Fixing slow Samsung printing over AirPort Extreme/Express

Fix to slow and painful printing over AirPort ExpressPrinting with Bonjour over AirPort Express was painfully slow, apparently because of a bug with Leopard and Bonjour. Here’s the not-so-glam fix from solo4675 on Apple discussion:

  1. Open Print & Fax Preferences.
  2. Click on + to add printer.
  3. Select IP at the top of the page. Select HP JetDirect – Socket in the drop down.
  4. Enter the address of your AirPort Extreme (IP Address or name such as living-room.local) then add the socket number. 9100 for the first printer, 9101 for the second printer. 4a. If you’ve got the address right it will verify this and confirm this on screen. It will select a generic postscript driver which you will change in step 6.
  5. Enter a Name and Location in the boxes at the bottom.
  6. In the Print Using box, choose Select Driver and then search for ML-2010 driver. Select it.
  7. Click Add and you’re done.

My few days with the AirPort Express has shown me that wireless technology does not just work. But at least it’s working better than my SpeedTouch 570.

iPhones sold by SingTel will not be carrier-locked

Chua Hian Hou wrote, according to an interview with a SingTel boss:

Buyers, though, will have to sign up for a SingTel subscription, although the phone can be used on any mobile network in Singapore, unlike in the United States where iPhones are ‘locked’ to only work with one operator.

Does this mean those who want to use both official apps from the App Store and a network other than AT&T in the States would find the Singaporean iPhones more appealing?

How much would the iPhone 3G cost you on SingTel?

Singapore is number 64 out of 70 countries that Apple plans to roll out its iPhone 3G later this yearIt is true, SingTel will carry the iPhone when it finally hit our shores later this year. The million-dollar questions now for the iPhone hopefuls are when exactly will it come, and how much will it cost? Any attempt to answer the first question is probably wild speculation at best, unless of course you happen to own SingTel.

An educated guess, however, can probably predict the price of the iPhone when it launches in Singapore. The Straits Times, however, is not very good at this when tech reporters embarrass themselves and confuse their readers by contradicting one another’s reports within days of each other.

Chua Hian Hou first reported that we can expect to pay about $270 on June 10th,1 based on what an analyst, Nathan Burley, said. But Burley merely took out his calculator and converted US$199 to Singapore dollars (US$1 = S$1.363 as of today). Days later on June 15th, Tham Yuen-C found a different set of analysts who predicted between S$500 to (gasps) S$1,000 for the 8GB model.2 This, according to Tham’s sources, is because

Here, telco subsidies typically range from $100 to $500. But the more popular a model, the less subsidy is needed. Since the iPhone ‘sells itself’, it is not likely to be heavily subsidised.

When the Times technology correspondent, Alfred Siew, wrote another article two days later, Siew decided that he would ignore Tham’s article and go with Chua’s “analyst” instead. Indeed, he wrote:3

It is not yet known what SingTel will charge for the iPhone when it begins selling it later this year, though sources say that the phone is unlikely to cost more than the recommended US$199 or US$299.

Perhaps that’s why Digital Life has such a bad name among real tech enthusiasts. Then again, there’s a big difference between the typical Sim Lim Square tech enthusiast and the Apple enthusiast.

While Tham took time to find proper analysts who gave guesses more educated than consulting the currency convertor, it just doesn’t make sense for SingTel to offer the iPhone at such exorbitant rates—especially not when other operators are hot on the heels of SingTel to clinch an iPhone deal.4

Why would SingTel want to lower the entry to iPhone ownership? Because with full number portability and a first-strike advantage, it can attract subscribers from its rivals, especially those whose contracts would expire in the next few months. Knowing that the iPhone would come later this year helps tremendously to prevent iPhone hopefuls from renewing their expired contracts with StarHub or M1. After all, the iPhone is the only phone that people know about and go to great lengths to procure one even before it’s available. I don’t see anyone doing that for Samsung, Nokia or Sony Ericsson.

It’s hard to see why SingTel would want to give up on this opportunity to attract more onto its network rather than keeping people out because of the price barrier. One of SingTel’s boss, Quek Peck Leng, also recently confirmed that the iPhone would move at a “‘mass market friendly price… nowhere near’ the 499 euro (S$1,059) price tag in Europe.”5

But of course, the price of the phone is but one side of the story; there’s also the price of the monthly plan that you would be bounded to for the next two years. Similar reasoning however can be applied to how SingTel would possibly price its iPhone plans. After all, there’s little point in subsidising the iPhone heavily to attract subscribers on one hand, but dissuade them with pricey plans on the other hand.

Kevin Lim from theory.isthereason.com suggested that the price of an equivalent plan to AT&T’s offerings in the United States would cost a whooping S$117.45 per month.

