the(new)mediaslut

Microsoft has a lot of partners but one of its partners may have "leaked" when Microsoft might launch the first service pack for the Windows Vista OS.

From Softpedia.com :

And while Microsoft is managing the media focus joggling it on Windows Vista, Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, confirmed that service pack 1 will be released either in October or November 2007. Intel is just one example out of a range of companies that will upgrade to Vista following the availability of SP1.

“In the corporate space, I believe most companies will act like Intel They’re doing some pilots and testing today. But the Vista deployment will actually happen when the Service Pack gets released in the fourth quarter time frame, probably the October-November time frame,” Otellini revealed.

Of course, Microsoft has denied to comment on the dates of the availability of the service pack though they are currently working on it.  

Maybe its better to buy a new PC with Vista at the end of the year at one of the Singapore IT shows.

Did Paul Otellini break an embargo or what? 

themediaslut is going to get hate mails for this but don’t "kill the messenger".

Oo Gin Lee, a blogger at Asia.Cnet.Com highlighted a statement in Singapore’s Straits Times Digital Life today that gave a cleaning solution to wipe the smug off those Mac users.

From Gin’s Tonic :

In an interview with Digital Life, when asked the question "Apple Mac and Linux users have always said that they are safer from viruses, worms and hackers compared to Microsoft users. Is there any truth in this?"

His (Symantec CTO) response:

"As an Apple user myself, I think those that believe they are safer from viruses than Windows users are MORE NAIVE, NOT MORE SECURE."

"They may feel safer because there is more publicity about attacks on Microsoft products, but that’s really just a PERCEPTION thing. That said, there may be some validity about this in the open source area, as vulnerabilities in open source software are typically patched faster than proprietary software."

The insider journalist at the Intel Developer is complaining non-stop to themediaslut.. Oh.. how her ears are hurting.

 "They send us all the way to China," said the insider journalist.

"And we can’t do what a journalist is suppose to do at such events."

 At least the journalist was able to breath fresh conditioned air at the forum…

Thanks to the wonder of technology, the insider journalist was able to smuggle out a photo for themediaslut. 

Risky, but worth it!

This might be the only photo you get to see of Intel Developer Forum in China.

Sir, no photos….

"How to effectively spend your PR budget," commented the insider journalist.

"1st, Invite hundreds of reporters from all corners of the globe.

"Then hurl them into a big hall (thus missing the translation booth) with seating at the front right of the room.

"Make sure that they cannot see the English language slide desk and only see the Chinese language one.

"When exasperated IT Journo leaves the keynote and walks about, show him signs that photographs are not to be taken."

Intel didn’t send themediaslut to China and all she got are these "lousy" photos of the Intel Development Forum 2007.

Photos are not actually not that lousy, but thanks to the annoymous journalist who dropped the photos into themediaslut’s mailbox.

Intel Olympics? - The "bird nest" stadium in the background.

Hmm.. Guess Intel ensured there weren’t any Cinglish on the signboard. How many PR vetted the board?

Journalists testing out the new Intel processors

Left:  CTO Justin Rattner opening the session
Right: Knut Grimsrud on serial ATA 2.6 and SATA 3.0 at 6gdps

Mooly Eden telling journalists on Intel’s next moves in the areas of mobility

For more information, visit Intel’s site at http://intel.com/pressroom/idf .

themediaslut was able to download Joost with the same link on the invite email.

Unfortunately, the Singtel ADSL connection in office sucks and does not help to watch anything from Joost. Sighz..

Here are some screenies of Joost for your viewing pleasure.

Joost beta intro page tries to replicate the TV/Movie feel

Ready, set, Joost!

Your Joost nick now!

themediaslut couldn’t sleep and decided to go online for a wee bit..

Guess what came into the mail, an invitation from Joost to download the beta version

Watching Ministry of Sound TV before themediaslut sleeps..

Media junkets may bring journalists to places far far away but that may come at a price.

A journalist at the Intel Development Forum in China, happening now, complained the tight schedule is going get her breathless at the end of the day.

"According to the preliminary agenda I received last week, it was just 2 events today," said the journalist.

"The final event schedule which I have today has me packed me solid straight for the next 12 hours.

