After working for almost 2 years on IP Telephony Framework for Singapore, and another year waiting for companies to put the new 3 series numbers into operation (you can imaging how tough to get interconnection done :-), I finally got my own 3 series VoIP phone number :-)

+65-31050266 is the working VoIP number that will call my PC or my handphone. I had AT&T Callvantage a few years ago so I have a US VoIP number for a while. But this is the my first +65 Singapore VoIP number :-) While its not exactly what I dream of (“I hope to see shops in Sim Lim selling voice service packed in a box too!”), I am still very excited over it.

Thanks to the folks at Pfingo which is currently under closed beta. Anyway, I just got it up and running so I cant say much about it yet beyond it is some sort of integrated VoIP, IM and Email PC&Phone service.

More about it after I got sometime to play with it.

Update: It is SIP :-)

Hosted by Dr. Lee Boon Yang, the appreciation lunch today marks the conclusion of the National Internet Advisory Committee and Community Advisory Committee under MDA. For my (little) contribution, I got a nice stationary for Chinese Calligraphy that my wife probably will put into good use.

Today also marks the beginning of two new committees: AIMS, Advisory Committee on Impact of New Media on Society (Ya, I dont know either…) and IMAC, Internet and Media Advisory Committee (Ya, its corny).

AIMS is the higher level committee that will look at New Media on all aspect on society. Their recommendations to MDA/MICA would have significant impact on New Media, including but not limited to the Singapore bloggers.

The Singapore blogosphere is surprisingly quiet about it. I was kind of expecting some knee-jerking reaction on how Singapore government is trying to control the New Media.

Anyway, let me repeat what I said during the Nexus 2007 panel over the weekend: “Singapore has a two-tier media regulation, one set of rules for the Traditional Media and a light-touch approach towards the New Media”.

The two-tier media regulation is worthy of mention because while the traditional media is subjected to a rigid licensing regulation, Internet content is a simple class license (See Internet Code of Practice) instead. Not many people knows that if you put up any content online, you are automatically licensed by MDA under this class license.

While one may argued that it is fundamentally wrong to even regulate media, it is a matter of opinions, varies from people to people and from times to times. But more importantly, a moot point because this is the reality in Singapore.

It is the light-touch towards Internet content that allows us to setup our own blogs, share our photos, make our own funny podcast and upload homemake video to Youtube. These are what most take for granted forgetting that we probably cant do any of these, not without prior permission from the Minister (yes, no kidding).

This is why I also said during Nexus panel : “The government understand the New Media more than the general public gives them credit for”.

Speaking to some of the members of AIMS during lunch, I get the idea that no one knows how it will developed. It is a huge effort with multiple moving pieces (changing technology, changing behavior and thus changing impacts) and even more possible actions, reactions as well as unintended consequences. Maybe the two-tier media policy will go. Maybe the various Media Acts will be changed/updated. Maybe the whole framework will be replace. No one knows.

But I do have confidence in the capability of the people involved in this, that they will strike a fine-balance in our ever changing Media landscape. As liberal and as light-touch as the general public can accept, no more no less.

And yes, the community comments will be very important. So start talking and even better, send emails and letters to them.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with MDA/MICA so everything I wrote here is my own personal views.

Google RSS Reader has being release for a while. I remember playing with it last year but it was slow and the UI, for lack of a better work, sucks.

Over the weekend, I decided to give it a try again. I was surprised to see a new face lift and a new UI among other new features they are adding to it. So I decided to give it another shot and imported my OPML into it.

And I love it! :-)

They got it this time definitely. I think it is time I chunk my offline RSS readers now.

Incidentally, Google Reader also comes with this feature to tag blog entries to be shared. Check out my shared list. (Yes, they need a shorter permalink :)

When I was playing with Ruby on Rail, I thought this was really cool. An AJAX ruby interpreter running off the browser.

