The TeochewThunder Logo Change

TeochewThunder's logo has changed. You heard it here first! Well, duh.

More than ten years have passed since I first started TeochewThunder. Back then, the logo looked like this.

I was going for something whacky in my favorite color, orange. Thus, the crying-face emoji "T___T" became my goto. And I used some super-basic text art creator (was it MS Word? I really can't recall) to put that cheeky bend on it.

The time has come for a slight change. I still want that "T___T", but I want the second "T" to look like a lightning bolt! Teochew "Thunder", right?

I'd been thinking about a brand renewal for a while now, but never quite got round to it. Mostly because while the first logo was a complete rush job and very casually done, it really grew on me the last decade. Especially when I saw it in browsers or on my mobile.

The Favicon in browser.

The Favicon in mobile.

The end result was that I kept putting off the task of creating a new logo, and implementing the change. Why fix it if it ain't broke, amirite?

That one final push

As it turned out, the choice was made for me. My trusty faithful Lenovo died, and with it the source file for the logo. This meant that if I ever wanted a fresh copy to resize or whatnot, I would have to work off existing exported images. Not exactly ideal.

Thus, I bit the bullet. This time, I created an SVG. This meant that as long as I had the formula for the SVG, I could recreate it from anywhere. All I had to do was save it to my GitHub account, and I was good for eternity. And also, being an SVG, it could be scaled up and down infinitely with no loss in quality.

New Favicon in browser.

New Favicon in mobile.

The rest of the month was spent replacing the logo everywhere I found it. I replaced it on GitHub, Trello, and on the signoffs of my blogposts. And of course, the Favicon. However, I'm too fond of the old logo to totally let it go. What I'm going to do is leave it as legacy, but use the new logo for all other content moving forward.

Keep Thundering On!

When I first learned how to make SVGs, it wasn't with this express purpose in mind. But I'm glad I invested that time and effort.

Stay iconic,
T___T

SGActive Plus: How much of a plus is it?

Booking sports facilities in Singapore is undergoing an upgrade... of sorts. I found this out earlier in the month when, on my daily evening swim at Clementi Swimming Complex, I was alerted to a poster by the entrance. This poster informed of an upcoming upgrade to the existing SGActive app on the 15th of August.

Informational posters.

On the 15th of August, the existing app would no longer be in use. All swim passes would need to be purchased on the new SGActive Plus web portal. Logging in to the new SGActive Plus web portal before the end of this month, would also get you 10 free credits. I wasted no time logging in because, being a regular user of the facilities, I needed to ensure that there would be minimal interruption to my lifestyle.

What happened

On the 13th of August, my current monthly pass expired and I had to purchase a new one. Due to the fact that it was not yet the 15th, I had to purchase my monthly swim pass from the old platform, with the understanding that this pass should still last an entire month. However, when I went to Clementi Swimming Complex again on the 15th of August, the gantries at the entrance had been blocked and now we needed new passes that had to be purchased from the new system.

No longer accessible.

The elderly attendant at the entrance cheerfully helped me navigate to the web portal and used one of my 10 free credits to purchase a pass for the day, assuring me that whatever I paid for my monthly pass previously, would be refunded in September. That was when I paused - if I had to do this every day till September arrived, the free credits would run out in no time. Surely this attendant should have helped me purchase a monthly pass (now known as a multi pass) instead? But no, he'd made an assumption. And now that I only had 9 credits left, attempting to purchase a 10 GSD monthly pass on the new platform would cost me a dollar. Not that I cared about the dollar - it was more the troublesome process of paying online. A process I could have avoided if this attendant had just thought to ask me instead of simply assuming a single pass was what I needed.

But that's OK. Didn't really want to get on this old man's case too much. It's not like he asked for any of this. I'm sure this was a great cushy retirement gig up to now.

Is this an improvement?

Well, in terms of the interface used to make purchases, I'm of the opinion that it would be extremely difficult to have any interface be worse than the one employed by the SGActive app. My feelings on this absolute abortion of an app have been made abundantly clear in my last review in 2018.

In terms of having to present an animated pass on my phone instead of simply having a reader at the gantry scan my Identity Card, I suppose one could argue that it's more secure. To use an Identity Card, one only needs to be in possession of said Identity Card. To use the pass displayed on the phone, one needs to be in possession of the phone and have the credentials (usually biometrics) necessary to log into the phone and access the SGActive Plus web account.

Animated
swim pass.

However, I'd also venture to say that in the event that a malicious actor came into possession of someone's Identity card, using it to obtain access to sports facilities wouldn't exactly be high on the list of things to do.

All said and done, I'm in favor of any proposed solution that will allow me to speak of the SGActive app in the past tense.

The real issue

So, the change was a good thing overall. The isssue I take with this, is the implementation of the change. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been the only one to be caught off-balance by the sudden nature of the cut-off.

One day we're using this platform, and a day later, we have to use something else. In most cases of system upgrades, old and new systems are run in parallel to minimize disruption to users while preparing them for the inevitable. Plus, with more time to prepare, the attendant would (hopefully) have done a better job. There'd be less confusion, for sure.