"Intel may have invented the Duo2 Core processor that provides us with more power efficiency and muti-tasking capabilities, but that doesn’t mean we journalists have to run at Duo2 Core speed too, right?"

A 7yearofVoIP commented on the Pfingo service that themediaslut is on trial for the moment.

7yearofVoIP gave a very good review of the services and compared it with the other VoIP services offered in London.

From 7yearofVoIP:

I am trying to set pfingo talk on xten.com (xlite) which I have been using for the past few years, anyone with the settings?

Good points: QoS one of the best voice quality so far, Free Trial, Singapore number

Current Disadvantages: Intermediate connection, IE7 problem for me, Address book does not allow adding contacts without email address (put a . on the email field), SIP setup manual on website since it uses SIP.

I dont think the L3 number is going to be a big selling point for mobile users, because WIFI connection will allow maybe 2 hours of battery life, hardly call that standby time. The L3 number is useful for PC uses at this moment in time.

Read the rest of his comments here.

Thanks for the comments, 7yearofVoIP.  

For those who are still not confident using fiber optics as part of their communications means, Google has introduced search on the good old copper line.

From Google Labs :

Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone.

To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone.

Using this service, you can:

• search for a local business by name or category.
  You can say "Giovanni’s Pizzeria" or just "pizza".

• get connected to the business, free of charge.

• get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone.
  Just say "text message".

And it’s free. Google doesn’t charge you a thing for the call or for connecting you to the business. Regular phone charges may apply, based on your telephone service provider.

In Singapore, one can call 1900-777 7777 to get an operator to help them do a local search but its costs S$0.60 per call and to a limit of 3 searches per call.

themediaslut tried this numbers couple of times but has just one peeve about it.

The operator can provide with the number of the store you are searching for, but they won’t divert the call for you. So no value-add.  

The team at CNET"s Buzz Out Loud did a live demo of the Goog. Goog is not handled by any human operator but by voice activation, but it will dial the number for you and connect you directly.

themediaslut can’t wait for GoogTalk to give Singapore Yellow Pages a run of its money if it is ever-introduced in this country.

Joey Alarilla of the Inquirer.net feels that press conferences are becoming more "stage managed " and why he now chooses the press conference to attend.

Maybe Joey should visit areas where their employees hand out for lunch and eavesdrop on their conversations for he might hear of something interesting to say.

This was what happened to themediaslut though it was not her intention in the first place.

themediaslut usually has lunch in Amoy Food Center , along Amoy Street in Singapore.  

One day, themediaslut was qeueing up to buy fruits when in front of her was two employees from a big MNC that deals in VoIP conversing about IP Telephony.

themediaslut recognise them from their identity badges hanging outside of their pants and their is just a 10 minute walk away from Amoy Food Center.

Big MNC that sells IP Telephony equipment employee A: … then I gave my boss my hotel room number to call and the voice quality was so much better.

Big MNC that sells IP Telephony equipment  employee B: Didn’t you use the Big MNC that sells IP Telephone Softphone?

Big MNC that sells IP Telephony  equipment employee A: Yeah, I did. But once we switch to the land line, I could hear him clearer. I joked with my boss about this and said "there’s go our IP Telephony".

Big MNC that sells IP Telephony equipment  employee B: haha..the conversation was clearer on the land line?

Big MNC that sells IP Telephony  employee A: Of course, copper land lines are definately better than fiber..  

And of course, Joey wouldn’t hear of such conversations at press conferences.

The next time you see a sticker on a PC or notebook that says Microsoft Vista capable, it might only be capable to run the most basic of Microsoft Vista or maybe not at all.

From Computerworld US :

Prior to the availability of Vista, Microsoft launched a marketing campaign that allowed PC makers to place a sticker on computers alerting potential buyers that they could upgrade to Vista when it became available. However, "a large number" of those PCs were only capable of running the Home Basic version of Vista, which lacks many of the features, such as media center and enhanced graphics, that Microsoft advertises as included in Vista, the suite alleges.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeks class action status and asks for damages. The suit notes that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million and that the size of the class likely exceeds 10,000 people.

….Many of the machines with the Vista label cannot run or poorly run Home Premium, the least expensive version of Vista that includes most of the heavily advertised features, the suit says.

