Archive for September, 2008

Heartless People – Tainted milk, Maid abuse and others

Thursday, 25 September 2008

I always wonder why do some people lost their humanity and did what they do to others. In this peaceful time, we should be enjoying and appreciating what we have instead of making things worse.  While the word is not perfect and without wars, I am happy that I have been lucky to be spared from World War 1, 2 and other wars that followed.  Imagine what our grandparents, parents went through in those times! In 1960s, I recall that one would need to queue to get milk for children even if one has money.

The case of tainted milk in China should have never happen in the first place. Milk are mostly consumed by children and they are our future.  Now, we have a situation where some heartless people (who I believe no longer have any conscience left) that willing to sacrifice these children to enrich themselves.  As you may have read in newspaper, The milk was diluted to make it more than what it should have been. To elude any checks on this, Melamine was added so that the protein looks in the right amount without diluted.  Melamine is a solid substance and it would need to be mixed with formaldehyde (Formalin, in some countries called) to be liquid for mixing with milk.

There has not been any conclusion who did this, but once they found out, I really hope the responsible parties be brought to justice.  Children died and tens thousands are sick… They have the right to be treated the best they can and mould their own future. 

This was not the first, there was pet food from China that was tainted with Melamine and tainted toothpaste.  It just not right.

Moving from tainted food, we should try to look at modern slavery.  I recall there are hundreds of young men forced to work in brickhouse, practically for nothing. Kids were sold and forced to work everyday, long hours, in kiln to make bricks. The scandal broke out and perpetrators were brought to justice. Again, should it happen at the first place? No, It shouldn’t.

In Singapore, I had been saddened by maid abuse that keep on going almost now and then as long as I can remember in the past 8 years.  Thumbs up for the authorities, who has brought to justice many of the ‘cruel’ employers.  However, I don’t see it is deterrent enough due to more and always more maid abuse case being discovered.  Irregardless the incompetence of the maid, they are people and should be treated as one.  I couldn’t understand the cruelty of employers who either rape, molest, extract maid’s tooth, hit, deprive from food and sleep their maids. In a very subtle abuse is to make the maid work in multiple household without compensating for the extra work.

I used to live in a country where having a maid in each household is common.  We treated our maid as they where almost our family members. Their food and rest are being taken for and in return we want them to provide us with a good services and being able to be trusted. Of course, We met a share number of bad maid who steals or lazy, but we just need to terminate their service instead of subjecting them to abuses.

So, in these maid abuse cases, how these are different than old slavery time? They are not considered as human but and maybe an animal who does work and can be subjected to any abuses.  I simply don’t understand what are on these people mind.

Let’s us respect people and animals, they are living being and they should be treated as how we would others treat us….

How to get best (cheapest) subscription rate for Time/Newsweek Magazines

Thursday, 25 September 2008

I will share my experience on how I get best discount rate to get subscription from Times and Newsweek Magazines. It may also applies to other magazines, you can try and let me know :)

Background

Magazines are really cheap and affordable if you subscribes to them instead of buying it from bookstore or retail.  One can really save anywhere between 20% to (whopping) 75% for a yearly subscription, so each magazine you buy can actually pays for two. 

It all started when I received unsolicited subscriptions offers from Times, Newsweek, Fortune, and others many years ago. I ignored them several times until one day they sent me their best offer – 75% discount. I took the offer and started my subscriptions. 

Present days
It’s two years later when my subscriptions are expiring and they sent me notices to renew but at must lower discount – 55% to 65% for 3 years.  Although it comes with a (rather useless) gift, a 10% discount is quite a saving to fight for.  I found out that it still work the same way,  If you ignore these renewal offers until the very last week of your term, they may send you another offer which is again at 75% or better.

Practical Advice

  1. Wait until your term is expiring e.g. 4 weeks before and call your customer service
  2. Quote that you paid a better rate last term or would only renew if they can offer the best rate for next term
  3. Insist on 2) or call back at later time
  4. If the above doesn’t work, you need to decide whether you need the magazine or just simply let it lapse.  When it lapses, I am sure they will send you offers again.

Magazines doesn’t really rely on subscriptions to get money, Ads are their main revenue. In the United States, magazines are offered as low as 1.99 USD/year which basically doesn’t even cover the postage.  This just shows how they need a bigger and larger readership (auditable) to command higher ads revenue.