The new
10 SGD
monthly
swim pass.

The 10 free credits was a good idea, both as an incentive for early adoption, and a good way to ease users over to the new platform. Unfortunately, cases like mine happened; and I wonder if 12, maybe 15 free credits would have been better if we absolutely had to do that sudden cut-off. At the very least, we could have used those credits to figure the system out. Make some mistakes.

As it was, whatever money I spent on the old platform that couldn't be moved to the new, would be refunded next month. At the end of next month. It's fine, it's 10 bucks. Still annoying, but not a show stopper.

Final thoughts

Not to be too critical of change; it was about time. Though one might argue that the time for a new improved platform was roughly ten years ago when the app first came out; it was that bad.

Hope your day's going swimmingly well,
T___T

TeochewThunder: Year Nine (Part 1/2)

Here it is - the big Nine!

Yes, it has been nine years since I embarked on the improbable journey that was this tech blog. At times, it has felt less like a tech blog and more like a philosophy or even political blog. But I suppose multiple things can be true at the same time. As long as this blog stays true to its mission of documenting my own little tech journey, I think all is well.

Happy ninth birthday!

That aside, the fact that this blog has gone on for nine years, staying on course with the same format as all the preceding years since 2014, is a testament to my consistency. Hey, it's one hell of a moment; I think I'm allowed a little self-congratulations. Still, change is inevitable, and in some cases, I think change can be beneficial. For example, I've been attempting to not swear so fucking much express my views in a less inflammatory and moderate manner, and since less posts now carry the Profanity Alert tag, I seem to have largely succeeded. Room for improvement, though!

AI Image Generation

2023 is probably the year that AI became mainstream, with text and image generators making their runds on the market. I've actually used both. Text generators such as ChatGPT to generate filler text for code, and image generators (sch as Imagine) to produce nice pictures for the blog.

Imagine

In recent years, I've been mostly using stock photos, but sometimes the search is long and the results are underwhelming. Being able to generate pretty much what I need with a reasonable degree of accuracy has proven to be an attraction too great to ignore. The problem with such images, however, it that people often look unrealistic and deformed. Thus, I've tried to limit such image generation to animals, plants and inanimate objects. Anything that absolutely requires human parts in the image, I continue relying on stock photos. I think it's an acceptable compromise.

Tech Content

As is par for the course with other years, much of my repertoire has revolved around HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and occasionally PHP. But true to form, I have been experimenting with other technologies. Not new programming languages, but new software.

Oracle APEX

Low-Code solutions was something I embarked upon after attending Oracle's CloudWorld Tour back in April. Oracle APEX sounded promising at the time, and after some tinkering, I have not found myself overly impressed. However, I have not been thoroughly underwhelmed either. And thus I have actually, as is my wont, used a technology I am learning, to create something I want. The result is last month's web tutorial.

This year, QBasic made the rare appearance in one of my web tutorials. There's quite the story behind that one, but go read the web tutorial if you want to know.

Other Content

There's been a fair bit brewing around the world. The rise of AI, global unrest, and much moving and shaking in big tech. Stuff has happened in Singapore as well, but unless I can somehow tie it to a tech angle, I tend not to feature it on the blog.

Gobal news!

One point of evolution of this blog is that gradually, I have been screening out things that are big enough for me to talk about. If it's about tech, that's an obvious inclusion. If it's not so much about tech but more about Singapore or workplace issues, then it's still relevant as long as I can make it relevant. The rule is that I should not have to try too hard to make it relevant.

I've also gone into the process of tag removal. Over the years, the number of tags that simply were not important enough to warrant being repeated, has grown. In my defense, they seemed important at the time, and it's only with the benefit of hindsight that I realized a substantial amount of cleanup was needed. This is an ongoing process though, so bear with me!

My Equipment

As I write this passage, I am doing it on a creaky and flickering laptop that is undoubtedly on its last legs. This machine has served me since 2015, a few months after I embarked on TeochewThunder. It has been 8 years. Ah, the memories. The support on the Windows version has run out, and I'm dragging my feet on moving on to a new machine.

Thankfully, in 2020, I bought a MacBook Air and the little beauty's got some life in her yet. I expect that soon I will be moving on from presenting screenshots from my Windows machine, to taking screenshots from my MacBook Air.

Failing equipment.

My mobile phone is not what one would call state of the art and is in dire need of an upgrade. Still, thankfully, it seems to have weathered much abuse and should hold out for a while yet. Hopefully, the upcoming blogging break will give me ample time to transition to machines that aren't decrepit to the point of embarrassment.

Next

We examine the highs and lows of the blog.

Do Not Confuse Data With Information

There are two terms that are often erroneously interchanged - data and information. To the layperson, they may sound like the same thing and indeed, they are synonyms in the Thesaurus; however, I submit that they should not be confused with each other even to a layperson. Especially to a layperson.

What is the main difference? In a word, context.

Information is made up of different pieces of data that form a coherent whole. Data, therefore, is information that has no context. It is simply text, numbers, dates and even images and audio clips, few of which make any sense on their own. For data to become useful information, often it has to be sorted, arranged and recalculated, and even paired with other data.