In light of the New Zealand students exposing Ribena for its vitamin C deficiency , themediaslut wonders which authority in Singapore does checks on the PCs and notebooks to ensure that the Microsoft Vista sticker pasted on them can actually the run all versions of Microsoft Vista.

Told you its the season to be suing…  

Seems suing your tech competitors in the Year of Pig is the new black.

1. HP sues Acer for patent infringment

2. Oracle sues SAP for corporate fruad

More suing to come? 

22 unique PCs from the Hill and Knowlton Singapore office visited this site yesterday.

From the visits, it is also interesting to note that one HnK PC is using Firefox. 12 are still using Internet Explorer 6 while 7 has upgraded to Internet Explorer 7. Lucky 7!

The remaining two were still using the old version of Firefox 1.5.

Go upgrade your browsers!

(Update 09:00am March 28, 2007: The same friend on Singtel mobile was finally able to call themediaslut on the L3 number. A friend on M1 mobile said she was still unable to connect the Starhub L3 number, she gets a "number not in use" whenever she tries.)

themediaslut has been spending the last few days on the Pfingo VoIP service when she is hooked onto a wireless AP in office or home.

While themedialsut is able to make VoIP calls out to Starhub, M1 and Singtel users, only friends using Starhub mobile service can call her back.

Friends on M1 and Singtel mobile were unable to call the Level 3 numbers and was prompted that the number could not be connected.

Interestingly, Starhub and Singtel mobile users can see the Level 3 number on their mobile phone when themediaslut call them.

As most home landlines belong to Singtel, themediaslut was also unable to call the Level 3 number from home.

For M1 mobile users, the number remains hidden.

themediaslut could not find any  IDA (Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority) annoucement that it is legal requirement that the competiting mobile phone operators to connect to their respective VoIP numbers.

A IDA spokesperson, however,did highlight the inter-operatability issues at the recent CommunicAsia 2006.

From Computerworld Singapore:

These VOIP operators will also be required to allow other operators to interconnect with their networks, must offer number portability, and will only be able to offer these services to domestic subscribers, Leong said, noting that these are standards required of fixed-line operators.

The spokesperson is Leong Keng Thai, the IDA’s deputy chief executive and director general of telecommunications.

This could be the trial period and maybe all three telcos, Starhub, M1 and Singtel, have not switched on their interoperability servers just yet.

However, if potential Pfingo users cannot get their friends on M1 or Singtel mobile call them back via the L3 numbers, it could potentially prevent them from signing up for the Pfingo service.

PS: Kudos to the Starhub Mobile and Pfingo for reading and reacting to themediaslut and to the other blogs as well. themediaslut highlighted in an earlier post that the overview page at the Pfingo Talk website did not show clear instructions to set up the service for the PC and mobile phone. The Pfingo team has since added the instructions on the overview site with the necessary instructions. Well done.

pfingo

themediaslut was introduced to Starhub’s Pfingo service on Thursday evening and by weekend, the only service that impressed her so far was Pfingo’s Talk, the VoIP service.

Justin Lee for Entrepreneur27, one of the 30 testers, has a good intro of what Starhub Pfingo service is all about. The three services of Pfingo are Pfingo Active,  Pfingo Mail and Pfingo Talk. That makes number 27 (28 belonged to Omega who commented earlier).

26th tester is Oo Gin Lee, who freelances for The New Paper and blogs at CNET Asia, and he has launched the "Unofficial’ Pfingo blog here.

Pfingo tester number 25 is denialtan .   

So why does themediaslut says that Pfingo is Starhub’s answer to Skype services?

If you have heard of Skype, then you should be aware of the Skype-in and Skype-out services.

Skype-in allow Skype users to register a number in a country which friends of the Skype account users can call in. Skype-out, on the other hand, allow the Skype users to call out to a mobile or land line from a Skype account.

However,  visit the Skype website and everything is charged by the Pound. This means you would have to multiply everything by 3 to covert it to Singapore dollars.

Starhub’s Pfingo Talk provides almost a similar solution.

When you register for the account, Starhub also provide you a Level 3 number.

Level 3 numbers at numbers that start with 3 and are designated for VoIP use in Singapore.

This is almost equivalent to the Skype-in service.

During the briefing, Starhub highlighted they would be introducing Pfingo call-in numbers for different countries but did not say when or how much it would cost.  