It does sound initimidating, but that would be piecing together the iTwo Value plan for 300 minutes of outing voice calls and 500 free SMS, and an unlimited 3G data plan that Kevin wrote costs S$69.30.

A check on SingTel’s broadband mobile website however revealed that there’s no unlimited 3G data plan. The maximum bundled data usage for any plan is 50GB—well within the use of most normal and even expert users—and starts from S$22.42 per month. On the voice plan side, most students do not use any plan remotely close to the cost of iTwo Value, since they do not give a hoot about outgoing talk time.

Although the iPhone may appeal to some of the older generation (my girlfriend’s dad booked the iPhone the day after it was launched), the truth is that most of its users here would be the younger generation—students with high disposable income and lust over the latest technology gadgets. The other group of users would be the PMEBs, and they are the ones already paying the S$100-plus plans for their BlackBerries. If they were to hop onto the iPhone bandwagon, costs of the plan should be of the least concern to them.

Therefore, a more plausible plan that SingTel might offer would be one out to attract students instead, i.e. huge number of free SMSes, little outgoing talk time, decent among of data usage for those who might want to surf the web and check their e-mails on the go.

Piecing together the iOne Plus voice plan ($25.68 for 100 minutes outgoing, free unlimited SMS for students and NSFs, 500 for the rest) and the 1000 data plan ($22.42 for 50GB per month, 1Mbps download speed) would give us $48.10 per month, a conservative estimate at best.

SingTel has yet to announce any special voice-and-data plan for the iPhone, and if it does, it could come cheaper than this. If the iPhone does not get any special treatment, it is likely that you would be able to just mix-and-match your own plans like existing Smartphones that SingTel currently sells. There is even a possibility that you can forgo a data plan (not that this makes much sense), but that would probably result in a costlier iPhone as a result of losing the SingTel subsidy.

The high price for 3G data plans in Singapore do however suggest that most Singaporeans are not ready for Smartphones yet, or perhaps the other way around. Mike Davidson wrote that the recent price drop for the iPhone in the United States would “split the mobile world into two choices: settle for a free phone or buy an iPhone. There just aren’t many reasons to do anything else.”

While this may not yet happen in Singapore, the iPhone may very well usher in a new era where more people are finding use for 3G and data plans.

  1. Chua, H. H. (June 10, 2008). SingTel to bring 3G iPhone to S’pore by year-end. Straits Times. ↩

  2. Tham, Y. (June 15, 2008). Want an iPhone? Don’t expect it to come cheap. Straits Times. ↩

  3. Siew, A. (June 17, 2008). iPhone rivals usher in the touch-screen era. Straits Times ↩

  4. StarHub had repeatedly revealed that it expects to sell the phone eventually, and that M1 is in talks with Apple. ↩

  5. Chua, H. H. (June 19th, 2008). SingTel confident it can fend off competition. Straits Times. ↩

A minute apart

I was supposed to meet Sharon at Starbucks after I’ve foot the bill. She couldn’t find me at Starbucks, so she went looking for me.

When I reached Starbucks—a minute later—I found a man slumped over his seat, head dangling, shaking and vomiting. No one knew what to do with the man, some were even scared and moved away from him. I had to figure out who could give help over the phone while waiting for the ambulance; thankfully I realised I have some smart friends reading medicine.

The recovery positionAnyway, because you never know when such things can happen—to strangers or your loved ones—better to learn some first aid, at least how to position them while waiting for help.

And sometimes, a minute is all it takes for something to take place. No warning, nothing.

Some people can be so hung up

Catherine Lim wrote a letter to the Straits Times on Wednesday, speaking up for the officers who were punished and expressing her disappointment with the verdict. Guess what? A Mr Ooi Boon Hock (along with many others who have left angry comments on her website) decided to misinterpret her letter and rebuke her for using the term “little people”, which he claims is “very patronising”.

Seeing so many clueless ingrates around, Catherine probably decided it was best to clarify her use of the word–which she needn’t have, of course, but she was nice enough to.

And guess what? Another reader who is too afraid to sign off his real name, decided to join in the bashing:

she only clarifies and wouldnt even deign to apologise?

she is no different from the rest!

is S.O.R.R.Y such a difficult 5 letter word?

Now enlighten me… what is Catherine suppose to be sorry about? About you being clueless? Yeah, perhaps she should be, I would, too.

The last time I heard, Straits Times wrote— “If it is determined there was only one weak link, at junior escort level, then the people should stop carping about why it is usually small fish that get fried” –in their April 24th editorial and nobody complained about being called “small fish”.

It baffles me that some Singaporeans can be so clueless, deliberately or not, I do not know. And I wonder why Catherine bothers to speak up for them.

