The cost of the iPhone is not the real cost of ownership!

After an initial spell of problems when I first got my White iPhone, the baby is now working as it should. As I relive my experience with the first generation iPhone, followed by the Samsung Omnia as I am using my new iPhone, I can tell that this is the phone that offers the best experience so far! In terms of user interface, screen flows and user-friendliness, the new 3G iPhone tops in all departments.

It is therefore not surprising to find that it is easy to develop an affection for the iPhone - a strange thing to say, but true. The affection is one where there is a strong consciousness to want to protect it from "harm" - scratches, drops, fingerprints... and continuously look for ways to enhance the already gorgeous experience. Apple probably knows that too well. A whole iPhone accessories industry has developed as a result of the product. A peek at the COMEX 2008 that concluded today will attest to this. There are 10 different types of screen protectors (fingerprint resistant, mirror effect, sensitive to touch - more like condom ad), iPhone protectors (leather, front protector, casing of 100 different types and materials from many many vendors), iphone carrier (dizzying array again), earphones, etc etc etc. To the iPhone owner, once you own the baby, there is nothing that you will stinge on to protect it. Here is the problem, $38 for iPhone back protector, $18 for finger-print screen protector, $59 for a leather iPhone holster, $630 for a B&O bluetooth earpiece and the cost high rockets.

This does not include the occasional $0.99 for a song or two on iTunes, $1.99 for a photo-twister on the Apps Store, $9.00 for a iPhone bible, etc ... and the cost add up some more!

So, don't kid yourself that the price that you pay for the iPhone is the true cost... But who is complaining :-)

First Public Airing for Personal Blog in Shin Min Newspaper!

My Blog entry on how to give way to ambulance was featured in the 28 August 2008 Shin Min Newspaper. I am glad that my blog could play a role in helping to educate the public on the importance of giving way to ambulance. Lives could be saved! ... and it could well be our loved ones.

I always welcome a good laugh...

My 10-year old daughter Brittney told this joke today that helped to brighten my day.

She said that there are 3 friends and their names are "Shut Up', "Manners" and "Trouble". One day, Trouble went missing. Shut Up and Manners looked all over but could not find Trouble. They decided that they should go to the nearest neighbourhood police centre to report the matter.

When they turned up at the Police centre, Trouble decided to go to the Toilet. The police officer asked Shut Up "What is your name?" "Shut up" came the reply. The Police officer got angry and replied "where is your manners?". Shut Up replied, "in the Toilet". Now the police officer got really angry and said, "Are you looking for Trouble?", and he said "Yes!".

Now let's mind our manners and not get into trouble :-)

Random Email...But Useful Reminder to Slow Down

I received this random email today. Can't find any reference to authenticate the source but good reminder anyway that life may not, should not and need not be a rush all the times. Many times slowing down to think, reflect and appreciate the beauty around us will lead to more productive outcome.

I share the content of the email in full below.

It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results.. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

In other words:
1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
2. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work).The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space?I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot."To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being".French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%..This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA, the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade.This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity

It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress.

It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous.

It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence.

In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango.Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Congratulations for reading this email till the end of this message.There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this "Globalized" world.

Let There Be Light!

I witnessed sufferings and anguish at close range recently. The question I have favoured to asked silently in my heart has been, "what can I do to help?" There is a sense of helplessness but right before me are people who needed comfort and solace.

I want to offer a hug but it is not always the most appropriate thing to do. I thought about offering comforting words that "I know how you feel...", but I can hardly pretend to fanthom the depth of the emotions...

In and of myself, I am helpless. I can only rely on my Jesus that in my prayers will reach out, touch and bring healing and restoration to the hurting hearts. My friends, take care... there are people out there who really cares about you. God Bless!

Singapore's First Olympic Medal and the "sacking" of the Manager?

I cannot help but felt a sense of incongruence in my emotions when news broke in the Straits Times on Saturday.

The ST reported that the Team Manager's term with the STTA (Singapore Table Tennis Association) will not be renewed and the fate of the Head Coach also hangs in the air. This had to be done before the end of the Olympics where the table tennis team achieved the best achievement in 48 years for Singapore. How strange and what a timing?

