Take Threadless for example. Every order comes with a random number of stickers. These stickers basically have their company logo on it, and of course the url of their business. This, in a way, is spoon feeding consumers to ‘tag’ their brand all around their neighborhood. Now your brand’s exposure has gone up a notch higher. Rinse, repeat; and you get the brand awareness around in no time.

Vandalism is of course not recommended, apply all tagging actions with caution.

This mode of advertising is usually given out free. You have to spend some to win some. Leave it around at conferences, leave some lying around in libraries, or even tie up with your local coffee house.

We highly recommend Frontier Labels for all your label/sticker needs. They will print and ship your high quality labels in one business day with flexibility of combining same sized labels into one combined price to pass of the savings onto your consumers.  Frontier Labels strives for  100% customer satisfaction.  Give them a call, and see for yourself.

Just months after taxi fares rose sharply, cab commuters may have to brace themselves for another cost hike: fuel surcharges.

The Sunday Times has learnt that taxi companies here are proposing what airlines have been applying since 2004 – a surcharge on top of stated fares to defray rising fuel prices. In the case of airlines, the surcharges are sometimes higher than the fares.

Source

Its an undeniable fact that fuel price will increase once the earth’s oil supply is decreasing. Eventually, it will be depleted. One day. Don’t know when, but i hope it is not within my lifetime. So many ugly events can occur once oil starts to deplete. Just imagine.

On to the story i quoted above. Please read it in depth. Taking cabs would be like taking a flight soon.

It’d be great if all cabs can be fitted with CNG. What is cng? Compressed natural gas. Cng is a substitute of diesel and petrol. It is considered more environmentally clean compared to what we are currently using. Cng cost approximately $1 per kg. While petrol cost an average of $2.20 and diesel at $1.90 per liter. The significant saving will definitely put a big smile on everyone. Not all cabs are fitted with CNG, but i notice most of TRANS and PREMIER cabs are. Good move!

We (singapore) are so slow at implementing this cost and earth saving technology. In the US, most homes have cng kits in their garage! So the the average Joe can pump cng in their Fords and drive off. In India, almost all of their auto-rickshaws uses cng! A cng refueling station can be seen almost everywhere. In Malaysia, they have NGV(natural gas vehicle) fueling stations all over the country! You see your average Petronas station, most likely there is an NGV spot too. Now how many cng stations do we have? Two. Or 3, if you have access to Jurong Island.

Singapore is also doing its bid, fret not. The newer buses you see on the roads are on cng (yeap!) and some taxis too. While i hope the nation can speed up the current ‘testing’ phase, i am also at the same time wishing all private cars can be retrofitted with a cng kit. Currently only 5000 cars in Singapore are cng ready. But news is catching up. Most owners feel the pinch and don’t mind saving money (who doesn’t), so there is a waiting list to fit your car with a cng kit. This is definitely a good sign. The only downside of having a cng fitted car: You gotta sacrifice boot space. I don’t need use my boot space all the time. Its not a mobile closet/wardrobe/etc. So yeah.

So my friends, save money and save the earth at the same time. Sounds like a plan? I think so too.

So yeah, this is kinda late but who cares. To the beach. The day was fine i tell ya. Check out the sky. God is a great painter. Love it!

So where was i? Oh yes, beach essentials. Its what makes or breaks your trip to the beach.
I present you: a pocket-size guide, you can print this and bring along for your well deserved break. At the beach of course!

Well, that’s it. Stay tuned for another 101 Guide.

Malique, Out!

Alzheimer’s is a disease commonly found in people over age 65 and is a common type of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. It is mandatory and important to look for tell-tale signs that might indicate Alzheimer’s disease versus basic dementia. These symptoms can occur almost constantly and worse each day. Things to look out for:

• Memory loss
• Confusion
• Complications in completing everyday actions like wearing clothes.

Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal ageing.

Particularly affected areas may be memory, attention, language, and problem solving. Especially in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time (not knowing what day of the week, day of the month, month, or even what year it is), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they are).

Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible depending upon the etiology of the disease. Less than 10 percent of cases of dementia have been reversed. Dementia is a non-specific term encompassing many disease processes, just as fever is attributable to many etiologies.

