Product Launch

Blogger’s Night Out

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DO RIGHT AND FEAR NO MAN

do right

That’s my personal message in Windows Live Messenger. It’s the inscription on a US coin and I love the phrase. It’s uplifting – kinda like the Serenity Prayer, but without the…erm, less-than-positive connotations. 😉

friendster

I went to the Windows Live Messenger on DiGi sneak preview at Friendster Café last Saturday. I was impressed by the effort that went into the event management aspects. The place was adorned with various larger-than-life sized emoticons…

schwag

…and schwag, which caught the attention of everyone. PSPs, USB drives, headphones and more were to be given away that night. Everyone on the guest list got an exclusive Windows Live Messenger on DiGi t-shirt and a lucky draw number when registering.

board

I loved the replica Windows Life Messenger poster at the entrance. We’re supposed to write our names on it. It wasn’t too hard, being narcissistic bloggers and all. 😉

snacks

The event was slated to start at 7 pm but the good people at DiGi thoughtfully gave us some snacks before the preview.

beer

…and there isn’t a shortage of the amber fluid either. There were two beer towers in attendance and both were kept full so no one was left wanting. =D

food

It was decided that hungry bloggers don’t make good listeners so dinner was served before the actual presentation.

plate

The food at Friendster Café was pretty good. I liked the spaghetti and the fish with tartar sauce. Awesome!

tvc

The sneak preview started with a TVC on Windows Live Messenger on DiGi. You just have to check out the commercial, it’s hilarious! I won’t spoil it for you – DiGi always has great commercials and this one just takes the cake. The ending is priceless! 🙂

demo

We were the very first to try out Windows Live Messenger on DiGi. Celia went through the features with us. It’s exactly like Windows Live Messenger on your PC. The look and feel will be familiar to anyone who uses MSN on the computer. You can even set your status, use emoticons (w00t!) and chat with multiple people at the same time. However, the best feature has gotta be this:

files

Check this out: You can even send files (!) via your cell phone!

cindy

It was fun to be among the first to experience Windows Live Messenger on a cell phone. It’s really quite addictive.

hello

It doesn’t really help that our messages are broadcast to a large LCD projector screen in front of the room. That’s me saying “sixthseal.com SAYS HELLO WORLD”. It’s surprisingly easy to use.

win

The games started after that – there was a Q&A session where I won a pair of Logitech headphones. Great! Now I have one for the office and one for home. 🙂

debate

The next game had Yat and Cindy facing off on opposing notebooks (and teams). It was an MSN debate about exes where one party is arguing for (Angel) and the other against (Devil) remaining friends after breaking up. They both won a SanDisk USB drive.

xd

Next up was a game where participants had to emulate the MSN emoticons displayed on the projector. I failed. Miserably. How can anyone do the XD emoticon? It’s impossible. :p

zoe

…some people could though. Zoe won the first prize – a Microsoft webcam with her impersonation of a very improbable emoticon. It requires the skillz of a facial contortionist to pull off some of the emoticons.

shades

The lucky draw got everyone hunting for their numbers. I had 016-25 and up for grabs were Coke (the drink) caps and Oakley and Ray-Ban shades. Everyone was eying (no pun intended) the shades…and a couple of guys snagged it.

booze

There was a “Booze & Mingle” session after that which bloggers usually interpret as…

camwhore

…camwhoring time. 😉

carol

Carol can do the :p emoticon pretty well. I’m impressed.

msn board

I still think the best gimmick during the event is the Windows Live Messenger board. We all loved it!

sneak preview

DiGi is offering a two month FREE trial for Windows Live Messenger and the best thing about it is that even after the trial period is over, it’s just RM 3 per month for unlimited chatting! There will be no additional data charges, which is pretty impressive. You can check out the promo details here.

cindy msn

I love the tagline – “Whatever the topic 2, 3, or 4you can pass it on anytime, anywhere with Windows Live Messenger Now On DiGi.”

event

Anyway, if you’re not on DiGi, don’t be 1. There’s always MNP so you can switch to DiGi. 😉

RM 3 for unlimited chatting per month. I’m on DiGi (most people from Sarawak are) so I’ll be signing up for this. I can now be online all the time so my boss can MSN me and ask me to do work! 5

…eh, wrong emoticon. Why would I be grinning at that prospect?

goofy

Now wouldn’t it be great if you can have a perpetual goofy emoticon at work to hide your frustration? The Mask of (in)Sanity. 😉

…and yes, I *cough* liberated the huge emoticon from the event.

