My New Blackberry Bold 9700*

You might be wondering. Why am I showing you a Starhub bag picture? Not that you guys have not seen one before.

However, please stare at it closely. Notice how one of its string came off?

I swear I got a shock of my life when I was carrying the bag and the string gave way. My heart almost dropped out!

But thankfully, it was good. He stayed inside the bag and refused to fall out on its own.

I must say that I have never love a phone so much before.

I am definitely going to treasure this one for sure.

However, thanks to my quick-thinking, me and my dad start to tie a knot to make sure that the string does not come out of the hole again.

Smart ain't we ?

10pts for us !

The casing is simple classic.

My Baby in its casing

Already shining incandescently in its casing. Can't wait to get out of there.

Upfront Blackberry Bold 9700*

Now, I will shower many encomiums among this touted phone that everyone is talking about.

Pardon me for my enthusiasms. It is really that great!

What you read here is what you will get!

Trust me!

The battery life is extremely resilient and it can easily last for a day or two even with the email and internet operating simultaneously throughout the day.

The email is perfect with almost an immediate response and no delays.

In addition, the internet notifications, i.e. facebook and updates are expeditious!

Synchronisation between your contacts with your phone is perfect. Nicknames do appear on your phone as stated on your email list! So do not be surprised if you see someone called WeeWee calling you. The phone knows what you did last summer!

Best of all, your events on facebook is actually noted down neatly on your calendar, inclusive of the time period.

Finally the cold hard truth.

I signed up for an PowerValue 100 contract which costs $25.68 a month along with a Blackberry Premium (1GB Data Plan) which cost $19.90 originally but after a 30% discount (which will last till 30March) it costs a mere $13.93.

The phone comes at an exorbitant price of $598 with a 2 years contract.

However, as I am re-contracting, I am actually entitled to a $50 discount. It's not a lot but definitely better than nothing right?

As you can see, my monthly subscription bill comes up to a total of $25.68+$13.93+$5(Caller ID) = $44.61

BUT BUT BUT

The good news is that I am actually entitled to a 30% discount off my monthly bill!!!?!??!?!

So the bill comes down to $31.23 a month.

You might be wondering. How do I get such a huge discount of 30%?

Well simple, simply sign up with your family.

If you have 2 lines with starhub, you are entitled to a 25% discount and if you have 3 or more lines, you will receive a 30% discount off your monthly bills.

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself another Starhub line to enjoy the 25% if you only have one line!

Intel Triumps

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company reported a profit of $2.3 billion, or 40 cents per share, during the final quarter of 2009. The income was nearly 10 times higher than the $234 million, or 4 cents per share, that Intel reported for the fourth quarter of 2008.


"Our ability to weather this business cycle demonstrates that microprocessors are indispensable in our modern world," said Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini, in a statement.

Isn't the results above shocking and stunning at the same time? I'm delirious with joy because Intel is one of the first major IT firms to make such a huge comeback into the industry. In fact, I have always been having sanguine expectations of all these gargantuan firms.


I prognosticate that IT firms will never really fall apart even after a downpour of nonplus financial issues on the industry.


As you all might know, Intel is renowned and labelled as the best when it comes to the making of processors and chips. The company is literally indispensable in the industry and has even been accused of setting up a monopoly market. It is that HUGE right now.

Much research has been done to fix more chips onto a processor so be sure to watch out for them!


During a conference call, Intel chief financial officer Stacy Smith attributed the "modest recovery" to a healthy holiday season and the release of Windows 7.

"Intel is feeling confident about corporate IT (information technology) spending coming back, and they have the best high-end server solutions," he said. "As corporations upgrade their data centers this year, Intel will benefit. Their timing has been perfect."


Intel is really riding on the waves of the industry in this case. Many companies are using this opportunity to retrofit their systems in order to fight back after a long-term hiatus due to the financial crisis.


Everyone has been reserving their energy while waiting for the economic recovery to come. Once it has arrived, every single company will be effusive and fight like they have never fought before.

Come to think of it, this year will be an extremely intense year for all the firms as everyone will be engaged in nefarious gladiator fights and it is going to be fraught with more litigations and bankruptcy for sure.


All the best to all the investors here. Never let your guts down or you will be stabbed in the back so hard that you do not know you are already out of the game :)

Credits -cnn, -telegraph, -larrydownes, -tinypic, -typepad

Triumphant Kraft !!! Part 2/2

First and foremost, I will like to thank you guys for coming back to read the part 2 of the post.