Data center.

This is why a data center is not known as an information center. The contents of a data center's servers are data, not information. It has not yet been processed; it has merely been stored.

This is why an information counter is not known as a data counter. Data counters are vastly different things; consider a data counter on your mobile phone to show you how much data you have used for this month. But an information counter is, literally, a counter on which one obtains information.

Adding significance to data

Let's say I have some data. "My wife's birthday is on 16th April." When I see this, my first response would be to say - so what? Why is this a big deal? Pfft, that's just a day and month, I even know the year she was born.

Birthday girl.

But... what if the next piece of data was "Today's date is 11th April."? Again, that's just today's date. On its own, it is hardly significant.

However, when you put these two pieces of data together, there's context. It has become information. And the information is that my wife's birthday is in five days! The provided context now has important implications. Now the data is significant.

Editor's Note: Yes, I'm writing a blogpost about Data Analytics on my wife's birthday. Talk about having a death wish.

Adding depth to data

Let us use a soccer example this time. Say, "Mohamed Salah has scored a total of 44 goals in the 2018 / 2019 season." OK, that sounds impressive already on its own. But this has no context.

What if I was to add in a few more statements?

"The last player to score 44 goals in one season was Christiano Ronaldo, in the 2008 / 2009 season."
"The next highest scorer this season was Harry Kane, with 22 goals."

Goal!

Now we have context. Firstly, the last time this record was equaled was ten years ago. Secondly, no other player in the 2018 / 2019 season even came close, with the next highest score half of this! This helps to provide understanding of exactly why 44 goals in that season was such a great feat. We establish that it is not something that gets achieved frequently.

Editor's Note: These are not actual statistics.

Possibly changing a conclusion

My dearly departed grandmother once said that I am "her favorite grandson". Statistically, that means I rank Numero Uno out of all the grandchildren she had. All well and good, right?

Grandmas are great.

So let's add in another bit of data. How many grandsons did my grandmother have?

One. Me, obviously.

Well, shit, of course that would make me Number One in the popularity rankings by default. Because there is no Number Two! This could turn into a conversation on how a decent sample size is required for meaningful statistical analysis, but my point is - context was added and this changed the conclusion that was inferred by one singular piece of data.

Finally

Data can be misleading or incomplete if presented on their own. Often, other data is required to provide context, and convert data into actual, actionable information. The examples presented were actually pretty simplistic. This was meant for simple illustration, but I trust they proved my point adequately!

For your data information,
T___T

Film Review: Black Mirror Series Three (Part 1/3)

Black Mirror has grown! Series Three is a whopping six episodes, and today we are going through just three of them because, y'know, my mental bandwidth is limited.

We have Nosedive, Playtest and Shut Up and Dance. All good in their own way, and as usual, centered around how tech can ruin your lives.

Warning

The language can be pretty spicy, and obviously there will be spoilers. So let's forge on ahead!

The Premise

The first episode, Nosedive, revolves around the life of Lacie Pound in a world where social approval and clout has become everything. We see how her life rapidly derails after a series of incidents which see her approval rating, er, well, nosedive.

The Characters

A chunky Bryce Dallas Howard as Lacie Pound. She put on thirty pounds to play the role of the insecure chubby girl, and man, that's dedication! Gotta say, the role was very well performed too. We get to see Lacie put on a fake face for approval, her desperation for social climbing and her occasional nastiness which slips out. Howard is superb! I've seen her from films like The Village, Spider-man 3, Terminator Salvation and Jurassic World, and this lady can be such a chameleon.

Alice Eve plays the Alpha bitch Naomi Jayne Blestow with aplomb. The last I saw of her was from Iron Fist Season Two, and Star Trek: Into Darkness. This role fit her like a second skin.

James Norton as Ryan Pound, Lacie's brother. This actor did great with what little material he had. The character was a slacker, and snarky, but also genuine in his misgivings as to what his sister had become in her pursuit for public approval. And the character had great lines. Like, really zingy. Guy nails every scene he's in.

There's sugary and then there's fucking diabetes.

Michela Coel makes a brief appearance as an unnamed airport service counter officer. Saw her recently in Wakanda Forever. The scene here lasts a few minutes, but she does well. That eyebrow game is strong.

Alan Ritchson as Paul Mathesen. I watched the first season of Reacher right before I watched this one, and almost did not recognize him right away. There's just not much meat to the role other than to look hunky and act borderline gay with his best bud, Ant.

Daisy Haggard overacts as Bethany or "Bets". Or maybe she was supposed to be over-the-top and Haggard did too good a job... I can't decide which.

Kadiff Kirwan as Chester, who looks pathetic and ready to burst into tears in every scene. That's the character, not the actor. Actor did just fine.

Cherry Jones as Susan. I first got a sinister vibe when she was introduced, but that was the episode gaslighting me into taking her 1.4 rating seriously. No, she turns out to be pretty all right, if a bit kooky, with a tragic backstory and all that should have served as a warning for Lacie.

Colin Moss as Paul's bestie, Anthony, or "Ant". Frat boy shit. Nothing to see here, move along.

