of commuters busy with one activity: Pounding away at a sleek PlayStation Portable (PSP), Nintendo DS or a similar hand-held gaming console.   A young, smart-suited executive whose fingers dance over a console, oblivious to the world around him; a teenager in school uniform hooked on her tiny screen. And that kid, hunched over his tiny machine while completely ignoring his distraught mother.   While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with playing these games per se, my concern is that Singaporeans appear to be developing a fondness for such gadgets at the expense of a valuable tradition: Reading .   So, what’s happened to reading a book? ...

From My Say, My Views in 60 Seconds MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   THE Government’s plan to allow cyclists to share footpaths with pedestrians has received much feedback. But the authorities may wish to rectify some of the existing problems first.   Some footpaths are so narrow that it is not possible for both cyclists and pedestrians to use them at the same time. Cyclists also need to equip their bikes with lights and a warning bell.   And, most importantly, cyclists need to give way to pedestrians when they are on the footpaths – and not the other way round.   Mr Ishwar Mahtani  

From My Money My Biz in 60 Seconds   HONG Kong is set to launch its first commodities exchange early next year to capitalise on China ’s growing demand for oil and other raw materials, officials said yesterday. – AFP

From My Money MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   Sneaking peeks at documents of others in public common, survey in Britain and US shows   E XECUTIVES who often work on the move or in public places had better be more discreet about their business conversations and documents.   A survey in Britain and the United States , released last week, found that eavesdropping in public places was common.   Information exchanged during supposedly private business conversations were also used by others for their own advantage, according to survey findings.   Conducted by flexible work solutions provider Regus, the survey found that 67 per cent of Britons had listened in on someone else’s business conversation while they were in public places.   Americans were also guilty of this act – 59 per cent of those polled did just that. Besides eavesdropping, the habit of sneaking a peek at other people’s business do...

From My News, World MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   DUBAI , the playground of the rich, has a new prestige project. A shape-shifting luxury condominium called Dynamic Tower . The 420m-tall building features 80 apartments that spin at voice command around a central column. Each apartment will take between one and three hours to make a 360-degree rotation. Architect David Fisher, who presented the project in New York on Tuesday, said the energy-self-sufficient skyscraper should be completed in 2010. Buyers will have to fork out up to US$36 million (S$49 million) for a 1,200 sq m unit.   (PHOTO: DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE)

From My News, Home MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   DARYLL NANAYAKARA   SINGAPORE is expected – within four years – to be tops in the Asia-Pacific region for having the highest number of personal computers (PCs) per 1,000 population, says a research survey.   The findings are from a recently released research conducted by American information technology research and advisory company, Gartner.   The article was quoted on the website of Computerworld Singapore .   The research also found that the number of PCs installed around the world had reached more than 1 billion and this number “will grow by about 12 per cent annually”.   It is estimated that by 2014, the number of PCs will double what it is currently.   Accordingly, Singapore is expected to hit the three million mark for installed PCs this year. That is tantamount to 672 PCs per 1,000 population.   That number is ex...

From Ground Zero Citizen Journalism in Action MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   A STOMP contributor spotted this McDonald’s delivery rider carrying two delivery bags in Bukit Panjang.   “Isn’t it dangerous for him to be doing that?” he wonders.   Stomp contacted McDonald’s and this is its reply: “At McDonald’s, safety has always been of paramount importance to us.   “With regard to the situation highlighted to us, we have since carried out an investigation and reminded the relevant restaurant manager and rider of our one-bag policy while riding.”   McDonald’s added that it will monitor the situation and do periodic spot-checks.

From My News, Home MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   ELECTRICITY bills look set to increase again for the Singapore household – and you can blame it on the soaring crude oil prices.   From July to September, households will pay a record-high 25.07 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) – a rise of 4.98 per cent from 23.88 cents per kwh in the second quarter.   This latest increase means that families staying in one- to five-room HDB flats will pay $1.24 to $5.03 more a month in electricity bills.   Some Singaporeans my paper spoke said that they are biting the electricity bullet.   Said research analyst intern Ms Carol Koh, 22: “We try to cut costs by not using air-conditioning.”   Ms Koh stays in a five-room HDB with her parents and they keep their electricity bills to as low as $120 a month.   Domestic or low tension electricity tariffs are reviewed quarterly by SP services, a subsidiary ...

From My News, Home MY PAPER THURSDAY JUNE 26, 2008   A BRAND new record for the “most number of kids aged 12 years and below contributing to a story in one location” has been set for the Singapore Book Of Records. For more than 10 weekends, aspiring kid authors have contributed a section to a flowing story from where the last contributor left off. (PHOTO: JAMIE KOH)