June 2nd, 2013
The 23rd edition of Singapore’s longest running information technology (IT) and consumer electronics show returns for four days from June 6-9 at the Singapore Expo, Halls 5 and 6.
It is the second of four major IT shows in Singapore every year. The PC Show 2013 will open daily from 12pm to 9pm (admission FREE).
More than 600 exhibitors will be showcasing IT and consumer electronic products by major brands.
Some of the brands appearing at PC Show 2013 include Acer, Apple by (by Nubox and EpiCentre), ASUS, Aztech, Canon, Case Logic, Creative by C2O Corporation, Dell, D-Link, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, Lenovo, M1, Nikon, Samsung, SingTel, StarHub, Toshiba, and Western Digital.
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Tags: exhibitions, IT exhibition, PC Show, PC Show 2013, promotions, Singapore, Singapore Expo
Posted in Events, Exhibition, Gadgets, Promotions | 1 Comment »
June 1st, 2013
Technology advancements and developments move so fast these days it’s so easy to take them for granted. For those old enough, can you remember the world before the Internet came about?
Developed by SolarWinds Head Geek, Lawrence Garvin, this infographic explores tech developments – from wireless networking and virtualisation to basic screenshot tools and everything in between – which have significantly impacted our lives, but that we perhaps never thought we actually needed. Click to view full enlarged version.
And not too long ago, before the proliferation of mobile devices, wasn’t it so troublesome to make a call or check something out while on the road?
Here are the 10 IT innovations that changed our lives even though we never knew we needed them (according to Lawrence Garvin, SolarWinds).
- The Internet
- Remote Connectivity
- Safari Books Online
- Wireless Networking
- Virtualisation
- Putty
- Wireshark
- Fluke Tester
- Screenshot Tools
- A great Linux Boot CD
These innovations have definitely made it much easier for us to do many things that used to be so much more tedious and time-consuming to accomplish.
But here’s some food for thought – has our lives actually become easier?
Do you sometimes feel that life in the past was somewhat more blissful?
Perhaps it is our human propensity to fully utilise our time that – instead of sitting back complacently to enjoy the extra time gained from IT innovations – we try to use the additional time gained to do even more.
And the bosses certainly expect that.
Now that you can complete each project in one-third the time you used to take, you’re expected to complete three projects (maybe more) instead in that same amount of time.
On top of that, thanks to greater global and mobile connectivity, your boss can contact you no matter where you are.
And if he/she is in the opposite time zone, start getting used to taking calls in the middle of the night.
The result is that our lives have become more hectic.
Perhaps, life back then was really more blissful.
Apart from the list above that was compiled by Lawrence Garvin, the rest of this post reflect my own thoughts about the impact of technology on our lives.
The line of thought may sound negative, but I still love the beauty of technology, especially its ability to help the less fortunate.
Tags: infographic, innovations, Internet, networks, opinion, Singapore, SolarWinds, virtualisation, wireless
Posted in Infographic, Lists, Opinion, Reference, Soraris | No Comments »
May 30th, 2013
McAfee’s Global Digital Assets survey reveals that the price an average Internet user in Singapore places on his/her digital assets could get one a private university degree in Singapore.
Yet, consumers still do not adequately protect these assets across all their digital devices.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of Singaporean households now own more than five digital devices. Click to view enlarged and complete infographic.
The average Singaporean now own digital items (such as photos, videos and documents) with a total financial value of S$57,500.
McAfee Digital Assets 2013 study
The survey was conducted between 15 March and 9 April 2013 in US, Canada, Spain, UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, India, Brazil & Mexico. There were 6,078 respondents.
This is roughly equivalent to one and a half year’s salary for the average worker in Singapore, who earns S$37,705 a year, according to the 2012 report of Department of Statistics Singapore.
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Tags: devices, LiveSafe, McAfee, mobility, password, security, Singapore
Posted in Figures, Infographic, McAfee, Reference, Security, Software, Study | No Comments »
May 29th, 2013
The 10.1-inch Android tablet is water and dust resistant and is the world’s slimmest 10” tablet. Both the LTE and Wi-Fi versions will be available in Singapore on 6 June, in black or white. Prices TBA.
Update (31 May, 2013):
Here are the prices for the Xperia Tablet Z in Singapore.
| Model |
Suggested Retail Price |
| 16GB Wi-Fi |
S$688 |
| 16GB Wi-Fi |
S$788 |
| 16GB LTE |
S$988 |
Sony Xperia Tablet Z will be available in Singapore on 6 June – in black or white.