Andrew Roux as the car booth attendant. It was a short appearance, but the eye-rolling snark was delicious!

Sope Dirisu plays the black dude who's Lacie's jail mate. Good-looking, well-cuffed, foul-mouthed. A delightful package for such a short appearance.

De-wet Nagel as Reputelligent consultant Hansen Davis. As someone who's studied Data Analytics, I had a real kick out of watching him explain Lacie's popularity stats to her.

The Mood

The atmosphere is relentlessly colorful and bright. In fact, it's artificially so, as if someone's trying just a little too hard. This is deliberate; to show the viewer just how fake and garish all this is. Everyone laughs, smiles, giggles... and is way too nice for it to be real. The episode looks like a moving stock photo in parts!

What I liked

The whole clout-chasing thing reminds me of how people Follow each other on Clubhouse and Instagram. It's very on the nose.

The look on the cabbie's face as Lacie squeals and giggles in the back seat, is to die for.

The cars. So pretty!

The booth attendant is obviously watching porn when Lacie interrupts him. While we can't see it, the sounds coming from his earbuds are pretty telling.

The way the smile on Naomi's face fades when her groom and best man are hugging it out, is a delectable nod to some social dynamics. Adds depth to the episode.

Despite having put on thirty pounds to play Lacie Pound (wow, talk about apt names!), Bryce Dallas Howard still looks yummy without that dress on. No, no pics, you pervs.

The jail cell bars are glass (probably bulletproof) or plastic with air holes. Nice touch!

Lacie's traded insults with her cell neighbor are pretty creative. And the sheer glee behind the vitriol they spit at each other, is a joy to watch.

What I didn't

I know that scene was necessary, but watching Lacie rehearse her speech was just so cringe.

Lacie just asks a guy if she can borrow his bike, and he just lets her have it? How?! Before, it was shown that road users are really dicks who will kick you when you're down. Pains were taken to show that Susan was a rare exception. Plus, I don't think the guy even got his bike back!

Conclusion

This was such a typical Black Mirror storyline. Tech and Social Media fucks lives up. But yes, thoroughly enjoyable. Sure didn't hurt that they had some of the most watchable faces in cinema in this episode - Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve and Alan Ritchson.

It's a strong start to Series Three, that's for sure!

My Rating

9.5 / 10

Next

Playtest

Film Review: Black Mirror Series Two (Part 2/3)

Moving on to the next episode... White Bear. This is another utterly dystopian and depressing episode even by Black Mirror's exalted standards.

The Premise

A woman wakes up with a headache in what appears to be a strange house. She has no recollection of how she got here. The symbol below is shown on all the TV screens she encounters.

Things take a turn for the worse when she ventures outside and finds herself in the center of some kind of bizarre hunt. There's a nasty twist at the end when this turns out to be some kind of fucked up reality show.

The Characters

Lenora Crichlow is Victoria Skillane, and boy does she do some fine work here. Her pain, fear and distress are palpable at every turn, and even when I learned what she's done to deserve this cruel and unusual punishment, I didn't stop feeling sympathy.

Tuppence Middleton plays Jem, the ally Victoria encounters during the hunt, who turns out to be messing with her. Middleton didn't do such a great job, really. There was just something really off about how she acted that made me suspect her right from the get-go. Or maybe that's just some really exceptional acting. I can't quite decide.

Michael Smiley is the showrunner Baxter and one of the hunters. He's somehow even more menacing and scary when he's trying to be affable to the audience, than when he's acting like a gun-toting maniac. The accent is pretty fun to listen to, though.

Ian Bonar as Damian, who gets "killed" early. Later on when we see him again, he's pretty matter-of-fact about the job he's doing.

Elisabeth Hopper and Nick Bartlett as the other hunters. They seem to be having a lot of fun in their roles, and really, who wouldn't?

Imani Jackson as Jemima Sykes, the little black girl who was murdered. She's only seen in footage, and she is adorable! Which has the effect of making the crime seem worse, I suppose.

The Mood

The paranoia has been ratcheted up to unreal levels during this entire episode. When Victoria is being hunted by masked killers, there's shades of The Purge coupled with the ridiculous sight of people recording all this footage on their cellphones. It's unknown who is actually on Victoria's side, until the final moment where it's revealed that nobody is.

In fact, due to some crime she committed which, in turn due to brainwashing, she cannot recall, she's pretty much the center of a lot of hate at fever pitch.

After that, the scenes are more of the horror of being universally detested - there's no more mystery here.

What I liked

The setup is so chilling, OMG. These shots of victims being strung up on trees is so macabre.

It's great that little Jemima had a white mother and black father. That's pretty woke and inclusive without being too in-your-face about it.

Ouch. These guys have been repeating the scenario for how many days in a row now?! Victoria must totally stink after that many days of sweating with no time to take a bath!

Making this reality game show about Jemima's white teddy bear is just a devilishly neat touch.

The scenes that come on during the credits, showing everything that went on backstage, really nailed it for me.

What I didn't

That White Bear symbol looks like a Tetris block and really serves no purpose whatsoever. Ostensibly it was the same tattoo on Victoria's boyfriend's skin and used as the symbol for this hunt, but I wonder if the show would have been better without it.

