Launching of Jabra Evolve

For those who depend on mobile communication for leisure, business or social, should be no stranger to the Jabra, a world leader and award winner in innovative audio products.

On 18 November 2014, a new product series, Jabra Evolve was launched in Singapore. These professional headsets are aim at the needs of knowledge workers where 69 percentage state that disturbances in the open office have a negative impact on their performance. With Jabra Evolve, it provides a personal “concentration zone” and thereby increases workplace productivity through personal device connectivity and a music-grade audio experience.

There are 5 models in the series namely, 20, 30, 40, 65 and 80 whereby model 80 is the flagship product of the Jabra Evolve series.

Key Benefits :

• ·        Made for voice and music
• ·        Passive noise cancellation ( Protect you from high frequency noise )
• ·        Easy call management
• ·        Busy light ( In an open office environment, the red light on the headset let 
•        people know that you are busy on the phone )
• ·        Discrete boom arm
• ·        Works with all mobile devices
• ·        Active noise cancellation ( Protect you against low frequency noise )
• ·        Listen-in ( Allow you to clearly hear your surroundings while wearing the headset )
• ·        30 metre / 100 feet wireless freedom
• ·        Tap-to-connect (NFC)
• 
  

The Speakers at the Launch

Mark R Leigh, President, Jabra Asia Pacific

Mark Leigh joined GN Netcom in August 2010 as President of Asia Pacific (APAC). Based in Singapore, his key responsibilities include strategizing and driving the expansion and growth of Jabra, GN Netcom’s flagship brand, in the APAC region.

Saurabh Singhal, Head of Marketing & Alliances, Jabra APAC

Saurabh joined Jabra in June 2014 as the Regional Marketing Director for Asia Pacific. He has over 14 years of experience spanning across various functions, sales, business development, product management and field marketing leadship positions.

Wayne Lee, Head of Product Management, Jabra APAC

Wayne joined Jabra in Oct 2007 based in Melbourne, Australia. He has held various positions within the company and now resides in Singapore as the Head of Product Management – APAC.

About Jabra

Jabra is the brand of GN Netcom, a subsidiary of GN Store Nord A/S (GN) – listed on NASDAQ OMX. Jabra employs approximately 850 people worldwide and in 2011 produced an annual revenue which amounted to DKK 2,106 million. She is a world leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of a broad range of hands-free communication solutions.

More information on Jabra Evolve can be found at this link : www.jabraevolve.com

Opinion

I have personally tested model 80 and with a press of a button for each feature, the listen-in, noise cancellation works well according to the intended function. I find Model 80 comfortable as it has bigger headset cups which envelope my ear fully.  

Revisiting IT industry through the SalesForce Event

Revisiting IT industry

I left the IT industry in 2003 after spending 14 years working my way up from a programmer to an IT Project Manager. Recently, I was asked to attend Salesforce event at MBS.  I have never heard of Salesforce prior to the event. I started to research on the company. This is what was found in Wikipedia.

Salesforce Company

Salesforce Inc. is a global cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Though best known for its customer relationship management (CRM) product, Salesforce has also expanded into commercial applications of social networking through acquisition.[6] Forbes magazine ranked it the most innovative company in America in 2012,[7] and it ranked 19th in Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2013.

The company was founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez as a company specializing in software as a service (SaaS). I do have one thing in common with the founder Marc Benioff, we knew Oracle. I have been working on Oracle programming, databases and systems for at least 12 years. In June 2004, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol CRM, raising US$110 million. That also explain why I never heard of SalesForce since I left the IT industry in 2003.

Dreamforce Conference

Salesforce hold the world’s largest software conference, Dreamforce which was attended by 140,000 registered attendees. Dreamforce was held in Moscone Center in San Francisco from October 13-16, 2014. In addition, an estimated five million viewers watched on Salesforce Live to understand the company vision on the future of enterprise software and the Customer Success Platform.

Giving Back to Society

Salesforce took the opportunity to run charity events during the Dreamforce . This include, fight hunger ( attendees each bring a can food to Dreamforce Plaza ), Help Children’s Hospital, Support Veterans.

