Merdeka Singapura!

You may ask, are born apathetic? Are we concerned about what is going to happen in 20 years? Is PAP still going to be the main ruling party? Do our youths really care about their future?

Singapore has came a long way from a small fishing island to a metropolitan city. Due to the economic and social stability that is present nowadays, we have became apathetic.

Yes, it is true that we are taken care of by the government. Our parents have been constantly reminding us to study hard, get a degree, find a stable and high paying job and never get into politics. It is not so hard to understand why. Our founding fathers have fought hard to bring up Singapore to what it is now. Politicians such as Lee Kuan Yew dedicated their whole life in service to our country and it wasn't an easy one. Therefore our parents doesn't want us to step out of our comfort zone to pursue the life of a public figure.<\p>

Many people think that their voices will not be heard in country building. As compared to politicians who have countless years in nation building, people may think that how can they ever debate about the country's future with them.

Political correctness also has made youths of today much more fearful of expressing and opening up in public. many presumed that they must have an education in politics before they are able to grasp the guidelines to make politically correct statements. This is one of the deterrence that many faced.

Another reason is that Singaporeans live a very sheltered and comfortable life. This make them oblivious to the perils that Singapore may face in the future. This affluence made Singaporeans ignorant to the pressing issues and made many others materialistic. This shows how shallow our society is and that we lack of the maturity in national spirit.

It is therefore important to break the cycle of apathy. Students nowadays have myopic view of their future. They only pursue what is beneficial and valuable to them and they value the freedom that they have. not having to worry about money, politics, foreign affairs, etc. This selfishness must therefore be eliminated. As we progresses to working adults, the government policies may affect our livelihood and the amount of money we are able to take home. If we do not question our government's action to build a sustainable future, it might be all too late for any change to happen.

If we were to continue to be apathetic, we may become helpless working adults trying to instill the idea of being interested in Singapore to our kids. Our kids will enter the vicious cycle of self-centeredness that we are going through right now. This will lead to the next generation being not able to lead our country forward onto the next phase not because of the lack of knowledge but the apathy that is present.

It is important that we try to break this cycle of apathy now. We should think about our future as it many not be always smooth sailing like of the present. Afterall, it will affect us sooner or later. Make a change!

Quirky Multimedia!

Multimedia is a very fun part of the Internet. Multimedia has infiltrated into many parts of our life. It is pretty prevalent in areas such as advertising, education, engineering, journalism, etc. today, i'm forcusing on Multimedia Marketing and shall explore a few companies as of below.

Sour Sally

Sour Sally is a US premium non-fat yogurt that can be match with a range of toppings of your choice. Having flavors of original or green tea, they have since expanded into asia. There is one that is recently opened in Wisma Atria.

Their website has proved to be a very interesting one. Upon entering, you are able to control a character called 'Sour Sally'. By using your cursor, you are able to move her around to explore different objects. Using the mouse, you are also able to move around to explore different 'links' in this interactive page. Nicely branded, it has a good appeal for the ladies and easy to use.

Link: www.hellosoursally.com

The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter (Universal Studios Orlando)

This website promotes the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando. Starting off with an introductional video clip, it leads into a 3d map of the different places in the themepark. Using your mouse to roll over and click, it will lead you to the desired places to check out the street view and the rides that are available (similar to Google Streetview). Having a very nicely crafted theme and layout, it sets you into the mood of Harry Potter and the ease of access together with the interactivity proves that it is easy to use.

Link: www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Saab

This is my favourite. This website make use of video clips instead of animations to do the talking. Having a very clean layout together with interactivity where users are able to click, drag to explore, it is definitely a winner to me. The marketing strategy used it fairly simple but its meaning is profound. I shall let the website do the talking. DO CHECK IT OUT!

Link: http://changeperspective.saab.com/global/en/

There is a new type of advertising which i recently take noticed of. This is called Guerilla Multimedia Marketing Campaigns.

Some interesting examples!

Absolut Vodka

Unicef

Volkswagen

Hey There, Beware!

In a recent newsarticle, a Singaporean hacker was charged for posting a fake bomb threat on technology website in July 2005. Futhermore, his charges still include 60 counts of illegally accessing a wireless network.

Lin Zhenghuang, 21, was charged with warning of a bomb at a local bus stop - just after the London subways and bus bombings. Other site users reported Lin's post to authorities, according to an Associated Press report. Lin goes by the name of krisurf to do his misdeeds. He also faces 60 charges of illegally accessing 9 wireless network between July 2005 and Feburary 2006. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison. This means that he may face up to 180 years in jail.

A similar case is that of Garyl Tan Jia Luo, 17, was alsocharged with accessing the web by tapping into an unknown person's internet connection in November of last year. A neighbor told authorities that Tan had accessed his web connection in May 2006.

Through this cases, we can see that there are many people are helping themselves to unlocked wireless connections and can be also viewed it trespassing of property. Though many users still disregard the severity of this issue, it is still better to take precautions.

Else where in the world, hackers hack into the electronic signs in Denver and displayed messages such as "ZOMBIES AHEAD". There are instructions for changing the electronic signs on the Internet which explain what the default passwords for the signs are and explains how to reset the password if it has been changed. The control boxes for the orange signs are usually locked, but apparently some of the control boxes aren't.

in Houston, a similar case also surfaced. A person admits to hacking the detour sign and displayed messages like "POOP" and ":) LOL".

These real life cases thus show how real the threat is. You wouldn't leave your back door or your front door open and similary, you shouldn't leave your connections or computers open to hackers out there.

BEWARE!

MUAHAHAHA

Some lame stuff i was playing around with using Windows Movie Maker

Here is the Final Product!

(don't kill me, my dear friends!)

Tools For You!

Google Maps is a free mapping tool that is provided by Google. I use it pretty often regardless whether is it on my iphone or through my web browers. Not only is it user-friendly, it is also very reliable and up to date.

An interesting thing to note is that Singapore is the first country in world to launch a comprehensive nation-wide coverage of land travel planning tools. Through the collaboration between Google and Land Transport Authority (LTA), we are now able to plan our routes by buses, trains, cars or walking, all for free!

Transit and traffic information are also available on mobile devices with Google Maps for Mobile, so commuters and motorists can check the latest updates to make route changes on-the-go.

Whether a private car owner switching to go by bus or MRT, or a public transit rider choosing to drive or take a taxi, or even one of 10 million international visitors each year finding their way around, anyone will be able to check all of their land transport options to make an informed decision on the quickest, most convenient route and method to reach their destinations.

For example, each time a Google Maps user requests driving directions, the user will be given the opportunity to plan the same trip using public transit – a useful option when the driving route is highlighted as red or experiencing heavy congestion.

Google Maps Mapplets

Mapplets are useful mini-applications developed by third parties that can be added directly on to Google Maps Singapore. With just a single click of the mouse, users can customize their Google Maps by adding useful tools created just for Singapore. Let’s explore some interesting maps:

Singapore Traffic Incidents Map

ERP info

National Parks Singapore

Other Singapore mapplets can be found in the My Maps directory including petrol station finder, carpark finder, highway cameras and more.

Moreover, Google street view has also been proven to be a hit with users. Taking images from a 3d camera, we are able to view a full 360 degree on the place that we are searching for.

Here is a video tutorial for Google Map Singapore. Hope it helps!