I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart ! Thank you!


Let's begin.


As I was saying, even though the bid has been beautifully closed, there are actually insidious problem behind the deal which can be really disastrous towards Kraft in the near future.




The most palpable one right now is that Kraft has just been fraught with a new load of debts. And worst of all, it's a gargantuan sum of $11.9 billion pounds. This is by no means a small sum and as seen from the financial crisis, many banks have collapsed as they drown themselves in billions of debts.



The good news is, Kraft will not be defeated by the additional $11.9 billion debt for sure.

But, the bad news is that Kraft will have to take the radical approach or they will be forced into an impasse in no time in this economy which is still in its nascent stage of recovery.



Usually, Kraft should be able to deal with this problem easily by selling away some of their key brands to raise enough funds to tide itself over this crisis. But if you guys are not aware of this, Kraft has already sold a number of its key brands including one of its top selling brands "Digiorno Pizza". It has almost given all that it can possibly give to Cadbury.



I believe that this is the key reason why Cadbury has given in.



1. Because they sensed that Kraft is still poignant about the deal.



2. It is near to their targeted $20billion bid.



So back to the issue about the debts.



The only way to solve is to take the hard approach now that is to resort to the cutting of staffs. I guess this is truly what they call, inevitable and imperative.

While this might seem like a bad thing especially when we are hearing that the unemployment rate is still at its double-digit level, and that the firing of workers at Cadbury will further raise the unemployment rate, there is actually something to be happy about, not for the fired workers of course.



As Jim Collins mentioned in his book, “Good to Great”, we should be more concerned about having the right people at the right seats. Useless incumbents can easily be removed and that will in turn save the company a lot of money.

This is not to say that Cadbury has useless people around, just that in today’s economy, it is imperative to have minimum number of layers and corporate executives at the top to ensure that the organisation is fluent and operations are effectively executed.



If an organisation is filled with a plethora of people, it will actually be impeded and progress will be slow with a paucity of innovations along the way.



In the long run, it is potent and even fatal to the organisation.



Hence, all in all, by removing the adjunct members on board, Kraft could actually develop a much more adroit Cadbury with a cadre of employees, which are of paramount importance to the organisation.



That is all for now, sorry for the expatiate writing style of mine again.



Now go look at some greenery and ruminate over this case study.

Bye Bye and have a nice day!


Credits -buildingmarketingstrategies, -imageshack, -7art, -mediabistro, -usoge

Triumphant Kraft !!! Part 1/2

Congratulations to Kraft, it has finally married Cadbury!


The Cadbury board has advised its shareholders to accept a new offer of 840 pence a share - valuing the company at £11.5bn ($18.9bn).

This has truly been a long-awaited deal!


For potential investors out there, I do advise that you should heavily invest in Kraft now. I'm sure I do not have to waste any more breathe on why you should do so? I believe this is the most apposite time to do it before the share prices fluctuate in no time.


Let's take a look back at the comments I have made on Kraft's bid a few months back on MarketWatch.

Story: Kraft CEO adds Cadbury to ambitious master plan (131 days ago)





I fully concur with Rosenfeld's moves to acquire Cadbury and to restructure the company by eliminating factories and focussing its capital on some of its strongest brands.


Rosenfeld having stayed with Kraft for more than 25 years makes her the best candidate to head the company. I have always thought that the CEO should work in the company from the bottom level right from the start. He/she should deal with what the entire company deal with, that is selling the products, rather than disregarding the importance of the job.


People who starts from the top are simply shallow and myopic when it comes to conspicuous consumption by the consumers. They are seemingly oblivious to what is happening in the world and they thought that with a good package and a tasty treat, all consumers will buy their products, but they are so wrong.


Rosenfeld has all the experience when it comes to marketing, consumer focus and restructuring, so Kraft's shareholders should seriously stop doubting her decisions and they should give her their most sincere support till the end.
 
 
Story: Cadbury investors should be rushing for the exits (130 days ago)

I beg to differ. I do not agree that investors should dump all their Cadbury stocks now.



1. I am 70% sure that Irene Rosenfeld is going to pursue Cadbury till the end. She is going to fix this last piece of puzzle into the jigsaw and it will give her a flawless, incandescent masterpiece at the end. She worked so hard since 2007, no way is she going to give up piece-ing this last piece together.


Apparently, she is already trying to further cut costs at Kraft to increase her bid for Cadbury. So, investors, should you really give up your shares ?


