I think this is the first time ever in SMRT history that they shut down services between 2 stations for upgrading works. But I’m glad they are FINALLY doing the upgrade works. The train is really getting more and more overcrowded. Hope this will improve everything. The news say it will shorten waiting time from the current 2.5 to 4.5 minutes to 2 to 3 minutes.

But this also means that my house will be more or less disconnected from the rest of civilization this weekend. Or maybe I should just cancel all appointments this weekend and stay in Pulau Jurong. Hmmm……

Do you recongnise all the places? Some of the buildings still exist today.

Firstly, the Windows Phone 7 is a complete rewrite from the Windows Mobile 6.5. There is no similarity between Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile 6.5. (No more START button. Yippie!!!) Which is something good. Microsoft made the right move by reseting the entire mobile OS. Windows Mobile 6.5 belongs to the PalmOS era. The Windows Phone 7 is able to let Microsoft compete better with other mobile OS like iOS and Android.

The home screen consists of “live tiles” which are dynamic icons. Interface is pretty straight forward and easy to use. Microsoft does not allow phone makers to slap another layer of user interface on top of the existing Windows Phone 7 interface. I don’t really mind that since the Windows Phone 7 interface is pretty good. But I wonder how are phone makers going to compete against each other if they can’t customize the home screen.

Microsoft also make it a must for all Windows Phone 7 maker to include 3 physical button on their phone. These 3 buttons are Back Button, Window Button and Search button. Phone makers can, however, add more buttons if they wish to. I’m expecting lots of phone makers to have the dial and hang up button too. But honestly, I think the Back, Window and search button is good enough. Oh ya, the camera button is also a must for all Windows Phone 7. WAIT! Does that means all Windows Phone must come with camera? Hmmmm….. Let me get back to you on this.

There is quite a bit of facebook integration on the Windows Phone 7 platform. You can synchronize your contact book with facebook contacts. Strangely, there isn’t any integration for Twitter yet. But not to worry, I’m sure someone will write an app for that. And yes, the Windows Phone 7 does come with an app store. That’s the default thing for most smart mobile OSes. Right? I didn’t get a chance to look at how the App Store looks like. There is also no information on whether Singapore will have paid apps or not during Windows Phone 7 launch. I’m praying that there will be. It’s always good to have a wide selection of free and paid apps.

Office suite comes installed on all Windows Phone 7. I’m pretty impressed with the One Note which allows you to take note easily. There is also Word and Excel on the Windows Phone 7. There is also a Zune music player. From what I understand, the interface is the same as the Zune MP3 player. Users can synchronize and transfer music and audio files between their phone and PC using the Zune PC software as long as there is no Digital Rights Management restrictions. I don’t have information on whether Singapore will have Zune Marketplace. My guess is no. It’s just like iTunes Store. We just don’t get it here in Singapore.

I didn’t get a chance to try out the Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 because it was not ready when I test out the phone. But there is already a long list of games that Windows Phone 7 users can expect to see on their phone. You have Bejeweled LIVE, Fruit Ninja, Guitar Hero 5, Mini Squadron, Real Soccer 2, Star Wars: Battle for Hoth etc etc etc…… There’s too many for me to list everything down here. If you are interested, hop over to Microsoft’s website for the full list. The Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 will also offer try-before-you-buy demos, Xbox LIVE leaderboards, turn-based multiplayer modes and achievements.

Windows Phone 7 is looking pretty exciting. Can’t wait to see the first phone running Windows Phone 7. It would be interesting to see Microsoft using Windows Phone 7 to compete with other Mobile Phone OS like iOS, Android and BlackBerry. We should be expecting to see Windows Phone 7 be out in the market by end of the year.

Anyway, Tech65 had a small party over the weekend to thank all our friends and supporters. Here is the video we made for the party. Enjoy.

最怕空氣突然安靜
最怕朋友突然的關心
最怕回憶突然翻滾絞痛著不平息
最怕突然聽到你的消息

想念如果會有聲音
不愿那是悲傷的哭泣
事到如今終於讓自已屬於我自已
只剩眼淚還騙不過自己

突然好想你你會在哪里
過的快樂或委屈
突然好想你突然鋒利的回憶
突然模糊的眼睛

我們像一首最美麗的歌曲
變成兩部悲傷的電影
為什麼你帶我走過最難忘的旅行
然後留下最痛的紀念品

我們那麼甜那麼美那麼相信
那麼瘋那麼熱烈的曾經
為何我們還是要奔向
各自的幸福和遺憾中老去

突然好想你你會在哪里
過的快樂或委屈
突然好想你突然鋒利的回憶
突然模糊的眼睛

最怕空氣突然安靜
最怕朋友突然的關心
最怕回憶突然翻滾絞痛著不平息
最怕突然聽到你的消息
最怕此生已經決定自己過
沒有你卻又突然聽到你的消息

All that is required is to purchase a 6-pack of Singha Beer, submit the cutout coupon at the bottom of the pack and stand a chance to spend 5 days and 4 nights in Japan with Oli and Linda and to watch the F1 Japan Grand Prix with exclusive VIP Paddock Passes. Not only that, there are many other prizes to be won, including a pair of Gold Grand Stand tickets to the F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

So Cheers!!!

Windows 95 was launched on 24 August 1995. It is a significant change from the older Windows 3.1. I still remember using Windows 95 for the first time in my Secondary School’s library. Took me some time for me to figure out how to use it. Before that, I was using MSDOS and Windows 3.1. Little did I know that 15 years later, some of the things that were on the Windows 95 are still seen in the latest Windows 7. Like start button and recycle bin.

I wonder who is still using Windows 95 now. Personally, I prefer Windows 98 which is much more stable than Win 95.

Happy 15th Birthday Windows 95. You still haven’t reach the legal drinking age yet. Haha.

Oh, here is some promotional videos done by Microsoft 15 years ago. They look kinda cheezy now. Maybe it is popular back then. Or maybe it’s already considered cheezy back then.

Enjoy!!!!

I don’t know about you, but somehow this reminds me of the Window 7 party video. Some things doesn’t change.

Apps can start as low as US$0.99. Payment for apps can be made via PayPal and Credit Cards. BlackBerry App World have a feature to charge your purchase to your next Telco bill. But this feature is not yet available in Singapore as no arrangement has been made between RIM and the 3 telcos. Let’s hope talks are in the way and we’ll be able to charge purchases to our Telco bill soon.

As much as I love free apps, sometimes you can’t deny the fact that paid apps usually have higher quality. So having a paid app section is always good for the mobile OS ecosystem.Let’s hope developers will make full use of this App World and start developing quality apps for BlackBerry.

BlackBerry also released their App World 2.0. The biggest improvement that I can see on the BlackBerry App World 2.0 is the addition of BlackBerry ID. BlackBerry ID let’s you manage app easily and seamlessly transfer all apps when switching to a new BlackBerry smartphone. If you have a BlackBerry, why not try it out?

Just follow @LaptopFail on Twitter, tell them your laptop fail stories and you might stand a chance to win in the weekly prize giveaways of $100 gift vouchers and the attractive grand prize of a brand new laptop.

Interesting contest. But sadly, I haven’t got any epic laptop fail story to share. Wait… how about this?

I fail to have a epic laptop fail story to share with @LaptopFail. FML, can’t stand a chance to win a new laptop.

Hmmmmm….. nah…. this will not work. I need to try harder.

PS: Join the facebook group too.