It just seems unrealistic that in a three-on-one scenario, with the first hunter tangled up with Damian and Jem having a fire extinguisher with her and Victoria pretty much free to do anything, that they would just leave them there and run. Sure, it was an act, but that's what killed any realism for me at that point.

Conclusion

This episode does so much with a small main cast and an hour's running time. Like the last episode, there's almost zero humor in this one, but fuck it, it doesn't need any. The story spun around this extremely nasty punishment is masterfully done. It also manages to poke fun at the Bystander Syndrome, that phenomenon where people tend to just take cellphone footage of people in trouble, without even trying to help.

But the true horror is that the tragedy is being milked for profit. White Bear Monument Park is set up to ostensibly let the public take part in Victoria's punishment, but ultimately this feels like an excuse to cash in on little Jemima's grisly fate. What happens to Victoria, having to relive the terror of being hunted day after day, to finally be confronted by her crimes which she can no longer remember, is nothing short of horrific. Especially since her memory has been repeatedly erased and she's pretty much a clean slate with none of the murderous personality that led her to commit those crimes in the first place. The fact that Baxter and the audience are so self-righteous about it, really underlines the nastiness of Victoria's fate regardless of how horrible her original crime was. Trial by Social Media, anyone?

My Rating

9.5 / 10

Next

The Waldo Moment

Five Ways To Reuse Tech Packaging Materials

When tech products are purchased, they invariably come with packaging. Stuff that, more often than not, needs to be disposed of because it just isn't useful anymore. What if I said you didn't have to? What if I told you there are uses for that shit?

Here are some of the ways I've put old tech discardables to other uses.

1. Toilet roll holder

This used to hold a stack of writable DVDs. Remember those? Well... DVDs are this close to obsolete, and with them, the spokes that used to hold them aren't very far behind.

From this...

... to this!

But did you also know they make great toilet roll holders?!

This baby has been with me for years. It was from my first job in Desktop Support. I actually have a lot more of these, but my then-colleagues saw how useful they were and decided they wanted some toilet roll holders, too.

2. Laptop elevator

Look at this. So much packaging for one Oppo mobile phone. It's really neat and all, but what do we do with this once we remove the mobile phone?

All that packaging.

In my case, I use this as an elevating platform for my MacBook. Because I'm too el cheapo to get an actual elevator.

My MacBook resting on the
makeshift platform.

View from the side.

And here's another view from the side, where I've glued socket protectors to the side of the table to act as posts to coil excess cable around.

3. Container

Here's another example from mobile phone packaging. This one was from a ASUS ZenFone, maybe five years back.

More packaging.

Turn them into containers.

In this case, I managed to divide it into two uses. The outer sheath was used as a container for my other pairs of backup glasses. Because, when your eyesight isn't that good, you can't have enough backup glasses. The other was used as a container for all my spare change. And since I'm anal that way, I actually used those compartments to separate different coin denominations!

4. Mobile Phone Stand

Sometimes, it needs a little more work.

Cute, ain't it.

This little cardboard box used to hold a mouse. I cut a slit into the top flap and turned the box into a stand for charging one of my mobile phones.

5. Tray

These cardboard pieces were from MacBook Pro packaging. They were used to wrap the sides of the box that contained the laptop. Overkill? I don't know. But once my colleague unwrapped it, I knew I could use those cardboard pieces.

For what exactly?

And yet more packing material.

Here be cigarettes.

Trays for holding stuff. Like, ahem, cigarettes. Maybe snacks. Odds and ends. Come on, use your imagination!

Conclusion

Some might call this a form of recycling trash. I prefer the term "re-purposing". These things are no longer trash now that we've discovered a new purpose for them, right?

Good recycling to bad rubbish!
T___T

Making the contact tracing effort mandatory

Singapore is still in the middle of the COVID-19 battle; indeed, so is the rest of the world no matter what New Zealand claims. All due respect to NZ, but as long as an effective vaccine has not been created, the war is not over and all celebration is premature.

To that end, Singapore is intending to distribute the wearable TraceTogether token, which functions pretty much like the app of the same name. The app, along with the SafeEntry app (which is basically an online form called by scanning a QR code - rudimentary but effective) were rolled out the past few months as aids to help the contact tracing effort. However, they have not been altogether adequate.

The TraceTogether app

This app uses the Bluetooth feature on mobile phones, tracking all similarly enabled mobile phones within a radius. Therefore, in theory, one should be able to trace whomever an infected user was in close contact with.

Using TraceTogether.

Unfortunately, this does not work so well on iOS devices, and even on Android devices. It also has the annoying side-effect of hogging the Bluetooth signal. As long as this app is on, your mobile can't use Bluetooth for anything else.

Also, the older population may not be tech-savvy enough to actually know how to use a mobile phone, much less install an app.

The SafeEntry app

This solution is deployed at the entrances of all buildings, and every shop within a mall. Upon entry, the user is supposed to scan the QR code, go to the page and click the "Check-in" button after entering details such as NRIC and mobile number. Upon exit, the user should click the "check-out" button.