Without careful assessment, delirium can easily be confused with dementia and a number of other psychiatric disorders because many of the signs and symptoms are also present in dementia (as well as other mental illnesses including depression and psychosis).

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease thus the importance of quality care for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The first step is knowing more about the disease itself.

So head over and get holiday gift for that someone and be proud doing it. They offer items like jewelery ranging from bracelets, necklaces and the store is also offering dvd products. There is also a quilt store called Quilt to Remember. All proceeds benefits the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Every. Single. Penny.

I received a call from SingPost 2 days back and i was informed i had an incoming package that doesn’t have an address. I ruled out the thought of anthrax, cos i had recently ordered a portable media player, online. But how did they got my contact number? Weird. But that’s another story.

Ladies and Gentlemen, i present to you the Meizu M6. Yes, the Meizu that’s going-to-make-an iphone-killer, Meizu. Received the package promptly 1 day earlier then the promised timing. I’m impressed.

Upon receiving the package from the mailman, i felt cheated. Yes. It was so light, i thought i had been scammed. I had mixed feelings before i opened it. I told myself to do a report to paypal if it’s an empty package. Haha, paranoid. Ok, if you still don’t get what im trying to say: The Meizu M6 Miniplayer is freaking small and light!

The Meizu M6 Miniplayer is not a newcomer to the US Mp3 market. Infact, it has gained status as the underdog of the portable media player(pmp) scene. It comes in 4GB & 8GB, in two colors black and white. The player plays a range of audio formats like MP3, WMA and OGG. Video playback is a god-sent with low sized xvid format.

Accessories

The Meizu M6 standard issue comes with a carrying pouch, strap, cleaning cloth, earbuds, standard USB cable, manual, software for converting video and of course the player itself. But mine came without the pouch, strap and cleaning cloth. Boo.
The distributor claimed that Meizu has discontinued these items. Boo!

Design

One glance and it looks like your typical made-in-china pmp. But don’t let looks deceive you. The small yet sturdy body packs a punch. Make that two! The menu console on the left also acts as a sliding key, like the ipod’s sliding knob. It is quite sensitive and needs a few hours to get used to. I was irritated at first. Haha!

Screen

It is very clear no doubt. What makes it so clear? The screen is made by Toshiba, baby yeah. As far as how scratch prone it is, im not sure as i have a screen protector in place.

Audio

Overall I am very impressed with the audio quality. It is clean and customisable.
The audio is tweakable with a 10-band EQ, bass boost, treble boost, and SRS effects. I could hear Michael Buble so clear, i thought he was next to me.

Specification:

Conclusion

Made-in-China products aren’t that bad. The miniplayer is a great product, with constant updates on its firmware which adds more features and functionality. File transferring is a breeze with drag-and-drop. The video converter software that comes with it is superb too. Sound wise, i must say i had an audio-gasm. Need i say more?

The Meizu M6 is available in most online stores with a great price tag of $112-120 for the 4GB model.

Let’s wait for the M8 to launch, shall we? Now excuse me while i watch Heroes on the M6.

i got interviewed! Read my previous interview here.

3 hrs of effort that goes into different post timings. Automated by WordPress.

Stalk the interviewer here. Go.

This post became the top 3 of the most read blog post on PING.SG
Help it make to #1 by reading it here!

I don’t carry lots of cash in my wallet. Heck, not even coins. And i remember reading somewhere that there was a rise in the use of electronic wallets, ie: cashless transaction, credit cards/etc.

My transactions are either with my master or nets.
Nets now charge businesses between 0.35 and 0.55 per cent of the amount of each transaction. Starting July, this will be increased gradually to between 1.5 and 1.8 per cent of purchases. What is the immediate effect on the masses? Consumers are expected to prepare for a price hike by retailers, to pass on the extra cost.

What do i think of this? Ridiculous. I’d rather deal in credit since its much more cheaper to use! NETS what were you thinking? Tsk tsk tsk.

Is this commercial decision to pay for its latest brand change?
Make Life Great. OH REALLY?!!