First announced in Japan in January this year and then during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February, the Xperia Tablet Z will debut in Singapore next Thursday.
Hands-on
The Xperia Tablet Z is only 6.9mm in thickness and felt really light in my hands – it weighs only 495g.
The Tablet Z is water resistant to IP55 & IP57 standards and is immune to accidental spills and splashes – following the footsteps of its sibling, the Xperia Z Android smartphone.
We dunked it in a shallow tub of water just for the heck of it.
The tablet can actually be submerged for 30 minutes up to a depth of 10m.
The Xperia Tablet Z includes has a 10.1” HD WUXGA display, powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2.
The display looked really brilliant to me, with extremely vivid colours.
It has an 8MP rear camera featuring “Exmor R for mobile” as well as a 2MP HD front-facing camera.
I tried shooting at a couple of dimly-lit corners and the photos came out pretty good – not overly underexposed with little grain and noise.
It is the first tablet to run on Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro asynchronous quad core processor.
Sony’s S-Force Front Surround 3D, promises good audio performance alongside Sony’s Clear Audio+ mode and the use of two in-built speakers with four ‘speaker halls’ on the left and right corners delivers “amazing” sound no matter how it is held.
Xperia Tablet Z also includes Battery STAMINA mode, Sony’s battery management technology for improving standby time.
The WiFi variant also offers up to 64GB of storage with an optional mircoSD card.
For easy connectivity, the NFC-enabled Xperia Tablet Z includes Sony’s One-Touch functions that let users transfer content seamlessly from HD tablet to TV, tablet to speaker or phone to tablet just by touching them together.
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Tags: Android, Android 4, Jelly Bean, launch, Singapore, Sony, tablets, Xperia
Posted in Android, Events, Gadgets, Launch, Prices, Sony, Sony Mobile, Specifications, Tablets, Xperia | No Comments »
May 29th, 2013
Offering a new model for Ultrabook users, McAfee launches the industry’s first unlimited cross-device security service with facial and voice recognition for consumer devices.
Available from 9 June 2013.
Check out the latest cross-device security service from McAfee and Intel.
McAfee LiveSafe service uses cutting-edge facial and voice recognition technology to safeguard users’ data, identity and all their devices.
Pricing and Availability
Beginning in June 2013, McAfee LiveSafe service will be available through select retailers for S$59 for a 12-month subscription when purchased with a new PC or tablet, and S$99.95 for a 12-month subscription for consumers’ existing PCs and tablets.
Minimum subscription period is 12 months or multiples of 12 months.
McAfee LiveSafe will come pre-installed on Ultrabook devices and PCs from Dell in Singapore starting on 9 June, 2013.
A recent global survey conducted by McAfee revealed that more than 40 per cent of households own five or more Internet-enabled devices, which contributes significantly to a user’s risk of exposure to online threats.
McAfee LiveSafe service offers a comprehensive approach to security, while providing consumers with a simple Web-based dashboard to centrally manage security on all of their PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets.
To increase the level of consumer security, McAfee LiveSafe service also includes a cloud-based “safety deposit box”, called “McAfee Personal Locker”.
McAfee LiveSafe
The McAfee Personal Locker uses facial and voice recognition to authenticate a user’s identity so that they can securely store sensitive, personal information such as financial records, drivers licenses and passports.
It also allows users to easily and securely manage their passwords and automatically log into all their online accounts from any of their devices.
The survey also revealed that globally more than 50 per cent of consumers spend at least 15 hours a week, or two hours a day, using their devices for personal reasons.
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Tags: DELL, identity, Intel, McAfee, security, service, Singapore, software, theft
Posted in Events, Figures, Intel, Launch, McAfee, Notebooks, Security, Software, Specifications, Study, Ultrabooks | 1 Comment »
May 28th, 2013
HP is collaborating with Singapore Asia Publishers (SAP) and onSponge to introduce new free print apps that allow direct access from web-connected HP printers to print out assessment and test content.
Sang Hoon Park describing how the free print apps will deliver quality educational content directly to web-connected HP printers. He is the Printing Category Director, Printing & Personal Systems Group, Singapore.
With the overwhelming choice of supplementary education options on the market, and the overwhelming volume of school-work already on young learners’ plates, parents are often unsure about how to help.