The Second Coming of Hypp.TV

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laundry

Hear ye, hear ye! I stand witness to the latest revolution in broadband TV. It happened not in a manger in Bethlehem but at Laundry Bar, the Curve and instead of three wise kings, we had a motley crew of characters including Captain Jack Sparrow, Elvis Presley, and Princess Leia.

montage

I registered at the Media/Bloggers booth and checked out what they have to offer. Hypp.TV is the first online broadband TV service in Malaysia – exclusively for Streamyx users. There were demo computers showing the service pre-launch but before I checked them out, I indulged in the customary ritual whenever a significant amount of bloggers congregate…

camwhore

Camwhore.

part

You gotta admit, I look the part. I substituted gin for whiskey. Sign of the times, my friends. 😉

ringo

ABBA – Mamma Mia!

st

Elvis has left the Curve.

cynthia

Princess Diana survived the crash.

dance

There was a highly energetic dance performance to hype, er…Hypp.TV up the crowd…

unveiling

…before the official unveiling ceremony was done.

group

I quite liked the short and concise introduction to Hypp.TV – it flits through the channels they have, touches on the new features of the Hypp.TV media player before flicking through the sheer amount of content genres in the system.

pip

The best thing about the Hypp.TV media player is the ability for you to click on a link you’re interested in, which opens up a browser window while minimizing the broadband TV screen (much like the Picture in Picture function on TVs) so you can read the news while watching the latest soccer match. Of all the features, this is the one that impressed me the most. Another click takes you back to the full screen broadband TV screen. Nifty, eh?

Interested? Getting started is just 3 easy steps away!

1. Sign Up for a Hypp.TV account
Register a user account for free under the Free SIGN UP tab.

2. Launch Hypp.TV Media Player
Launch Hypp.TV Media Player under the Watch NOW! tab.

3. Sign In on Hypp.TV Media Player
Once Hypp.TV Media Player is launched, just sign in to watch!

press

There is another press conference after the public unveiling, but before I could digest all that information (no pun intended) I needed some food first.

food

The Hypp.TV relaunch is explained in further detail in the press conference, which we were privy to. It costs RM 9.90 per month for a full subscription to the service, which allows you to watch more than 30 channels. You’ll be spoilt for choice with channels like Al-Jazeera English (great for the occasional Osama videotaped broadcast), Channel NewsAsia, CCTV 4, WOW TV, Fashion TV, Wedding TV, Yoonic Fight Club, X-treme Video and even the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast for the Europe playoffs.
 
There are just too many channels to type – that’s just a small part of the 30+ channels Hypp.TV has to offer. There’s something for everyone! It’s perfect for the “I want it now” generation with its freedom of choice of what to watch and when to watch it.

nice

Gone are the nostalgic days of eagerly waiting by the TV at 9:45 pm armed with a mug of Milo to catch the 10 pm action movie every Thursday. It’s a whole new generation now, thanks for the extensive penetration of broadband, and the choices and options that comes with it. I digress.

hair

The best thing about Hypp.TV is the rich media integration – web, broadband TV, everything but the kitchen sink in one media player that’s so easy to use my grandma can probably navigate it with her eyes closed. Well, probably not with her eyes closed, but you get the point.

girl

Hypp.TV has a very user-friendly interface without any stop and start buffering in the video. That’s either great compression or just the nature of the system – I’m on Streamyx and Hypp.TV is hosted on their servers.

group end.