Sushi-making night

Tamago and the unknown sushi Looks can be deceiving; what looks simple may not actually be easy to make. Sharon and I decided to make some sushi for dinner yesterday (for lunch actually, but you know, it’s the holidays and…). Here’s the tamago (egg) sushi—omelette courtesy of me and the rice Sharon. You’ll need to imagine the thin strip of nori (laver) holding the egg and the rice together though, because we couldn’t be bothered with it.

The sushi in the background is our latest creation, yet to be named, but filled with Japanese cucumber, Indian paneer, Swiss stir-fried brown mushrooms, Kalamantan chopped olives and um, Singapore sweet omelette. It was a pain to cut them into pieces though.

Apart from the omelette tasting too sweet, the rice falling apart, the fillings dropping out of the rolls even before reaching anywhere near our mouths, I thought they tasted pretty okay. Sharon thought her smoked salmon sushi was disgusting, though.

If you’re feeling adventurous enough to try making your own:

Don’t bother making a trip down to Meidi-ya supermarket at Liang Court though, because all that rice vinegar, mirin (sweet rice wine), Japanese soy sauce, wasabi, can be found at any decent Cold Storage. And they’re cheaper. But if you need some Japanese seafood, your only bet seems to be at Meidi-ya.

The verdict is out, Pedra Branca is ours, but…

It is interesting to note how the issue was presented by both sides of the media. Over here in Singapore, Straits Times decided that a rosy spin would be nice:

…when Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh concluded his two-hour statement at 6pm, Singaporeans and Malaysians alike applauded the decision.

Over at Malaysia’s National News Agency, Bernama.com, the story wasn’t quite as rosy. Malaysian’s International Trade and Industry Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said:

I’m rather disappointed with the decision made by the ICJ on Pulau Batu Puteh which was not in favour of Malaysia.

As a subject of Johor, I’m sad because whatever consideration applied by the ICJ under international law, in terms of the historical value, sovereignty and morality, we have lost part of our territory

… Hopefully, Singapore will not be arrogant over the latest decision on Pulau Batu Puteh

The fact that Malaysians probably aren’t applauding now is probably best shown by the call for calm by chairman and chief executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan:

Don’t be emotional and spread anti-Singapore sentiments which would not bring any benefit to Malaysia or to bilateral relations between the two countries

Yet another one from the New Straits Times, Loss a big blow for fishermen:

The normally quiet fishing community in Sungai Rengit, Pengerang, 65km from here, became highly charged yesterday, as fishermen shook their heads in disbelief over the loss of Pulau Batu Puteh.

The Straits Times conveniently left out all negative references of what the Malaysian government had said, while the Bernama.com… did not bother to include anything the Singapore authorities had said.

I’m not sure which is worse. But actually I should know which is: The Straits Times. Omission is probably less of a crime than distortion. But one thing for sure: patriotism is one thing, responsible journalism is quite another.

The Art and Craft of Saying Sorry

Mr Franco Guo is in the soup for uttering one of the most rascist remarks made by a blogger to date, too uncouth to be republished here, on his blog (see Google’s cache).

Mr Guo has since been arrested, and apologised. Much has been discussed on the blogosphere about his racism, bigotry and what not, so we shall not spend any more time talking about it. Instead, it is interesting to note the way he had apologised:

Sincere Apologies

Dear Readers,

I would like to express my sincere apologies for any misinterpretation to my blog entry [italics added].

I regret having mentioned this entry in my blog which I didn’t expect it to turn out to be like this, I should have been more mindful.

Once again, I am sincerely apologetic for the recent events that had happen.

Your’s sincerely, Franco

Mr Guo may not be the most grammatical or tactful blogger around, but he sure has learnt quite a bit about the art and craft of apologising. It may also be instructive to look at the top three apologies made by our leaders in recent times–which may be the source of Mr Guo’s inspiration.

No. 3, Lee Kuan Yew to Abdullah:

I am sorry that what I said has caused you a great deal of discomfort. After a decade of troubled relations with your predecessor, it is the last thing I wanted.

No. 2, Wong Kan Seng on the escape of Mas Selamat:

This should never have happened. I am sorry that it has.

Holding on to the top spot still has to be Wee Siew Kim on behalf of Wee Shu Min:

… I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic point is reasonable, that is, that a well-educated university graduate who works for a multinational company should not be bemoaning about the Government and get on with the challenges in life.

Nonetheless, I have counseled her to learn from it. Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it…

Comparing Mr Guo’s apology with these exemplars, one would realise that there are striking similarities between his apology and Wee Siew Kim’s apology. The former is sorry that you, yes you, misguided reader, have misinterpreted his blog; the latter is well, sorry that some people cannot take the “brutal truth”.

Both of them lack the finesse displayed in Lee’s apology–which although did not apologise for what he said, but is sorry that it is causing Abdullah “a great deal of discomfort”.

See, saying sorry is also an art and craft.