This new approach to supplementary learning – daily or weekly “bite-sized” education materials that are in-line with Singapore’s Primary School curriculum – reinforces learning for young students by focusing on quality and consistency instead of quantity.
Complement In-Class Learning
SAP is a leading publishing group specializing in academic materials such as supplementary workbooks, guidebooks, textbooks, reference books, dictionaries and other educational materials.
Availability
The SAP print app is now available for download free of charge for owners of HP Web-connected printers.
The onSponge print app will be available later this year.
The print apps are available on HP’s web-connected printers including HP Officejet Premium 6700 e-All-in-One and HP Photosmart 5520, 6520, 7520 e-All-in-One printers.
The SAP education print app offers content which has been handpicked from SAP’s own range of primary school assessment books, delivered on a daily and weekly basis.
Focusing on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations, students and parents have direct access to bite-sized practice materials, all aligned to the latest curriculum taught in Singapore’s classrooms, that focus on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations.
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Tags: Apps, education, HP, onSponge, printers, SAP, Singapore
Posted in Cloud, Events, Gadgets, HP, Inkjet, Launch, Printers | No Comments »
May 26th, 2013
This is the time of the year when The Great Singapore Sale 2013 (31 May to 28 July) hits Singapore. But if you’re not in Singapore, or if you’re thinking of doing some of your shopping online, here are some tips for buying things online – safely.
For the details to each of the above tips, click the image to view the full enlarged version of the infographic.
Start by securing the device you use to do your shopping, be it a notebook or a smartphone.
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Tags: comGateway, infographic, Internet, online, security, shopping, Singapore
Posted in Infographic, Internet, Lifestyle, Lists, Reference, Shopping, Website | No Comments »
May 25th, 2013
Global effort behind “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring” movie concert in Singapore (6-8 June, 2013) overcomes the technical challenges of 250-musician performance-cum-movie screening.
“The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring” movie concert at The Star Performing Arts Centre from 6 – 8 June 2013, 7.30pm. Tickets from SISTIC: $228 (VIP), $188, $128, $98, $58
The Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (MFO), the organiser for the movie concert, has announced that it is on track to hold the largest-ever performance at The Star Performing Arts Centre (The Star PAC) from June 6 to 8.
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Tags: Lord of the Rings, LOTR, MFO, music, orchestra, performances, Singapore, The Star PAC
Posted in Announce, Audio, Performance | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2013
Increased performance, dependability and smart design for both entry-level and high-end workstation users.
The Dell Precision R7610 rack workstation is available now starting at S$3,258 and the Dell Precision T1700 Mini-Tower and Small Form-Factor will be available on June 4.
Dell pushes workstation computing boundaries with the smallest tower chassis in its class and the world’s most powerful rack workstation. From left: Dell Precision T1700 MT, R7610, T1700 SFF. Images not shown to scale.
Offering powerful workstation performance at near desktop PC prices, the new Dell Precision T1700 Small-Form Factor (SFF) and Mini-Tower (MT) are the smallest workstations in their class.
“Dell Precision workstations are packed with the power and graphics capabilities necessary for our students to produce their best work,” said Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of the Academy of Art University.
On the other end, the Dell Precision R7610 rack workstation delivers new virtualisation capabilities, increased performance and enhanced remote accessibility.
Dell’s updated workstation portfolio further reinforces Dell’s aim of providing secure, manageable and reliable commercial PC solutions.
An expanded and stronger Dell Precision workstation portfolio
The new Dell Precision T1700 SFF is approximately 30 percent smaller than competitive systems allowing IT to easily deploy an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) certified workstation almost anywhere, regardless of space constraints.
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Tags: AMD, computers, DELL, enterprise IT, Intel, NVIDIA, Singapore, workstations
Posted in AMD, Dell, Desktops, Enterprise IT, Gadgets, Intel, Launch, Prices, Specifications | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2013
UE BOOM connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to smartphones, tablets and computers to blast out 360 degree sound for up to 15-hours on its battery recharge. Available in early June at S$299.
The Ultimate Ears UE BOOM is available in four colours (blue, red, black and white) from June at S$299. Photo from Logitech Singapore.
Logitech calls the UE BOOM the “World’s first Social Music Player” in this cloud-based era of digital music.
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Tags: availability, Bluetooth, Boom, Logitech, Singapore, speakers, Ultimate Ears, wireless
Posted in Accessories, Announce, Audio, Gadgets, Logitech, Prices, speakers, Specifications | 1 Comment »