Hypp.TV – Freedom & Choice. Just a click away!

ruumz launch @ Mist, Bangsar Avenue

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mist bangsar

I went to Mist at Bangsar Avenue to attend the ruumz launch a couple of days ago. Mist has this really nifty tagline – Invigorate Intoxicate Impeccable. 🙂

ruumz

I have learned the advanced art of camwhoring. It is the hidden technique lost to man for many, many eons and recently rediscovered – the age-old sucking-your-cheeks-in-to-make-yourself-look-thinner stance. 😉

siao ling

I met Siao Ling, the Tuborg girl right after entering Mist. I’m not sure she appreciates being called that, but you must admit, it’s pretty catchy and easy to remember. 😉

ruumate

Be your ruummate? Can.

launch

The list of the usual suspects were there…

ginny

Got names dy. L-R: Natalie, Huai Bin, Jane, Ginny. This is the first time I met Nat and Jane.

zoe

Zoe who is hardly old enough to get into a club.

zoe cheesed

I prefer this photo. Haha! She looks so cheesed off. 😉

get in

Get in.

nuffnang

The Nuffnang people. Yee Hou is damn pro at camwhoring.

timothy

Timothy

nicholas

Nicholas

pinky

Pinky. This one got boyfriend liaw, cannot kiss. 😉

robb

Robb. Was it as good for you as it was for me? 😉

mellissa

Mellissa!

carol

Carol!

pillow

Rachel won this ruumz pillow but was kind enough to give it to me. I took it to camwhore with various people coz I like the tagline – my ruum or yours? I’m still wondering where that pillow ended up. I borrowed it to someone who never returned it. *cough* !

loved

Oh, it feels so good to be loved…

lasting

Unfortunately, the arcane art of camwhoring that I was practicing had the unintentional side effect of lasting the entire night. Oops…my bad. 😉

firdy

Firdy has mad skillz, yo. He can do the Matrix bullet dodging thing.

18sx

Things started getting a little 18SX after that with a lot of people being inebriated…so we shall stop here to avoid incriminating photos from being posted. 😉

elaine daly

I got a photo with Elaine Daly. =D

You are a You:nique snowflake

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hqnine

It was getting dark and I’ve been on the road for close to an hour. I stopped to ask for directions multiple times but I get conflicting instructions and end up driving around in circles. However, there is (neon) light at the end of the tunnel – I spotted the HQnine signage at TTDI! I was supposed to meet up with Nicholas for a couple of drinks at HQnine…it’s more comfortable than a rat-infested roadside mamak, that’s for sure.

speach

It seems that we have (inadvertently?) gate-crashed an event – it was a sneak preview at Alliance Bank’s new You:nique credit card. Except they call it the Picture Card, and with good reason too – you can put your own photo (or any other photo for that matter) on the face of the card! I don’t have any reservations against admitting my narcissistic tendencies – I can already imagine my likeness on the face of the credit card. Imagine the looks you’ll be getting when you pull out a credit card with your photo on it from your wallet! =D

younique

The card face is a tabula rasa – that’s “blank slate” for those of you who failed Latin. 😉 You get to choose what goes on top of the credit card. It’s revolutionary! You can either upload your own photo or choose a photo (except anything from goat.cx or veritas’ archives) and personalize your credit card!

We were subjected, er…I mean treated to a presentation by the good people at Alliance Bank about the features of the You:nique Picture Card. The website has a very user-friendly step-by-step process to guide you through the process of creating your very own personalized credit card.

pam

The presentation concluded with a question and answer session, with the poor people at Alliance fielding all sorts of stupid questions. My apologies, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people…with yours truly being one of them. 😉 I managed to glean quite a few details about the card that night from the barrage of questions I unleashed.

options

The amazing thing about the You:nique picture card is that you can choose the features you want!

Bargain hunter?



Choose Great Rebates – it gives you a 2% cash rebate for ALL retail purchases! Cash rebates regardless of where you shop…I can smell the demise of retail-credit card partnerships for specific store rebates. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. 😉

Strapped for cash?



Choose Great Rates – it offers a flat finance charge of 9% per annum instead of the 18% other banks are charging you right now. I think this plan is going to put a lot of loan sharks out of business – interest rates are finally dropping below the “unlicensed credit facilities” benchmark. Heh! It’s perfect for people like me, who spend more than what they earn. 😉

Love rewards?



Choose Great Rewards with its 2x (that’s DOUBLE) points reward for every retail purchase. You don’t have to wait for “promotion periods” – Alliance gives you TBP (Timeless Bonus Points) so you get twice the bang for your buck every time you swipe. It’s “promotion period” 24/7, 375 days a year with the You:nique credit card*!