SafeEntry is useless in the open.

Not only is this troublesome AF, it's all too easy to forget to "check-out". And one can even more easily lose track of all the places checked in at. Just try going to any building from the underpass at Orchard MRT.

In addition, this method is deployed only at entrances of businesses. Meaning, it doesn't do jackshit to help trace people who might have contracted COVID-19 out in the open.

What the TraceTogether token solves

Basically, anything that involves considerable conscious effort on the part of the user, is suspect. People are human; they get lazy and slipshod. Wearing the token ensures that tracking will be done everywhere, without the need to install apps or click buttons.

Along with that, the Singapore Government might be about to make the wearing of this token mandatory; that is, if you are found not to have that token on your person, you will be fined and/or jailed. This has predictably raised a ruckus, with people signing some lame petition against it, just about guaranteeing that the law will be passed.

People are concerned, despite pretty much handing their data over to Facebook and Google every time they use their mobile phones (or even when they don't), that the Government will abuse this privilege to track their every movement. They're concerned for their freedom and privacy. They'd rather let the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai take their data for profit, but not their own Government who are trying to save their lives. Some have even suggested that the Government is using this outbreak as an excuse to implement a surveillance state.

Are you guys for real?!

Oh FFS, children. Grow up!

The token doesn't check your location. It checks who was in close contact with you. That's a whole different kettle of fish. I've found that most of the people raising a fuss aren't technically inclined... the techies I know aren't concerned in the least. Because we actually know shit, and we know this doesn't do what you think it does!

And even if it does track your every movement...

Maybe I haven't made myself perfectly clear the last few times I wrote about this, but fuck your precious privacy. Lives are at stake. In case you've been living under a rock and don't know what we're dealing with here, COVID-19 is a very infectious disease which can lead to death. The fact that only twenty-plus people have died out of a possible forty thousand infected in Singapore so far, is no reason to be complacent.

COVID-19, on its own, is not that deadly a disease. However, it is extremely contagious and Singaporeans behaving like utter retards at every opportunity makes this disease even more dangerous than it already is. We're stupid and ill-disciplined, and will willingly disregard self-preservation and the safety of others for instant gratification. That's what the past few months of observation have shown me.

If the TraceTogether token is not made mandatory, that means much faith has to be placed in the hands of Singaporeans to do the right thing for the greater good... and I'm not at all sure we're deserving of that amount of faith.

Oh, the COVIDity!
T___T

Tough Times Ahead For Huawei?

Everyone's talking about it - everyone with a mobile phone and access to the Internet, that is.

A couple days ago, Google stunned the world by announcing that it was blocking Huawei's access to Google Play and Android updates. This was in response to the USA sanctions imposed on China trade as part of the US-China Trade War. Huawei's problems were compounded when suppliers such as Infineon Technologies and Qualcomm announced a halt to shipments to Huawei until they could figure out if said business arrangements were in violation of US Trade Law.

Is Huawei in trouble?

Is Huawei in trouble? The China tech company certainly appears to be in dire straits. After all, without suppliers, how do parts for devices get assembled? Without access to user technology such as apps, how will users use Huawei phones at all?

It would be premature to write Huawei off at this point in time. If it were any other company in any other country, maybe. But this is China, and China has its own ecosystem of apps, and more importantly, a large enough domestic market to support it. In fact, it's this very market that companies such as Facebook and Google wanted to tap back then, but failed.

Sure, Huawei phones won't be able to use Gmail. But the Chinese use QQ. True, no Google search. But the Chinese use Baidu. Getting the idea yet, or am I going to have to trot out the hundred and one alternatives for the apps that the Chinese are not going to miss? This situation really affects non-Chinese Huawei users the most... and all I can say is, tough titty, folks.

The USA may just have miscalculated, though. With a strong domestic market and their own technology, there is a distinct possibility that Huawei being forced to get creative could result in them digging deep and emerging from this with stronger, superior tech. Undoubtedly, it'll take time. But again, this is China. They've been around like, forever. They've got nothing but time.

Unfair practices?

People are going on and on about unfair practices on the part of the USA, and others are retaliating with retorts that China started it by banning Google and Facebook a while back.

First of all, China did not ban Google. Not deliberately, anyway. By default, all external parties are banned unless they adhere to China's policy of censorship. Not that I like censorship, but China's been completely consistent here. Comply, or fuck off. Google opted for the latter, because those restrictions went against the freedom of information it stands for. One could, of course, make a case for China eliminating competition for search engines and Social Media such as Baidu and Weibo, but on the surface at least, China's position is pretty legitimate.

Secondly, it's a Trade War, children. There's nothing fair or unfair about it. It is what it is.

Are you Team China or Team USA?

Personally, I couldn't give a monkey's left nut. Why do I have to choose a side? I'm a consumer. I'm on the consumer's side. And if this results in Huawei blossoming in its independence and churning out a new generation of devices that will break the Android and iOS stranglehold on global markets today, all the better. Tech wins.

As to who wins this Trade War, your guess is as good as mine. I think China and USA severely underestimate each other.