Then I saw this and I was blow off. DOS Emulator on Java. Anyway, if you miss those games from the 80s, go try it out :-)

Nexus 2007 definitely exceed all our expectations. The folks at The Digital Movement certainly done a great job. Well done!

The session with the IT veterans/big shots was a great session by itself but really out of place with the rest of the sessions. The culture gap is very obvious.

And oh, Cory (of Secondlife) was definitely the star of the show. Everyone loves the talk he gives.

I attended Geekout, a pre-event for Nexus 2007.

Andreas and Nathan shared some of the interesting companies that they are watching, e.g. Twitter but what impressed me most are the local companies that was showcased.

1. Xid Technologies – a company specialized in face recognition that developed a technology to allow you to take 2D image and turn them into a 3D avatar and animate it and further allows you to superimpose that 3D avatar into a movie.

2. Muvee – a company that makes those cool movie-making software (muvee) that is embedded on Nokia/Sony/Samsung phones that is doing a p2p photo-sharing software with pretty amazing special effects.

3. Genometri – a company that has a technology that take a product design (in 3D) and generate multiple variations. Great technology but going through the technology chasm adoption problem.

4. Radixs – a mobile application company that develops Velvet Puffin, a web 2.0 applications so-said IM meets social networking. Fantastic idea that have a lot of potential and a lots of room for improvements.

I always enjoy conversation with smart people. So when Jerry Michalski say he will be in Singapore, I grab the chance to have dinner with him. It become even more fun Andreas Weigend join us later. (Cory Ondrejka was also in town but he couldnt make it for dinner tonight). Together with some locals, Ming Yeow, Vivek Singh, Shaun Lee, dinner was a blast.

Topics went from US politics to local politics, from US to China and, from technology to business, crazy to fantastic ideas. So many ideas to blog about, so little time.

Anyway, let me share one portion. Shaun asked us what we think of Social Network and I replied with this idea.

The problem of Social Network is not the lack of it but there are so many to join. Each of them have its specific functions (or none at all) yet nothing do exactly what we need. So what would really be nice is if someone could create a Social Network that is just a platform but have open APIs that allows to plugin and expand the capability.

You want to build a social network for vacation, or you think you can do better than Linkedin, why build a whole platform and getting all the users to sign up again? Do that ontop of a common Social Network platform.

Beside able to create multiples social network and customize functionality, the open platform could allows plenty of innovation. For example, a email spam-filter based on how many degrees the sender is from you; or a addressbook that updates itself via the common Social Network platform.

This common Social Network platform is waiting to be build. The question is who is going to do it. While all agrees that it is probably easier for one of the existing Social Network (friendster, orkut, linkedin etc) to open up than for someone starting from scratch, Jerry added “they probably wont open up since they put too much value on the database”.

Crazy idea waiting for someone to do it :-)

This Business Idea is release under the condition “No need for permission nor do I ask for anything in return”. Good luck!

e-Primer on Free/Open Source Software: Network Infrastructure and Security authored by a friend of mine Gaurab Raj Upadhaya.

Working via information networks such as the Internet, intranet and LANs has increased the possibilities of communicating with a wide range of individuals and communities across long distances. The free and open source software (FOSS) movement is both shaped by network information environments, in particular the Internet, and it has, at the same time, influenced these networks significantly.

You can also download other e-Premier by International Open Source Network, a project under UN-APDIP.

My second child 庄燊磊 (Seng Shern Ley), born on 14th March 6:50am. Both mother and son are safely back at home now.

His big sister falls in love with him. :-)

MCMC (Malaysia) announced the winners of 2.3Ghz spectrum beauty contest:

Malaysia’s telecoms regulator has named four newcomers as winners of Wimax wireless high speed internet licences.

The winning bidders were Bizsurf Sdn Bhd, MIB Comm Sdn Bhd, Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd and Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd.

I was involved in some way so I will not comment beyond giving my congratulations to the winners. :-)