2. Cadbury is a renowned brand in the chocolate industry. Even Philip Morris has to take a step back man. When you think of chocolate, you think of the quirky chocolate advertisements by Cadbury and immediately the first thing you do when you hit the supermarket, is to grab packets of chocolate from Cadbury.


Honestly speaking, Cadbury has one of the brightest future in the terms of a brand in the consumer industry. It stands tall besides the billion-dollar brands at P&G and Wal-Mart. No way will I give up Cadbury's stocks man!
 
 
Story: Cadbury investors should be rushing for the exits (129 days ago)





Either way, Cadbury's stock prices will not go down since it is strong independently.



Even if it is acquired, the stock prices will rise as well since the offer price must be an all time high i assume, maybe 20billion
 
 

 
To make things clear, I'm no genius investor. My predictions were merely based on my visceral feelings about the bid, no more than that.
 
 
Ostentacious? Hmmm, okay fine I admit. Currently, I'm just delirious with joy that I managed to predict correctly the culmination of the bid.
 
 
But I'm over it already. Really.
 
 
Okay, so let's get back to the analysing of the successful bid.
 
 
Oh wait, I think we had better take a break for now? I shall continue the part 2 of this post tomorrow.
 
 
So stay tuned and PLEASE do come back tomorrow for the part 2.
 
 
I promise that there are no more show-off stunts to be shown tomorrow and only concrete information will be provided.
 
 
 
Credits -bbc, -target3, -johnelkington

3D Market is OPEN

To entice customers, Sony and Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN will collaborate to film up to 25 World Cup games in 3D -- the most-watched event on the planet. ESPN will even create a new channel specifically for 3D.


How cool is it to see the soccer ball flying straight into your face, literally? Now, you can actually be part of the audience out there in the stadium! You need not buy tickets there to be "hit" by the ball so to speak.

Excitement level will definitely increase and wives will enjoy many more sleepless nights because the screaming is going to get louder and louder!


Soccer fans will definitely be brought to a whole new level of experience after so many decades of watching 2D soccer on the TV. I am quite sure that the majority of the soccer fans will sign up for the 3D package if the price hike is reasonable.


Afterall, you are paying for the value; the 3D experience.


As part of their 3D push, electronics and entertainment companies aim to capture the fervent youth crowd with 3D video games and 3D displays for computers.


Teenagers need not worry that they will be left out because your Sony PS3 will be equipped with 3D effects with a simple installation of the latest filmware.

Then, you can play your PS3 as if you are inside the world. This 3D thing might actually beat Wii now.


Wii works on simple, fun games that allows the user to be "in" the game as well, as they manueuver their way through the dangerous zones in the game.


Conversely, PS3 works on the incandescent graphics and brobdingnagian story plot that they have prepared for the gamers. For instance, the Final Fantasy 13 that everyone has been waiting for. By coupling it with a 3D experience, Final Fantasy 13 could easily sell for a plethora of profits there.

I believe that the 3D experience will bring vitality once more to the gaming industry if they know how to manipulate it adroitly.


3D is even spreading beyond entertainment and will be incorporated into digital cameras and video recorders. Sony, Samsung and Panasonic are among the companies that plan to sell 3D cameras and recorders in the near future.


For photographers and mini-directors out there, you get to shoot and film your own 3D experience. You can simple look at the things you are taking and you will see them in 3D, no longer on 2D.

Usually as we are taking pictures, everyone seems to be flat because they are on a 2D screen. But not anymore, now you will see everyone bulging out of the screen. I don't think fat people like this new idea. NO offence here! Pretty scary I know but it is definitely going to be way cooler than a 2D one. DSLR will definitely pawn the camera world with that 3D chip.

All in all, the 3D experience might seems awesome to you guys but the 3D market is still haunted by the spectre of what happened in 1920, when 3D was scoffed at by the public. They are still apprehensive about it till today. Nonetheless, this time round they have grouped together ESPN, Disney, Sony, Panasonic and many other gargantuan titans out there to help them push this idea through the mass public.


It will be a penetrating one for sure and many consumers will be hit by it like the Apple wave.


Now, what they need is an excellent marketer that can bring the public to a delusional 3D world where everyone is bamboozled into buying a 3D TV, camera or a PS3 for themselves!


Credits -marketwatch, -slashgear, -ps3media, -favoniangamers, -fahad, -imageshack

Obscure going Prominent

The Automated Content Access Protocol, or ACAP, is being developed by the World Association of Newspapers, the International Publishers Association and the European Publishers Council. First released in 2007, it's designed to give publishers more refined control of access to their online content. News organizations including News Corp., the Associated Press and Cox Media Group Inc. have implemented it.