China has weathered many a storm over millennia, and this latest thing is merely a blip in a long history full of violence and turmoil. It's really difficult to see the Chinese breaking a sweat over this. They may seem arbitrary and inflexible, but damn if they don't know how to take a beating.

The USA may seem complacent and smug, but remember you're dealing with the spirit that manufactured the nuclear bomb, and even used a couple to end World War Two.

Looks like it's their wei or the highwei! (hur hur)
T___T

Film Review: Searching

Welcome back to TeochewThunder!

Let's kick off the month with a film review about a man and his missing kid - Searching. This movie was produced by Timur Bekmambetov, the same guy who brought us Unfriended and its sequel, so the entirety of the movie takes place on the screens of electronic devices - laptops, mobile phones, security cameras... you know the drill by now! Unlike those movies, however, Searching takes place over the course of a few weeks, and we're treated to fade-ins and fade-outs that signal time lapses.

At its core, Searching is a heartwarming story about family wrapped in a crime thriller and delivered via the medium of modern technology. There are plenty of dramatic, funny and sinister moments. You'll laugh, you may cry, and perhaps even scream.

Warning - Spoilers ahead!

It's been a month since the movie came out and you've probably already seen it. And if you haven't, the chances of me persuading you to see it are abysmally low. So I'm just going to shamelessly post spoilers. If that's a problem for you, scroll right past everything to the Rating and Conclusion!

The Premise

David Kim is a widower still coming to grips with the death of his wife years ago. His daughter Margot is a teenager who goes missing, and his search for her begins on the computer, trawling her Social Media accounts and emails for clues.

The Characters

John Cho is David Kim, and what a performance he puts in. I first heard of him in the Harold and Kumar movies, and later the Star Trek movies. If there were any lingering doubts that this man can act, they've been all but dispelled now. The emotions Cho brings forth on screen are palpable - his worry, his dread, his rage, his sorrow - all of it. As the show progresses and he gets even more frantic, the emotionally repressed man we see earlier in the film lets loose, and it's glorious to behold.

Michelle La plays Margot Kim with just the right amount of wistfulness. She's entirely believable as a sad withdrawn teenager who puts on a happy face for her father but deep inside is grieving every bit as hard as he is.

A very stiff and wooden Debra Messing as Detective Rosemary Vick. Perhaps she was trying to come across as serious and dedicated, but somehow I wasn't really feeling it. Even at the end when she's outed as the culprit, I'm not quite feeling the villainy. Her performance is definitely the weak link here.

Equal parts shift-eyed and supportive brother Peter Kim is played by Joseph Lee. His was a solid, laid-back presence.

Sara Sohn as Pamela Nam, Margot's mother. She pretty much forms part of the background, looking beautiful even as she wastes away from cancer, and her character is shown only in flashbacks. To be fair, that was probably how the character was written.

Briana McLean as Abigail. Puts up a watchable performance as Margot's supposed "bestie" who tries to feed off the attention generated by Margot's disappearance by sobbing on camera for her YouTube audience. Acting within acting! Not bad.

Ric Sarabia as Randy Cartoff, the ex-con who confesses to the murder of Margot in a chilling and creepy video. The actor feels wasted here; he did a good job and could have done more.

The Mood

The show starts off light and dreamy, with happy domestic scenes. It soon starts getting heavy on the sorrow as part of the setup, and later on when the search for Margot is in full swing, while the action technically still takes place on computer screen, John Cho somehow manages to portray his character's growing anxiety. It goes into full-blown crime investigation thriller after that, and the sense of desperation never lets up until the end. The tension, at times, is so thick you could crack an egg on it.

What I liked

While the entirety of the movie took place on computer and camera screens, it didn't stick slavishly to the format and sometimes provided close-ups and zoom-ins on important information.

The entire family using a Windows XP computer was both nostalgic and sweet.

The hoops David Kim had to jump through in order to retrieve Margot's password shows just how convoluted the Internet is now... and how alarmingly possible it is for those of less-than-noble intentions to obtain information.

When David was entering Margot's name into the web browser, auto-complete gave him "Margot Robbie". I was tickled.

The scenes of Margot's acquaintances claiming to be her BFF and tearing up on YouTube for the Likes, was just such an apt description of the Social Media user's need for attention.

David getting increasingly unhinged and desperate with each passing day. John Cho is excellent in the role. Hell, it would be much of an exaggeration to say John Cho is pretty much the whole movie.

It was a good plot. Lots of twists, followed by heartwarming moments. Foreshadowing aplenty. And a lot to think about in hindsight.

What I didn't

Not sure I understand why it's suspicious that Rosemary Vick was in a picture with the supposed murderer. It seems innocent enough (she's in a volunteer program for ex-convicts), and even if it were suspicious, other cops would have made that connection, right?

Conclusion

Searching is billed as a crime thriller, but it also has comedy, tragedy, genuinely heartwarming family moments and social commentary on the state of the world today. It's a superbly crafted film and entertaining as all heck. Especially if you're a heavy Social Media user. And it somehow never seems to drag even though the running time's about two hours.