The New Customer Success Platform

We are entering a new world of computing where everything is connected. Mobile phones will soon be in the hands of 70 percent of the world’s population and billions of apps on mobile devices are sending massive amounts of data to the cloud. In the last two years alone, 90 percent of the world’s data was created as cloud, social, mobile and connected technologies transformed business models and consumer behaviour. The future is trillions of customer interactions every day. 

To succeed in the future, every company needs a platform to capture and personalize every customer interaction, to connect with customers in a whole new way. With all these changes and requirements, Salesforce new platform was introduced.

The Salesforce Customer Success Platform brings together ground-breaking cloud apps for sales, service, marketing, community, and now analytics, all on the Salesforce1 Platform. It provides both a system of record and a system of engagement for companies of every size and industry. Now anyone can run their business from a phone and every company can grow sales faster, deliver customer service everywhere, create 1:1 customer journeys, engage with customers in vibrant communities, deliver analytics for every business user and build mobile apps lightning fast, all from a single trusted platform built for customer success.

Introducing Wave, The Analytics Cloud

Wave, the Salesforce Analytics Clould is the first cloud analytics platform designed for every business user, making it easier than ever for anyone to explore data, uncover new insights and take action instantly from any device. Companies can now quickly deploy sales, service and marketing analytics, or build custom mobile analytics apps, using any data source—empowering everyone to make smarter decisions from anywhere. Wave is designed for business users, not just analysts.

Wave ecosystem partners comprises of Integration Leaders, System Integration Leaders and ISV Leaders. To name some of them, namely Accenture, Deloitte Digital and Informatica were present to showcase how companies can extend analytics for any business need.

• Wave Analytics Cloud is expected to be generally available in English, with additional language support forthcoming.

• The Wave mobile app will initially be available on Apple iOS for iPhone and iPad, with additional device support forthcoming.

• The Wave Platform license includes all compute, data management, API and security infrastructure. Monthly subscription pricing for the Wave Platform is based on the number of Wave Explorer and Wave Builder licenses.

• The Wave Explorer license includes the ability to view, discover, personalize and share data insights and dashboards. Pricing starts at $125 per user per month.

• The Wave Builder license includes the ability to create, deploy and manage data sets, data connections and user access. Pricing starts at $250 per user per month.

Salesforce Launches Salesforce1 Lightning

The Fastest Way to Build Mobile Apps

New Salesforce1 Lightning, the next generation of the Salesforce1 Platform, empowers anyone to quickly build the innovative mobile apps that every company needs.

Leading companies like Brown-Forman, Philips and Seagate are building apps faster on the Salesforce Customer Success Platform to help every customer, partner and employee move at the speed of business.

More information on Salesforce ;

• Learn more about Salesforce1 Lightning: Lightning 
• Learn more about the Salesforce1 Mobile App: Mobile
• Like Salesforce on Facebook: http://facebook.com/salesforce 
• Follow @Salesforce on Twitter: http://twitter.com/salesforce

Opinion

After more than 10 years of  absence in the IT industry, there seems to be a big change in the way, Information Technology was implemented on the businesses. Instead of expensive software implemented in the legacy system, the offerings of subscription basis enable affordability, allowing more businesses to access to the salesforce platform.

Connectivity on a global level contributes to better customers relationship as well as a deeper understanding of customers’ needs. With all the companies working together on Salesforce platform, information flow seamlessly with minimum hiccups.

Another notable thing is the speed of development. The ability to create apps fast and customize to business users needs is a huge gain to companies. Faster software development and implementation allow timely and useful information for business users. This is a big leap in improvement over the traditional systems. 

All this is possible with use of Cloud computing technology. It is the third IT revolution, and radically altering the way people communicate with each other, businesses deployment and consumption of IT resources. 

Announcing the arrival of the first Korean Tapas Bar in Singapore

Tuck in quiet Maju Avenue in the affluence Serangoon Garden estate, SYNC Korean Tapas Bar offers a cosy environment where groups can have a relaxed time chatting, and imbibe the Korean culture. The bar opened from 3pm till 12am daily. Plans to provide lunch and weekend brunch menu will follow.

