Lesson 10 - 24 Oct 11

Technology assessment and forecasting

In a rapidly changing world, i feel that it is important to change your strategies to suit the times, unless you can change the times to suit you

The present is shaped by the past, but dwelling on the past is definitely not the way to go.

I believed that in Singapore, how we came to where we are today, we owe it to good foresights.

We owed it to the governments who set policies and recommendations for the various industries that are of the cloud and summit opportunities, so that we could experience rapid economic growth.

We also owed it to our forefathers who came to Singapore in search for better job opportunities, in which they have found themselves a better home. With rapid economic growth, free of natural disaster, stable political growth, and high technology advances here, i think we are in one of the best places to live in.

A check on the Purchasing Power Index : Singapore is ranked top 3!


Perhaps this is why on the public transports, first we see the Nokia mobile phones, which was the SMS era, then came the PSP era, where everyone took gaming on the go, then now, eventually we reached the 3G era. We could use our iPhones, iPads, Blackberrys and other gadgets to engage in social networking or business communication on the go. We have such good purchasing power that we are bring lifestyle out on the roads!

When you travel to other country, you don't see it everywhere, but here, you see it EVERYWHERE. It's that common. When you go to other countries and take their public transport, you may feel alienated with you using social networking, or wait, 3G coverage isn't that widespread in bigger countries actually. The challenge is of course the distance, which Singapore does not face.


Back to forecasting, I'm really glad i get to experience these lifestyle changes as it really shows me that mobile technology allows me to save time and process more information at the same time.

Session rating : 10/10!
+fascinated with the future!
-Implications are quite a killjoy, we have to work on this to ensure that the technology doesn't backfire.

Issues for discussion :
Can you imagine life now if Singapore is suddenly without 3G, WIFI, or broadband?

Lesson 9 - 19 Oct 11

During Lesson, i saw this sentence, and i thought that it was really true of us human beings :

ØSupply can sometimes create demand – where people don’t realize they need it until they experience it (eg walkman, iPhone)

So, lets see what were the criticisms of the iPad debut,

• sounds like female hygiene products
• no flash player?
• no multitasking?
• whats the new for a blown up iPod touch?
• no e-book reader apps?
• no stylus?
• no camera?

Now, look at the different types people that are using iPad,

• Singapore Armed forces Soldiers
• Students & Instructors
• Point of Sale transaction stores
• Businessman
• Designers
• Politicians

and many more to be named. Basically, everyone has a use for the iPad now. But back then, who could have thought of it?

True that many of the criticisms were answered with constant upgrades to the software, but the fact that the hardware aspect was ready for these apps showed that it was a calculated move. They could release these apps to generate more interest, and with the power of media and word of mouth, demand is multiplied!

When iPhone was introduced, who would have thought that everyone's holding on to one now?

I am never going to underestimate the power of Supply generating Demand too. I admit, i was skeptical at first about the iPad because of the existence of ebook readers like kindle, music players like iPod Touch, and tablet PCs which were doing fine at that point of time. I was thinking, why would I need an iPad?

Slowly, the idea of using a tablet makes more sense now. It made even more sense with our telcos releasing mobile 3G internet service for bringing broadband on the go. Portability and lifestyle was simply too much to give up for, just like how the first MP3 players came to the market.

They used to appear like flash drive looking capsule, with black and white displays that only shows you the words, with a very simple user interface and firmware, to navigate songs. 128mb was quite a luxury to me at that time. Now, where do you see 128mb?

So let's think of how technology is going to work for us, instead of how we are going to reject technology because it seems useless now.

Overall, 10/10! I learnt a lot, explored a lot, and saw lots of discussions and predictions for the future.

I am more optimistic now =)

Pointers that i wished that was discussed : I am really wondering, would there be a revolutionary IT product, that China can come out with? Not talking about the parts since we know most of the parts come from there but the ability to market and sell it well is another issue.

Lesson 8 - 10 Oct 11

Today we talked about Energy, and world change.

All these while we recognised that fossil fuels are running out, coal is running out and it's pollution, there is a need for us to find alternative resources.

We explored renewable resources like water, wind and solar energy. One astonishing fact is that the Sun produces so much energy that an hour of solar energy is enough to power up the world for a year. Why aren't we able to harness it?

Sometimes i really wished that we have abundant energy, so we can have one less worry. The cost of electricity are postulated to rise if our contemporary renewable energies run out and we will have to depend on Nuclear or renewable energies already.

However, not all nations are made for renewable energy of one kind. For example, Singapore. Let me list down a few types of renewable energy and my own forecasting :
1) Nuclear - Won't happen. If a meltdown happens Singapore will not exist anymore
2) Geothermal - Don't think it exist here.
3) Wind - May account for less than 10% of our energy needs?
4) Solar - May account for 50% of our energy usage in the future if we harness properly!
5) Water - No way... does Marina Barrage count?
6) Biomass - Not sustainable unless we are really loaded.

I believe there will be many others that we can consider, but at looking at Singapore's current options, if nuclear can be made much safer, I believe that we can branch into that aspect.

Prime Minister Lee has not played down the possibilities of nuclear energy in Singapore despite efforts of tightening regulation, however my personal take is that we could make use of what is provided free from the Sun : Solar energy, and we try to harness it as much as possible.

There now exists portable Solar panel chargers for portable mobile devices already, i saw it when i was walking around Sim Lim. Around the landed properties at Lorong Chuan area i see Solar Panels, apparently these are being used around, but not proliferated enough.

Looking at the infrastructure of SMU, it is not frightening to see an expensive utility bill, perhaps if we can ever integrate Solar Panels with windows, wouldn't it be nice?


Overall, 9/10!

I enjoyed today's exploration and discussion a lot as this is a huge determinant of how we are going to survive in the future.

Points for further discussion :
How is Singapore going to sustain her energy needs in the future?

Individual Topic Review Paper DRAFT

Here it is!

Sorry there wont be pictures! updated 16 october 2011 3.05pm

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2gEnu9Kk0oiXEQzCW1dttBDI1tL8vsgeNkHd5lHFoI/edit?hl=en_US