There a few ways of using Pfingo Talk.

You could download the Pfingo Talk softphone software onto to your PC and use dial out to a mobile and land line. This is equivalent to Skype-out.

If you do not wish to use the softphone software,  you could use the VoIP service via your WiFi enabled mobile phone.

The Pfingo website allow you to forward your Level 3 number to a mobile phone or land line when the softphone is not in used.

In this trial, themediaslut was given the Nokia E65 to test out the features.

Setting up the Nokia E65 was easy though it could have been better if the Pfingo gave clearer steps in the Pfingo Talk overview page.

All you need to do is to click on the Configure Mobile link and send a SMS setup to your phone. Accept the SMS and your WiFi enabled is ready for VoIP service.

Another feature of the Pfingo Talk is that it updates and records your phone calls online immediately when you end the call. This allows you to check on the calls you have made and the charges related to each call instantly.

Currently, themediaslut does not get charge for a call-out via the VoIP service for local calls, and there are no charges for themediaslut when somebody calls themediaslut’s Level 3 number.

However, themediaslut gets charge for making for oversea calls but is only billed for the IDD services. (Note, for the trial, themediaslut is given S$20 credit for the Pfingo Talk service.)

themediaslut isn’t sure if Starhub is going to make local calls inclusive of the monthly fee it is going to charge. But if they don’t, than compared to the Skype-in and Skype-out services, PFingo call-in and out services for local Singapore number is, therefore, free.

This would definately give Skype a run for its money.

The other two services, Pfingo Active and Pfingo Mail, doesn’t interest themediaslut at all as they look like the classical download approach that most telcos use to attract users to use its 3G or WiFi service.  

Now that themediaslut has gotten the attention of Starhub, could the product and marketing manager there please read themediaslut’s killer application for 3G and let her know what they think of it.

pfingo

With the power of Technorati, themediaslut discovered another Starhub Pfingo tester.

From  As My Life Is:

So I was pretty much psyched when StarHub contacted me recently, to take part in their closed door trial of their new service, Pfingo, and presented me with a brand spanking new (and RED) Nokia E65.

28 more Starhub Pfingo-ers to go…  

pfingo

themediaslut is perplexed by yesterday’s The New Paper article about Singnet discontinuing its Magix service.

Why? Read the following clip and themediaslut will explain later.

From Crystal Chan for The New Paper:

PARTY on, broadband. Happy retirement, Magix.

SingTel is ending its older Internet connection service, Magix, at the end of this month - so as to get its customers to use broadband.

… And while Magix has connection speeds of up to 512Kbps, broadband has much faster speeds of up to 10Mbps (megabytes per second).

The whole story gave themediaslut and some of her friends the final impression that Magix users were never on broadband. Is this the reason Singnet is telling its Magix users why they should be moving over to their broadband offerings?

If so, then it is so wrong for Singnet to do so.

Literally, Magix may not be broadband but it is a service that uses ADSL (a broadband technology) to transmit the data support the service. Hence, Magix users were already on broadband.

themediaslut also did some Google investigation and found a press release, by Singnet themselves, describing Magix as a broadband service.

Press Release from Singnet, March 8, 2001 :

SingTel Magix today announced a realignment to enhance its role as a broadband content aggregator to complement its current high-speed broadband service offering.

Magix is also described as a service on "fast internet".

From the same press release:

 About SingTel Magix

Officially launched in November 1997 as a nationwide service, SingTel Magix is the first in the world to deploy ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) technology commercially, to offer online and on-demand featured films, music videos, news, sports, entertainment news, interactive educational programmes and also fast Internet.

SingTel Magix provides users with a direct connection, so there is no need to share the bandwidth with other users. Net surfing speeds will not be affected when other users log on. And SingTel Magix also enables users to use their phone and fax while the modem is running.

SingTel Magix also provides access to SingaporeONE, the world’s first nationwide broadband network that delivers a new level of interactive multimedia applications and services to everyone in Singapore. E-commerce, on-line shopping, home banking and distance learning are all made possible with SingaporeONE.

The opposite of "broadband" is "narrowband".

If Magix wasn’t on broadband, it should be on narrowband.

Now, how could Magix provide users access to "SingaporeONE, the world’s first nationwide broadband network" if it was on narrowband?