Tell me what you think, and remember of the GST hike next month, plus the ridiculous NETS levy hike. God save SG!

The rumor of acquiring FeedBurner is indeed true!

So will it be feedBoogle? Googleburner?

So how much did Google spend? Figures are not out yet, but last week it is rumored to be a sizzling $100Million buckaroos. Quite a small number compared to their $3.1 Billion purchase of DoubleClick.

Google please buy me. Please!

Mental, financial and technological preparations are crucial factors to ensure that the conversion process occurs as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips for those who are thinking of making that conversion, as well as for those who are already freelancing full-time:

1. Maintain frequent contact with clients. The client’s trust can only be achieved if the clients feel that they have been provided with good service. One way to tackle this challenge is to harness the usefulness of e-mail, instant messaging and even phone calls to cover up for the lack of face to face interaction. The best is in fact to make agreements over e-mails as this form of communication is provides ‘black and white’ proof to whatever decision that is made. Nevertheless, it is also advisable to be wary of ‘excessively paranoid’ clients who will abuse the phone and will keep making changes to things that have already been agreed on earlier.

2. Think about the future. It is important to continue to market your business even in the midst of all the deadlines. If majority of your work is derived from your website, it is strongly recommended that you set aside at least some time on a regular basis to update the content. It is also important to promote your business during this allocated time. This includes calling up potential clients, blogging or self-marketing.

3. Focus on the present. While it is important to pursue the future, it is equally important to ensure that current jobs get done well and on time. This not only ensures that revenue comes in promptly, but it also inculcates trust in the client.
4. Choose appropriate deadlines. It is always better to be realistic than to try to accomplish the impossible. If you have many projects already in hand, it is not recommended for you to agree to accept a new task which is quite impossible to be completed by the desired dateline. Always remember that working at home doesn’t mean that we can be up 24/7 dong our work. It is important to maintain our health so that the work can be completed well. It is important to check and update your schedule regularly. It’s better to be realistic when first making an agreement than ending up completing the work late. In addition, it is advisable to avoid deadlines on Mondays. This would prevent one from working through to the weekends, although there may be free time available.

5. Think before replying outside business hours. Replying to clients outside business hours would only indicate to them that you are on the job 24/7. This would give them the impression that you can be contacted at anytime of the day. Although it is important to maintain frequent contacts with one’s clients, time between work and rest should be separated. This is especially true if you have international clients from different time zones (which is likely the case). It would definitely inconvenient for you to wake up in the middle of the night just to answer a phone call.

6. Realize that the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. Although at times project offers may come pouring all at once, it is important to pick the better ones. Better ones can be those that offer better pay terms or those that would help build up your reputation (for marketing purposes) or portfolio. Declining a work offer may be difficult, but it is an important step to ensure that you are not overloaded unnecessarily.

7. Proper budgeting. It is best if you could use the budget allocated to a certain project from its own source. This means that it is not recommended that you use the up-front meant for another project on a new project that you have just been offered. Agreements can be made with clients to make upfront payments that are sufficient for purchasing of raw materials or other required purposes. Freelancing on an individual basis, especially, does not provide the luxury of spending sufficient time for accounts. Thus, it is better to separate each projects on its own.

8. Financial preparation. It is a common occurrence for check payments to be delayed. This can be a problem when you just started freelancing on a full time basis and not having much savings left. Thus, it is important to be financially prepared in order to avoid such inconveniences.

9. Be wise in choosing the correct contact. It is advisable to pay attention to the behavior of the clients that you agree to take up projects from. This may used as one of the criteria when you are declining project offers. It is best for one to avoid contacts with whom you cannot get along with.

10. Educate your clients on your working style. As much as how you should meet the requirements of your clients, it is also very important for you to be clear to the client regarding your own working style. Preferences on using the e-mail or IM over using the phone and the times at which you can be reached on the phone should be clearly informed to the client.

11. BE PREPARED. Be very prepared. For those who are just starting to convert to a full-timer, it is important to asses how ready you are before you plunge into the deep sea. Financial preparation alone is insufficient. It is also important to be emotionally and mentally prepared. All the Best!
- Fifi Rouge, WhyHot Design Council