The owners of SYNC, Brian and Lisa wanted to bring the Korean Tapas to everyone, making it affordable, without imposing a service charge. Their first outlet, a Korean bistro at Westgate, currently sits on the apex of Burpple’s hot 100 in October list.

The Korean-inspired tapas menu is the brainchild of both Consultant Chef Edwin Lau, 32 and Head Chef Calista Ong, 26. Both have extensive chef experience especially Edwin Lau. Calista Ong graduated from the Culinary Institute of America.

Here are dishes that I have tried.

Toppoki  S$9.90

Traditional rice cakes covered with sweet and spicy sauce. In addition, sausages added with melted cheese. Very soft and sauce is awesome. This is a mouth-watering dish.

Sogogi Jowl  S$10.90

Char-grilled beef jowl in hoba & garlic confit. The beef is tender and tasty. In addition, the garlic completes the full taste. How do you eat this? Simply pull out the stick and wrap the beef / garlic with sesame leaf and put it whole into your mouth. Highly recommended.

Ssam  $40.90

This dish is very similar to the Chinese cruise, belly pork with bun. But instead of belly pork, pork ribs replace it. The bone can be easily removed. Wrap the meat together with bun and vegetable. Simply Delicious.

Dak-Kang Jung S$9.90

Deep-fried sweet and spicy chicken bites, ricotta chili tempura. I find this dish slightly salty. Very similar in texture to the Chinese cruise, sweet and sour pork. It may appeal to others but this dish is not one of my favourites.

Samgyupsal S$10.90

Char-grilled pork belly with scallion salad and chili yuzu dressing. For a change of the usual salad dressing, let’s have a spicy salad. For those who love it hot, this will be a wonderful dish.

Crackling S$9.90

Crackling of umani cod chips. This is definitely my favourite dish among all the dishes tasted. Unlike the usual crackers, it is soft and tasty. You will not be disappointed with this dish. Remember to order this dish when you are at the bar. Another highly recommended.

Dak Gar-Bi  $39.90 ( 2-3 Shares )

Spicy chicken paella with onions, mushroom, cabbage, sausage, kimchi. Quite a large portion. It has many ingredients. You need to mix it well. There seems to be many flavours such as the sour taste from the lemon, spicy taste come from the chicken and kimchi. According to waitress, this is popular main dish.

Misugaru S$8.90

Misugaru lavacake, vanilla ice cream, strawberries & lime compote. A popular dessert. When you cut the cake, “lava” started to flow out. The concept is unique and refreshing. The cake combine with the “lava” sauce, produces a moist warm cake. Not forgetting the vanilla ice cream to cool you down from the “hot lava”.  

Hotteok S$8.90

Pan-fried chewy sweet Korean pancake with banana foster. Deliciously done pancake which was torched by the chef. You can smell the aroma when dish was served. Same goes for the banana.

Soju Mojito S$9.90

A minty lime drink. Very refreshing. Some may not like the minty taste. As the ice melts, it tastes much better.

Soju Peach Shot S$7.90

This is my favourite drink. Drink it together with a piece of peach does make a difference to your taste bud. Very satisfying… more please.

Bar Details

SYNC Korean Tapas Bar

12 Maju Ave, Serangoon Garden Estate

Opening hours : 3pm to 11pm (Sun to Thurs), 3pm to 12am (Fri, Sat, PH and eve of PH)

Phone Number :6282 9612

Facebook : facebook.com/syncbistro

Promotion

Daily 3pm to 6pm ( starting from 3 Nov to end Dec )

·        Free coffee/tea with any order of dessert

·        S$5.90 beer

·        $9.90 beer + Tapas of the day

3pm onwards, only on Weekends ( starting 8 Nov )

Family Set Meal at $63.90 with 4 Tapas and

1 Paella / Budae Jigae (U.P. $72.80)

A video montage was created for this food tasting event : Video

More photographs can be found at Flickr Photos

Opinion

In my opinion, this is modern Korean foods with a twist. Food design and probably fusion of various Korean, European cuisine and even some influences of Chinese cuisine make this bar a must try restaurant in Singapore. The decoration and environment were well coordinated with its food theme.

“It is only when you try it yourself; you will know the taste of good food.”   