Do we only look at what is wrong in people in Singapore?...and do not consider the right that has been done? Is this the kind of mindset that is driving Singaporeans to be kiasu and afraid to speak up?

Do we wonder why people are always thinking about themselves and acts sometimes at the expense of others ("Kiasu" definition) and not put their point of views across? Would it be that in this way, the chances of being wrong will be lower and correspondingly the probability of being "punished" and you have the opportunity to savour the right that one has done.

For now, I guess the public will just have to hold our breath to find why the event happened and not jump to conclusions when indeed we have seen the conclusion.

Singapore Table Tennis Team, cheer on... you have done us proud and let this not rob your joy!

Looks like many of you don't care about the iPhone...

I received several comments on my Facebook after I posted "obituary for my iPhone"... Here are some of them:

"Get a Life, Buy Nokia"

"the swedes beat the americans this round! ha ha"

"sigh ... stick with your old faithful. stop this fantasy with the iphone. is once not enough?"

"Alamak! What happened, brudder?"

"my condolences ..... so young .... so much promise .... such a waste ...."

"Officially declared dead? Back to the "black bag"??"

"OUCH!Hee Jug, restore faith? Pray then..."

Well, tomorrow is iPhone resurrection Monday! I give the new iPhone 3G a second chance, see what happens?

My New 3G iPhone is Dead!

I have been looking forward to the new 3G iPhone debut in Singapore. To ensure that I am one of the first to get the baby in Singapore, I reserved one with Singtel. Part of my facilnation with the new iPhone is because I actually owned the last generation of the iPhone but sold it because there were many features that needed improvement but the overall phone experience was extraordinary. Knowing Apple and Steve Jobs, i was all ready to embrace the new iPhone again as the bugs and bug bears would be taken care of.

August 22 (Friday) 2008 was a big day for me. Those of you who noticed my Facebook "Status" would know that I was counting down to that day. By 5.30pm yesterday, I received my WHITE 3G iPhone at my office. It came in a nice black bag with the words "I've Got iPhone (picture of the phone)" tapped by the sides. I peered into the bag and i could instantly recognise the packaging of the iPhone. I relish the moment when I opened it. It was only at 11pm when all my kids were in bed that I felt I could have uninterupted time with my own white iPhone. I took the phone in its original packing out from the bag, carefully placed it on my computer table and then took out the other marketing and instructional brochures from SingTel that came with it. I was surprised to find a black T-shirt with iPhone 3G on the back - SingTel really knows how to surprise her corporate customers! I started to open the packaging to unveil the iPhone, taken care to snap momentous pictures of the process and the first glimpse of the new iPhone. As one of the first in Singapore to own the iPhone, it was a special experience for me - a strange sense of pride.

I inserted the SIM card, connected the USB cable to the iPhone and then to my PC and expected a "magical" moment where the iPhone would come to life "out of the box".

I was wrong!

The first message that greeted me was "iTunes need to be upgraded to version 7.7.1 inorder to connect with the iPhone". I recall an email from SingTel to do this part of the homework but I did not. I blamed myself for the temporary setback in my experience and proceeded to the apple website and downloaded the new iTunes, waited about 5 minutes for the 80Mb file to download and be installed. I plugged my new iPhone to my PC again and this time, I heard a little apple chime on the iPhone and the classical iPhone screen appeared. I proceeded to register the phone and did a few settings. By that time, it was way past midnight. I decided I should just leave my iPhone plugged on to ensure full charge by the morning where I will start my heavy duty setting on my iPhone - transfering my contacts, setting up my email accounts, transfer my songs from iTunes etc etc.

I went to bed satisfied and to be frank I actually dreamt about how well the new iPhone will complement my life and what are the accessories that I should buy to protect my investment and keep the baby looking fabulous for a some time.

