Siri - Old tech., New makeover

Remember Lieutenant Commander Data in the fictional Star Trek? He is the talking robot, an android they called him but that was all in the imagination of the film makers. He is a very capable 'assistant' that surpass human in many aspects of life.

Later on in the IT era there is this 'lady' called LiNa who answers all your questions on job related matters at JobStreet.com. She doesn't talk to you much like Android (Commander Data) but she sends you e-mails every other day without fail.

Fast forward to 2011.

Meet Siri, your Personal Assistant who will practicably be there with you everywhere you go. Talking gadget or robot and android (pun intended), is a very old technology but in iPhone 4S you are presented with a whole new approach - and hopefully new experience - to getting virtual assistance from your smart phone.

For a formal introduction of how Siri will be of help to you, watch this clip:

Can't play it here, go to the video link.

If you grow tired of formality and would like to have a laugh or two, check this one out. Perhaps you can also ask her if she'd like to go to a movie with you.

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Assistant or nuisance?

I wonder if it would work across the board. Given that in Asia you will come across a wide variety of accents such as Singapore, India, Malaysia , the Philippines where English is widely spoken, I think Siri would struggle in my hands. Someone, some Apps developers need to come up with some decent Apps to help Siri understand the locals.

In any case, the phone will be available in a couple of days time in the US and few other countries while 22 more will follow shortly. Singapore, our nearest neighbour is getting them at the end of the month so Maxis should have them for Malaysians not too far away.

Which Country is the Greenest?

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a method of quantifying and benchmarking the environmental performance of a country's policies.

The 2010 EPI ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators covering environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national government scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals.

So, firstly there must be an established goals, then there will be a measurement or audit to see how close a government is to these goals. The following is the ranking of countries in the Asia Pacific, according to study by Yale University (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy):

You maybe wondering how the scores are harmonised to facilitate cross-country comparison when different countries may have different policies. This is done through EPI's proximity-to-target methodology.


Let's take a look at countries nearer to us and see how well we fared.

Singapore tops the ASEAN ranking

ASEAN countries are doing fairly well when compared to many other countries in Asia Pacific region with Singapore scoring just behind New Zealand and Japan. Malaysia makes it to Top Ten in the list.

With the many green incentives, pledges and the countless on-going efforts towards greener environment by the current government, I believe Malaysia will leapfrog a couple of countries above it come next year's audit result. Judging from the works in place now, Malaysia should score at least 66 to 69 in EPI this year. My only wish is that the implementation of the FiT for four renewable energy sources is kicked of earlier by 4Q this year rather than 1Q 2012.

So, which country is the world's greenest?

The top spot for 2010 goes to Iceland due to its high scores on environmental public health whereby it gets virtually all of its power from renewable sources (hydropower and geothermal energy), and its water tight control of greenhouse gas emissions. Switzerland is ranked second followed by Costa Rica.

Passing of an enormous talent

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I was contemplating posting my disappointment over the 4^th October 2011 release of the not-so-impressive 5^th generation iPhone 4S in Cupertino, California when I read first thing today on MarketWatch of the passing of Steve Jobs. Little did we know that the day the 5^th iPhone was launched was the very day that this great man last breathed air.

Steve Jobs was the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, and the board of directors offered a statement acknowledging his passing on Wednesday:

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

“His greatest love was his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”

Image from MarketWatch

Goodbye, and rest in peace Steve. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for improving the quality of so many lives. You will be deeply missed.

Let's dedicate the S in the new iPhone 4S to Steve.