Now it’s your turn to try and let others know if you have the same experience.

iPhone 3G Problems, Issues, Woes

Saturday, 20 September 2008

In my previous post (iPhone 3G, No Thanks), I wrote why I didn’t go ahead and by the ‘much hyped, long waited, the killer-of-all-phones’ iPhone 3G. When I stumbled upon a forum thread, I am glad that I am correct.  I should stay away from iPhone 3G until they have ironed out the issues and the quality problems. Read more.

Here are the defect list from users’ feedback from the forum:

  1. Dust under LCD
  2. LCD light leakage
  3. Wide range of cosmetic issues e.g. scratches, cracks, dent, etc.
  4. Dead pixels
  5. Yellowish screen

Those are on top of previous widely reported issues that deals with basic phone functionality e.g. poor 3G reception, poor battery life and so on.  It seems iPhone 3G is both plagued with software (must better now) and hardware issues. My impression reading people experiences is that the quality control is must less than desireable.  It is simply not a phone for someone who wanted to enjoy a reliable basic functionality and reasonable quality.

Reading futher, it seems that many consumers in Singapore had returned and exchanged their set multiple times up to 8 times to find an acceptable sets.  I also learnt that there are many replacements were, in fact, a refurbished set. This makes sense as they don’t do repair but instead offer 1-to-1 exchange.  With refurbished set, the comments were that cosmetic defects are present.

I felt that the yellowish screen would be the most serious of all hardware issues, it is reported that a black and white photo would become a sepia instead. Dead pixels often found not 1 but often 2 or more. Interestingly, users reported that the dead pixels are coming after used for a few days.  In laptops, LCD TVs, mobile phones, dead pixels are present but at a very low percentage. The number of users who complained about dead pixels may indicate that lower defect tolereance is used thus explain the prevalent of dead pixels.

Dust under the screen is also noticable in phones that I have used before, but usually after a long period of usage. Even so, it’ll not be seen in every phone as some phone has better cover sealing. Again the multiple reports on such incidents out from the box may indicate the factory environment may not be as clean as it should be.

Speaking about production environment, there was a funny incident where a factory worker took her picture (may  be part of testing or for fun sake) and forgot to delete/reset to factory default the phone prior shipping.  Read more here.

If you need more information why iPhone 3G is not at a desirable quality and may be a nightmare for perfectionist, read more here.

I wonder how many more ‘uninformed’ people will have bad experience buying a ‘dream’ phone. I thought I had googled well before going to Singtel last week, but I never found one post about defect list on iPhone 3G. This just convinced me to totally skip iPhone right away.

So do you still want to get a 3G iPhone?

iPhone 3G – No, Thanks!

Tuesday, 16 September 2008

Apple has been very good at coming up with innovative products from iPod classic, shuffle, Touch, then iPhone.  After a long wait, (legitimate) iPhone finally arrived in Singapore. I gave it a miss on their launch and I gave it another miss last Sunday. Read on why…

 

Before I start with the ‘why’, I need to establish an impression on where I am or why I am qualified to have an opinion that I have. I travel a lot and I worked in telecommunication industry for almost 10 years now. Mobile phone is a must and I depend on it a lot. I have at least 4 primary phones that I bring around everywhere with spare batteries for each phone. I choose phone based on their performance, stability and versatility and almost of my choices are the popular phones in the market.  Example: Nokia N95, N95 8GB, E90 Communicator, N73, etc. These phones are really popular not because heavy ads or something but due to its design and performance.

Few of the most basic criteria of a mobile phone is stability, usability and coverage. 

  1. Phone must be stable so that it is dependable as reliable communication devices.
  2. Phone must have a high usability that it is easy to use and intuitive. This includes a good and friendly user interface.
  3. Phone must have a good coverage i.e. multiple radios to ensure coverage in different part of the world.

iPhone, despite all it’s features and hype, does not meet all of the above. I was so glad that I didn’t purchase the iPhone during its launch. When I read that Apple has released new software for the phone v2.1 and the fixes includes ‘ less dropped call, improve battery life, etc’ I can only think that previous software must be crappy. A phone can’t be dropping calls due to software!! It is understandable if network coverage is bad but not the phone itself. In my opinion, it has to prove itself as a stable device to be use for a consumer primary device.

iPhone also associated with ‘locking’ customer to an operator. Despite the one sold in Singapore are unlocked but it is not really full unlocked just like any other phones sold in the local market. Why?