This morning, I got up and shortly after breakfast I proceeded to setup my new iPhone. I plugged my phone onto the PC, iTunes was activated and a message popped up on screen. It says, "Upgrade your iPhone software to 2.0.2...OK?". Naturally, I clicked YES. the dialogue screen to download the software came, I click continue and the installation was in progress until another error message came up, and the dialogue back said something along the lines that "...you should Restore the phone...". I followed instructions, clicked on the "restore" button and after some 4 mins or so, another message came up "The iPhone ~iPhone~ could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (6)". I clicked "OK" and another message came up "iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore the iPhone before it can be used with iTines." Desperate, I called the SingTel 1626 lines and 3 different agents were on the phone trying to help me for over 1.5 hours but to no avail.

Finally, the statement that I feared most came from one of the lady SingTel agent. She said, "Sir, I am sorry, it looks like you have to call your account manager to have the phone changed."

The euphoria of being one of the first in Singapore to own the 3G iPhone was gone. In its place, disappointment and a little anger. I sms'ed the account manager and she said that she would do a 1-to-1 exchange with me on Monday. But, it is not the same anymore. That would not be the first batch of iPhones in Singapore. I have half a mind to reject the iPhone and buy another phone, perhaps my old flame of the Nokia.

Why did my iPhone 3G die? At 12.45pm today, the SingTel agent pronounced my phone Dead.

An old friend commented on a photo that I posted earlier on the black bag that contained my new iPhone and said "dead iphone now in a black bag ( a black bag is used to bag a deceased person when transported) ?" He is right, the packaging could have been a bad start. I announced the death of my 3G iPhone on Facebook and that information alone attracted some 6 comments from friends sending "condolences" some of them with a tinge of cheekiness.

Apple is a great company and iPhone is a great product. But, it is the customer experience that counts. I recall reading Ads that says that the Samsung Omnia is a "iPhone Killer". Based on the experience that I had today, the iPhone does not need help, the phone can kill itself!

I hope that my replacement iPhone 3G will restore my faith in Apple!

Reflecting on PM's NDR 2008 message on family and procreation...

It was kind of odd when I tried to listen PM's address at the National Day rally tonight. First of all, my 2 year old was asking to watch "Barney" on the only TV we have in the house, and then my second daughter Melody had all kinds of ideas of what she wants to keep herself occupied. She role-played her teacher as she reached out to the whiteboard and ask me to spell "toilet" and then "queue" and proceeded to ask me how long should the toilet queue be. All this happened during the time when PM Lee was exalting our population to have more kids, have worklife balance and more. I ask myself, if many people could bring themselves to accept this rather "chaotic" version of life after children?

Personally, married life and having 3 kids, has been the most gratifying achievement for me. However, it took me a while to be able to take in the full measure of the blessings that I have in FAMILY, to be frank (as I am writing this blog entry, now my 2-year old is crying in the background). In a sense, as I reflected on my own journey, I would say that the measures proposed by PM are finally addressing the right issues.

It took a while for my first child to arrive, not because we want to delay having a family but because it just did not happen. We waited 5 years before she was finally conceived in the US when I took leave to pursue my MBA/ MPH in Los Angeles, CA. Stress and the inverse correlation with fertility is now well understood, and it required that my wife and i take a break from busy Singapore to reverse it. We were lucky because the other options that we had contemplated ie IVF would have been beyond reach at that time of our lives. So, even though PM said that subsidy for IVF is a "small" thing in his speech, it will be of big help to yound couples willing to have kids but need "help".

When Brittney, my eldest daughter finally arrived, it was pure joy. In fact, it was so joyful we made "joy" part of her name Brittney Foo Joy-Anne. The sight of her emerging from her mother, her first cry and her every movement brought pride and joy to me (to my wife later because she was at the other end and could not see very well). The fact that I am now a father and responsible to see her to her future is something that is indescribable... Then reality hit me. Sleep became scarce, my baby did not follow a routine and had to be attended to even during the deepest "rapid eye movement" part of your sleep. My wife and i were both working and there were times that we both need to attend to important meetings and wished that there was good infant care. It was not only rare but expensive when you find it. Now PM's proposal on better and higher subsidy for childcare (I hope he included infant care as well) is again on the right track here!