Quote by Derrick See 2014

CloudAsia 2014

This annual conference invites local, regional and international speakers to speak on the development of Cloud computing. It was first organised by IDA in 2010. Since then, this has been a major event in this region.

Participants share their experiences, research findings, network and explore areas of collaboration during this event. Representatives from local and overseas academia, research institutes and laboratories, whether in public or private sectors were present in this important event.

What exactly is Cloud Computing ? Let us hear from some of the NCCAC members.

Mr. Khoong Hock Yun ( Deput Chairman, NCCAC) Assistant Chief Executive, Development Group, IDA

Singapore cloud computing landscape evolved from a nascent to a vibrant ecosystem. With government push, pioneering a cloud security standard and positioning Singapore as a trusted hub for cloud computing.

Dr. Chris Boesch, Associate Professor, School of Information System, SMU

Cloud computing rives technical innovations in the infocomm world.

Mr. Chak Kong Soon ( President, Singapore Computer Society ), Managing Partner, Stream Global Pte Ltd

Cloud computing help both small and large businesses accessibility to affordable software and data.

Mr. Raju Chellam ( representing Singapore IT Federation), Head of Big Data and Cloud, Deli South Asia

Cloud computing is the third IT revolution. The first was the birth of the PC, the second was the arrival of the Internet. With all these revolution, they are altering the way people communicate with each other, business deployed and consume IT resources and government reach out with public services.

Successful example of Cloud Computing Business Implementation

One example is the Pong’s Laksa House. The solution was a cloud based commerce platform to market, sell, track orders and create new distribution channels. The benefits include customisable to unique needs. Higher productivity and lower percentage of human error. Subscription model which is affordable. Potential to include multiple platforms. Potential to scale. All these help the company to grow together with the business. No worries of system unable to cope with the volume of the business over time.

Opinion

In my opinion, both customised and off the shelf software before cloud computing, were not as scalable and easily maintain. It is also expensive. With Cloud computing, customisation, speed, and scalability have greatly been improved. Business profits margin have increased due to cheaper computing subscription and effective integration of various channels  resulting in efficiency within the business.

Looking forward to Cloud Asia 2015. 

Viddsee delivers awesome short films to you in iPhone App. Download your free app now !

Over the past 2 years, we have been working hard to deliver awesome short films to as many people in as many countries. 

Today, we’re proud to announce the launch of our first Viddsee iPhone app. With this new app, you will be able to watch short films on-the-go offline. You will not need to worry about mobile data connectivity or bandwidth.

With the new Viddsee iPhone app, you will receive new weekly curations directly on the app, aiding you in your discovery for awesome short films!

Do download the app on the App Store or www.viddsee.com/ios and help us share the good word out with your friends! Your recommendations out to your friends would mean a world to us!

PS. If you don’t have iPhone, don’t worry, as we have plans for other devices coming up soon! You can still visit www.viddsee.comon any device to watch awesome short films!

Capture Images in Style with the α6000 White Edition from Sony

Capture Images in Style with the α6000 White Edition from Sony

·         4D FOCUS realizes superior autofocus performance in four dimensions:

-       179-points wide autofocus coverage (2D height and width),

-       0.06 sec World fastest[1]  autofocus speed (3D depth)

-       Steadfast and accurate AF tracking ability by enhanced predictive focus system (4D time)

·         24.3 megapixel Exmor™ CMOS sensor featuring gapless-on-chip lens design

·         BIONZ X™ processor for pro-quality photos and Full HD video

·         NFC™ and Wi-Fi for One-touch sharing/remote control from your mobile

(SINGAPORE, 13 November 2014) – Impress your friends with clean white perfection by toting the special white edition α6000 mirrorless camera from Sony everywhere you go. Perfect for the upcoming festive season, the new white colour will go perfectly with your “White Christmas” themed parties and white OOTD (Outfit of the Day). The new white edition α6000 is an addition to its existing selection of black and titanium models, which were launched earlier this year.