* Except for leap years. It’ll be 366 days a year for leap years. Scared you with the asterisk, didn’t I? 😉

girls

It’s the first credit card in Malaysia to offer you the chance to personalize the face of the credit card. It’s also the first to allow you to CHOOSE the type of reward scheme you want! They agreed to match my credit limit, so I’m going to get one…a sixthseal.com Alliance Bank You:nique card! I already have a couple of designs in mind to customize the Picture Card.

…because just like you, I am a beautiful and You:nique snowflake. 😉

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Launch @ Pavilion

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teaser

Nokia had a teaser setup at Pavilion, KL with the cryptic message “Be here – 090109 @ 7 PM”. It’s the launch of their newest phone, the XpressMusic 5800 and I got the invite last week. I didn’t think I could make it, coz I had something going on at 5 pm, but I managed to hitch a ride with Horng and got there before it started.

reta

This is Reta – bumped into her while registering as a Nokia Insider at the booth. She was there as Media. I first met her way back in 2005.

thorn roses

There was ample time for camwhoring since the event didn’t start at 7 pm sharp. L-R: Reta, Suanie, the thorn amongst roses, Erna. Fate had me running into Erna at the worst possible place. Hush Erna. 😉

huei

This is Huei Juin, who works just beside my condo! Huei, we go dinner next week k?

performance

The Nokia 5800 XPM launch started off with a bang, with confetti flying all over the place followed by a wonderful performance by a troupe playing with various ad hoc percussion instruments like steel buckets, tins and so forth. It’s different and energetic and had the crowd dancing along to the beats.

manager

Vlasta Berka, the GM of Nokia Malaysia himself went on stage to introduce the features of the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. It retails at RM 1,499 and features a 3.2″ touchscreen with vibrating feedback. It also comes with a 3.2 MP camera. However, the best thing about this deal is that Nokia is giving away 1,000 DRM free songs for free with the phone!

michelangelos 

Nokia events are very, very well organized and they treat the guests well. The representatives invited the media to Michelangelo’s and I ended up going with them coz I saw Reta and Huei. I didn’t realize they were there as media.

kevin 

I spotted Kevin and sat next to him for 15 minutes before Suanie called me and asked me where the hell I was. I said I’m in Michelangelo’s. She told me everyone was at La Bodega. Oops…

la bodega

It turns out the Nokia Insiders (bloggers) were scheduled to be at La Bodega instead. The press conference for media was at Michelangelo’s. Oh well, best of both worlds. Heh!

beer

Nokia was kind enough to provide us with free flow beer, drinks and tapas throughout the night. The event was really very well organized, and they made sure we were all well fed and not in danger of dying from thirst.

paella

There was also a huge platter of seafood paella for each table and the staff made sure that plate after plate of tapas came in quick succession.

cindy tey

Whenever a significant amount of bloggers congregate, camwhoring sessions are inevitable. Cindy Tey – I have made it a point to take a photo with her in every event that we meet. 😉

ee von

This is Ee Von from Text100.

camwhore

I attempt to self-camwhore with a dSLR. I can’t do it, it’s too heavy. I noticed Jamie can do it like a pro though, and so can Yee Hou.

jamie

Jamie! I swear, she looks just like someone in the film industry, but I can’t recall whom. Check out the tabula rasa pass and the guy behind us.

zoe

Zoe! I need an external flash for my dSLR, I don’t think the built in one is up to the task.

goodies

Nokia gave us each a goodie bag with stickers, a rain poncho, a zip up pouch that I can use as a toiletries bag while traveling and a metal box with a heart shaped item inside.

usb drive

It’s a 2 GB USB drive with a lanyard!

schwag

Best schwag ever. =D

david

Thanks to David Lian of Text100 for getting me the invite. Cheers!

shit 

P/S – I am proud to announce that I did not break my New Year’s resolution. There were jugs and jugs of beer and most of the people around me were indulging, much to my chagrin. I wasn’t tempted though and I swear to God, my lips never touched a drop of the amber fluid during the event. I drank six glasses of OJ instead. 🙂

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