Microsoft "has been more overtly supportive of the copyright agenda which lies at the heart of the ACAP project," Lambert said, adding, "this tends to make the relationship with Microsoft a more constructive one."

Google argues that news publishers benefit from the online exposure it provides. But in a move widely seen as a conciliatory gesture, Google said Tuesday it would start letting publishers set a daily limit on the number of stories that readers can freely access through its search engine.

Credit -marketwatch, -erictric, -journalism

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Okay so I went for my Wisdom Tooth Extraction on the 12 January 2010.

Wow.... did I experience excruciating pain after that?

I thought the exact same thing as you guys too.

My friends were scaring me constantly. They said that my wound will bleed profusely and the pain will be exacerbated as I consume my food. On top of that, I will not be able to sleep soundly because I will wake up repeatedly at night.

With all these thoughts and advices in mind, I went into the operation theatre feeling apprehensive and nervous.

As I was under General Anaesthesia, I was sound asleep so I did not know exactly how my Doctor, Dr Sylvia Tay handled the operation.

On a side note, the operation theatre was pretty big and rather amazing so to speak. There are lights all over the place and at least 10 people in the operation theatres. I didn't know they need so many people to operate on me. However, since I know that so many people are going to take care of me, I lie on the bed feeling better than before.

The next moment, I blacked out.

I only woke up 2 hours later and I found myselfs lying on a bed in the Ward already. Then I see my mum by my side, she waited there for me for 3 hours. Thank you Mum, you are the best! Sorry for the boredom though.

As I woke up, a nurse approached and she placed 2 pieces of cotton wool into my mouth and she said it's to stop the bleeding. However, rather than experiencing pain, she made it a pleasurable experience and it was pretty humourous actually. The below is the conversation we had.

Nurse 1: Ahhhh open your mouth, i will put the cotton wool to stop e bleeding.


Me: AHHHHHHH

Nurse 1: Okay bite on to it.

Me: *bite*

Nurse 1: OUCH, wait wait, i havent take out my finger.

Me: Paiseh. This is extremely embarassing and I apologise here to Nurse 1 once again.
 
 
Then it's time for me to leave the hospitals and there was yet another bomb!
 
 
Nurse 2: Okay you can go now. Eh wait where's your kimono?


Me: Huh!?!?! What kimono? I didn't wear any kimonos here.

Nurse 2: That one (pointing at another patient), okay wait ar i go get it for you.

Me: LAUGHING OUT LOUD INSIDE AHHAHAHAHA SHE CALL THAT THING A KIMONO. She wins hands down.


Dr Sylvia Tan was extremely adroit i must say, this must have came from the many years of experience dealing up with a plethora of NSFs coming to AH to have their wisdom tooth plucked. If you guys did not know, NSFs love to have their wisdom tooth plucked during their National Service term.


Reason 1: It's free, spare of the thousand of dollars.


Reason 2: Very attractive Medicial Certificate


So guys do look for her if u want to do any extraction, i swear I didn't feel any pain at all. The bleeding stop on e day itself.


The nurses were extremely meticulous and patient. They changed the cotton wool painstakingly for me for a total of 4 times.



As for the other hospitals they merely change it for you 1 or 2 times and ask u to continue the routine at home and in the end it will 100% screw up.


So here's the trick, ask your nurse to help you change the cotton gaze for at least 4 times. It will take extremely long but don't worry about it, you paid for the service.


Apparently, you have to bite on to it for at least 45 minutes. I requested for a change at the 30th minute but the nurse told me that I have to wait for another 15 minutes because if I were to keep changing the cotton gaze, the bleeding won't stop.


Which is so true! It makes alot of sense doesn't it? You need to supply the necessary pressure to stop the bleeding, rather than keep on changing the cotton gaze which is practically useless.

I'm utmost impress at the consistency of the service at AH. I have been in contact wif many departments in AH already and I must say that none of them dissapoint me. Everyone is extremely polite, humourous and friendly.

The epitome of good service I must admit.

Above all, they even called me after a day of my operation to ask if I am feeling well or experience any pain on my wounds.


On top of that, they even adviced me on how to better take care of the wounds, especially during the first few days right after the operations, and that if I have any queries, I can always call them back for more help.


Really impressive!


Well Done Alexandra Hospital.
 
Credits -cdn, -healthproductsforyou, -shutterstock, -smartnursesstartthere