  1. SingTel always stated ‘Use SingTel SIM card to experience the iPhone’. The staff at SingTel shops always downplay the possibility of using the phone with m1 or starhub cards.
  2. It has a limit of 4 SIM card, after which the phone is locked. I’m not sure if that’s a 4x change of SIM card or 4 different unique SIM card. Have you heard any unlocked/normal phones that has a limit of number SIM card it’ll allow to? Well I haven’t.

iPhone has also a unique revenue sharing contract, this lead to higher monthly plan than any other phone. Compare M1’s SunSaver which offer similar talk time to SingTel iPhone’s base Flexi plan but at about S$ 15 more.

Last Friday, I came to Singtel ComCentre to get an iphone also to see the product myself. The staff (even those specialized at iPhone) are not fully competent in answering my questions. The staff unable to explain in details the limitation of 4 SIM cards (unique or number of SIM card change). One staff said it’ll NOT work with M1/Starhub SIM Card which is incorrect.

Other gripes? well plenty:

  1. Battery is not removable - Bad design, considering that we need to use the phone extended time at certain occasions and battery needs to be able to be replaced.
  2. Can’t cut and paste – Really a showstopper
  3. Can’t forward SMS – What.. Missing basic feature?
  4. Can’t do video call – hello…… 3G -> Video call!! esp. with that bigsized screen
  5. 2Mpix camera without autofocus or flash -> What kind of outdated camera is that?
  6. Spend more $$$ to get decent pouch or risk having the iPhone cosmetically damaged very soon.

It may be a beautiful product, but to me it’s a fashion phone rather than a reliable phone. I’d rather get a basic phone that does excellent basic call function rather than a polished and shiny phone with a dropped call.

When I called SingTel customer service, the officer mentioned that plenty of stocks still available. Interesting! What is more interesting is that, Singtel sent an email today:

If you port your mobile number to SingTel and purchase an iPhone, we guarantee your iFlexi plan won’t be beaten by anyone else!*

Our records indicate that you have not purchased your iPhone 3G from SingTel.

I am so confident about our iPhone offer, if and when our competition launches a cheaper iPhone 3G rate plan, we will match it.

This offer is just for you and is not transferable! You must bring this letter to a hello! store before 30 September 2008 to be eligible.

There has never been a better time to experience the iPhone 3G on SingTel’s unrivalled 3G network.

For more details on pricing please visit www.singtel.com/iphone
What’s stopping you from porting your mobile number to SingTel today and getting your own iPhone 3G?

 

*SingTel iPhone 3G Price Plan Guarantee: If you come across an advertised post paid mobile iPhone 3G bundled price plan from another service provider in Singapore before 31 December 2008 we make sure you are not worse off for your price plan as follows:If the included bundle of local outgoing voice minutes, local SMS and data bundle is similar and the subscription price lower we will match the bundle for local voice, local SMS, data and subscription price.If the subscription price is similar, but the plan includes more local outgoing voice minutes, local SMS and data bundle we will match the bundle for local outgoing voice minutes, local SMS, data and subscription price.The matching will be for the duration of your fixed term post paid contract with SingTel. This is a special promotion for the person named in this email and is not transferable. You must port your number to SingTel post paid to be eligible for the iPhone 3G Price Plan Guarantee. If you come across a cheaper advertised rate, you must let SingTel know by sending an email to iphone@singtel.com. We will verify your e-mail and change your rates within two months of you letting us know. Cancellation fees and other costs may apply when you switch from your current provider. SingTel’s normal credit policies and terms and conditions apply.

 The way I read this, the sales of Iphone is not that well. Stocks aplenty and it tries to assure customer to get iphone now rather than later by Starhub or M1. I also read that it is quite confident that no rates will be lower than Singtel until end of the year. So does Starhub and M1 will only launch iPhone next year? Let’s see. 

 

Whatever it is, it’s not a fully matured product, not really cheap initially, expensive running cost and restrictive (SIM limitation), etc. iPhone – good bye for now… Ring me again when you’re better shape and when operator charges better for your services.