Then come the issue of worklife balance and shared responsibilities at home. This is so hard. The truth is that we need to work damned hard in Singapore to make an above average contributions. To do your job well requires us to be totally committed and willing to make sacrifices, many times at the expense of family! What I have found most helpful is to have an enlightened boss who put family first. Here again, I am lucky...

... You see, most men who most accustomed to doing and finishing one thing at a time, will find it very hard to adjust to this version of life. The need to regularly interupt one piece of work to do another, and then come back to try to continue only to be interupted by yet another need from another/ or the same child can be quite "trying". I personally find it very hard and hence "shared Responsibilities" can be very trying. This is because the needs at home with children is sometimes highly unpredictable. Just when you think that it is finally time to settle on something, a child will spill something, wet himself and fall off a chair. To have some sanity to both the husband and wife often requires another important pair of hands - that of a domestic help. In fact, one may argue that if you can afford it (and if the help don't fight with each other), having 2 domestic help may be ideal! Perhaps more govt subsidy for domestic maid will be helpful - something that I did not hear from PM's speech. Now for men, the way to be psychologically prepared for shared responsibility is to focus on the PRIZE (happy wife and kids well brought up). There again, I know i should do more at home, but have not done as much and hence am not a good role model. But I have said my peace.

All that I have said were my personal reflections after ONLY my first child! But fear not, here is where we have a steepest learning curve. After you have had the first, the second and third so much easier because we know what to expect :-) Still the effort is incremental and there is this ongoing concern that you have spent time with all 3 kids.

Next Matchmaking... PM said that Singaporeans need to get help when they need help. And in the "get-hitch" department, he will ensure that matchmaking agencies are "SDU-certified" so that the sleaze is tajen out and there is confidence that true help will be rendered. He also spoke about parents returning to the traditional role of matchmaking. Poor People's Association got the arrow to create areas where parents can meet to exchange photos of their children and contacts... "will this help with our youth these days...", lamented one of my colleagues? In all sincerity, I have become aware of "desperate" men and women wishing to be connected to potential partners and well meaning people like me will find it impossible to do anything to help! It is time the professionals come in! Of course, I liked PM's quote of "Marry the one that you love, and then love the one that you marry" not because it is deep but also because it sounds like the lyrics of a popular song "...are you going back to the one you love, or are you going back to the one who loves you..." - hard choices but one brings greater happiness than another and either could be right!

Of course, my wife appreciates the 4 additional weeks of extra maternity leave which may be flexibly taken throughout the year and the 6 days of child care leave (is this applicable to fathers too?!).

Overall, I feel that what's right about PM's speech on family and procreation tonight is the spirit that he has used to approach the topic - sincerity in respecting personal choices and recognising that practical realities must be addressed head-on from the heart and not from the mind.

All said, I have done my part to raise Singapore overall fertility rate with 3 children who will no doubt grow up to be great Singaporeans who will put their minds, spirit and soul to not only make their parent proud of them but also to their society and community. It is now time for others to step forward :-)

"Give, Give" Relationship can help us receive help when we need it, and understanding how to give help...

Check out this article "On the Receiving End: How we think about help isn't helping".

The closest local example that I think of uses a scene in a crowded MRT. You are seated down and you spot an elderly women just got on and in your assessment really need the seat. She could hardly balance herself as train moves on, and your heart is racing. You think to yourself, "I should give up my seat for her...but wait a minute, what if I stand up and offer my seat to her and she refuses to take it? It will be very embarrassing for me...". You plucked up your courage and offered her your seat.

The old lady looked at you as you stood up and she told you "No, you seat, I can stand" and then looked away. You tried to tell her again that you do not mind letting her take your seat, and she refused, looking away. You thought to yourself, "I should have just sat down and save the embarrassment". Guess what? You also told yourself that the next time you see another in need, you will just pretend not to know.

This outcome is bad! The person who needs help is not helped, and in return the helper may be conditioned not to offer help in future.

The article talks about thinking about help as an act of collaboration. To "Take" is not to take a "Hand out", it is "enabling the contribution" - the notion of "Give Give"

The next time we need help, receive help graciously.

Happy National Day 2008!