More gadgets, less money

Nowadays, Apple-like phones and gadgets seem to be sprouting everywhere. It's the in thing. You have the iPhone 3G which everyone is waiting with abated breath when it's launching in the US on July 11. But probably HTC Touch phone came the closest with similar design. And with SingTel as the only licensed operator, I wonder if anyone will switch phone operators for an iPhone? The price will probably be much more expensive than the S$273 pricetag in the US. Even HP has came up with the touchscreen PC, HP Touchsmart IQ500 PC. It's at a affordable price of S$1,791.

Source: Digital Life, Straits Times (June 17, 2008)

Zen Creative mp3

About 2 months ago, I bought this mp3 player by Creative Technology as I thought I had lost my iPod Nano. Turned out to be my greatest mistake! After using it for under 3 weeks, the thing suddenly start to hang on me. I reset it several times and eventually send this to the shop to check out the problem. The technician reformatted it (there goes my playlist; luckily it was very long) and I thought this was the end. But several weeks later, it hang again! I was so frustrated that I went back to the shop yesterday and complain so much about this stupid device. They had to send back for service (since the technician doesn't look like she know what to do with it) and alas, I'm again without the player for another 2-3 weeks. I probably used only half the time since I bought it since the rest is at "rest". I had high hopes for this player since it received good reviews. That's why I shelled out good money (paid S$249) for it; it was about the same price as an iPod nano. I'm going to write a feedback/complaint letter to the company just to vent out my frustration.

This bugs me

Singapore has always been advocating for green environment but I find it sadly lacking to what I see as little efforts by government agencies. Imagine the numerous hawker centers and food courts still allowed to use disposal chopsticks and plastic spoons! The near-frozen office buildings, buses, and shopping malls which contribute to global warming, can simply be meliorated by increasing the temperature by 1-2 ºC. The only place I wished they've cranked it up is in the trains, when the cars get too too stuffy at peak periods.

I was really impressed by Taiwan's new president Ma Ying-jeou's conservation efforts on using stainless-steel chopsticks. When I went to visit a friend in Taiwan and we were out eating, she asked why didn't I bring along the stainless chopsticks she had bought for me. To her, such chopsticks are chemically bleached and besides being harmful to health, they are also bad for the environment. She was also surprised that we did not sort out the waste before disposal. Our government agency's (NEA) efforts is to have more such bins located at high-traffic places; but who's going to bring the trash all the way to Orchard Road?

Our government needs to invest more to educate people the advantages of recycling and conserving resources. Maybe they should get people more involved in the process, especially the younger generations, by seeking their recommendations on how they would like to be involved.