My Rating

8.5 / 10

What are you waiting for? (Mar)got see it!
T___T

A look at User Authentication Factors (Part 2/2)

An authentication system is made out of authentication factors. There may be multiple factors, but whether a system is Single-factor Authentication, Two-factor Authentication (2FA) or Three-factor Authentication (3FA), depends on the number of different authentication factor types. For example, a simple Login screen is Single-factor authentication, even though the user has to key in both a login id and a password.

Instagram login screen.

Why? There are two authentication factors. But both of them are the same authentication type - Knowledge. That means there is only one authentication factor type in play. Even if you had to key in five passwords to be allowed entry, that would still be Single-factor Authentication.

Examples of Single-factor Authentication

As previously stated, a typical login screen is Single-factor Authentication. So is any type of system that only uses one authentication factor type.

ActiveSG gantry.

Like the gantries in ActiveSG swimming complexes. You scan your NRIC (a Possession authentication factor type), and it opens up.

Unlocking your mobile phone can be done via thumbprint scan (Inherence), facial recognition (Inherence) or a PIN (Knowledge). That's Single-factor Authentication.

Examples of Two-factor Authentication (2FA)

As mentioned previously, using your SingPass is 2FA. You key in your login id and password (Knowledge), then the systems sends an OTP to your mobile phone (Possession) for you to continue the login process.

Automatic Teller Machine.

Using an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) requires you to have your ATM card (Possession) and your PIN number (Knowledge).

The gantries in Changi Airport (all terminals) are 2FA. First, you scan your passport (Possession) and then your thumbprint (Inherence).

Examples of Three-factor Authentication (3FA)

There are virtually no examples of 3FA on websites. Biometrics are all but impossible right now on browsers. (CAPTCHA doesn't count because while it does - kind of - verify that you're not a bot, it can't verify that you're you.) Therefore, we're limited to only two authentication factor types - Knowledge and Possession.

Hi-tech security.

However, advanced security systems might require an electronic pass, a biometric scan and a passcode. That would qualify as 3FA.

That's all...

I just really wanted to explain 2FA. This might be a little more information than required. Hope this was interesting enough!

Thanks for tuning in! I had a scan-dalously good time.
T___T

Five things to check when your mobile is not charging

I own an Android phone, and it's served me well for the last couple years. However, sometimes it refuses to cooperate. One of those instances is when it simply does not charge even after I connect the charging cable.

The first instinct I have is to wonder if my battery has finally given out. However, there are other, less drastic reasons (read: reasons that don't involve me spending money on a new battery) that I've learned to investigate before succumbing to the inevitable.

Here, I'm going to cover hardware failures only, as opposed to erratic behavior due to software.

There are multiple points of possible failure between the wall outlet and your phone. Each of these should be investigated if your phone refuses to charge.

1. Wall Socket Plug

You know that plug that connects your USB cable to your phone? The one that you have to plug into your power outlet?

Check the plug, yo.

These succumb to wear and tear as well, though the chances of this being the culprit are minuscule. Still, the problem could just be a case of failing to plug in the wall socket properly. It happens!

2. The USB cable

Problems with the cable itself account for roughly 50% of my charging woes. This usually happens if I use the really el cheapo two-dollar cables I find in Daiso. To be honest, you'll probably get better mileage by paying more. In fact, the cable that came with your phone when you bought it, is more likely than not to be the good stuff.

This hideous pink cable with
the bent USB port only
cost me 2 SGD. Go figure.

Just confirm (or eliminate) this possibility by using other cables. If your phone charges properly, it's the crummy cable you're using and you should chuck it.

3. Lint in the Micro USB Port

Chances are, you don't keep the Micro USB Port sealed when you're not charging your phone. Who the heck does? This means the orifice (oops, I meant aperture, of course) is open and receptive to all manner of dust and particles. This could come in the form of lint from your pockets or purse, and in my case, loose tobacco leaves.

Lint, tobacco leaves
and other debris
from my pockets.

Gunk like this clogs up the port and prevents it from connecting properly with the cable. Give the port a good blow (oh scrub your mind, you filthy teenager) to clear the crap, and you should be good to go.

4. Misaligned Micro USB Port

This one requires a bit of delicacy. Constant connecting and reconnecting the cable to your port will result in some wear and tear. Sometimes, that little tab that is supposed to touch the  circuitry inside your cable, is bent out of alignment.

That little tab right in
the middle of that port.

So bend it back!

Switch off your phone and remove the battery before attempting this. Use a fine but strong object like a pin, toothpick or even tweezers. Gently slide the end of your makeshift tool under the tab and very gently push upwards. Don't push too hard; if you accidentally snap the tab off, you can say adieu to your phone.

5. Battery

Switch off your phone and remove the battery. Is it bloated like a corpse? Does it spin like a top when you twirl it on a flat surface?

Dat battery.

If the answer is "yes", let's face it. Your battery is in the terminal stages of its ailment and it's time to put it out of its misery. But really, unless you've been overcharging the battery for half a decade, it's not likely to be the case.

Lastly...

If none of this works, I hope you made a backup. Good thing these damned things are so cheap these days, eh?

This advice is free of charge, just like your phone (heh heh)
T___T