Featuring the same cutting-edge functions as the original model, the new α6000 interchangeable lens digital camera encompasses 4D FOCUS, a superior autofocus performance that comes in four dimensions: A widely covered 179-point focal plane phase-detection AF sensor teamed with high-precision contrast-detection AF (2D height and weight), ultra-fast autofocus speed that allows it to capture subjects in just 0.06 seconds (3D depth), added with enhanced predictive and accurate tracking (4D time). 4D FOCUS features an advanced algorithm that analyses the direction and speed of a moving subjects’ motion, along with image analysing technology such as face or object detection to predict a subject’s next position with improved tracking capability. It stays on top of the intended subject without being distracted by interfering objects lying in its path.

The α6000 also exhibits outstanding picture quality, thanks to the 24.3 megapixel Exmor™ CMOS sensor and BIONZ X™ processor. Delivering the world’s fastest¹ AF performance of any interchangeable lens camera, the compact and lightweight α6000 offers continuous shooting at a lighting speed of 11fps, with highly accurate autofocus tracking. With the Fast Hybrid AF system also available in movie mode, you will never miss capturing all the exciting snippets in life – including fast-moving subjects like a day out with your pet dog or your child’s first football game.

It is also easy to share photos taken with friends and family. Simply hook up your smartphone with the on-board Wi-Fi or Near Field Communication on the α6000, and you are ready to share files across devices. A single touch also activates Smart Remote Control, linking the camera to fire the shutter from a distance and view photos directly on your mobile.

The special white colour edition α6000 with kit lens SELP1650 from Sony will be available at all Sony stores and selected authorised dealers from mid-December 2014 onwards, and will be sold at a recommended retail price of S$1,099.

###

Specifications Sheet

Model		α6000
Lens compatibility		Sony E-mount lenses
Image sensor	Type	APS-C type (23.5 x 15.6mm) Exmor™ CMOS sensor
	Number of pixels (effective)	Approx. 24.3 megapixels
Record system (still image)	Recording format	JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.3, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format)
Record system (movie)	Recording format	AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant/ MP4
Media		Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick XC-HG Duo, SD memory card, SDHC memory card (UHS-I compliant), SDXC memory card (UHS-I compliant)
Focus system	Type	Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)
	Focus points	179 points (phase-detection AF) / 25 points (contrast-detection AF)
Exposure control	Metering type	1200-zone evaluative metering
	ISO sensitivity (Recommended Exposure Index)	Still images: ISO 100-25600 equivalent (1/3 EV step), AUTO (ISO 100-25600, selectable lower limit and upper limit) Movies: ISO 100-12800 equivalent (1/3 EV step) / AUTO (ISO 100-12800 equivalent, selectable lower limit and upper limit)
Viewfinder	Type	1.0 cm (0.39 type) electronic viewfinder (colour)
	Number of dots	1,440,000 dots
	Field coverage	100%
	Magnification	Approx. 1.07x (35mm camera equivalent: Approx. 0.70x) with 50mm lens at infinity -1m-1)
LCD screen	Type	7.5cm (3.0-type) type TFT, WhiteMagic
	No. of dots	921,600 dots
	Adjustable angle	Up by approx. 90 degrees, Down by approx. 45 degrees
Wi-Fi	View on smartphone	Yes
	Send to computer	Yes
	View on TV	Yes
NFC™		Yes (NFC™ Forum Type 3 Tag compatible, One-touch remote, One-touch sharing)
PlayMemories Camera Apps		Yes
Audio	Microphone	Built-in stereo microphone
	Speaker	Built-in, monaural
Dimensions (excluding protrusions)		Approx. 120.0mm x 66.9mm x 45.1mm
Weight		Approx. 285g (body only) Approx. 344g (with battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo included)

About Sony Electronics (Singapore) & Sony South East Asia

Sony Electronics (Singapore) was established on 1^st October 1999 with business activities comprising engineering and manufacturing, sales and marketing, and logistics and information systems.  As part of Sony Electronics (Singapore), Sony South East Asia is responsible for the marketing and sales of consumer products in Singapore, as well as for business and professional products in Singapore and other countries in the South East Asia region. It also handles export business for consumer products from Singapore to various parts of Asia. Since establishing our presence in Singapore in 1973, we have grown steadily over the years to become a leader in the consumer electronics market. For more information on Sony’s products and services in Singapore, please visithttp://www.sony.com.sg/