Received an email from ST Interactive this morning. Seems they're not happy letting us read their wonderful news for free, never mind that there's a troublesome registration to undertake first. Now they're going to charge $96 for six months, or $12 a month. That works out to an average of 40 cents a day, or fully half of the street cost of the hardcopy that includes printing and shipping costs, as well as vendor mark-ups. For less content than the print edition. Makes cents, doesn't it?
Anyhoo, here's my reply to them:
"Dear STi,
This is a mistake. I'm not going to subscribe, and neither are a majority of your (needlessly-) registered users. About the only reason I read ST is for the forum, to understand what local people feel and want. I do not care for filtered, 'approved' news, fluff gossip, nor inadequate tech info. Extending a pathetic three-day history to seven is also insulting - if self-financed sites can store a huge archive of past data, what more the sixth-largest publicly-listed company in Singapore, especially when it charges a subscription!
The very fact that I'm using the web means that I have access to far more impartial news, from richly-divergent viewpoints. The best filter is my brain, which I fully intend to use. So much for being net-savvy, ST..."
Thursday, 24 February 2005
Friday, 4 February 2005
Life's Little Pleasures
Singapore is breathtaking when seen from 70 storeys up, all lit up at night.
Sean and I were treated to this sight at Equinox, Swissotel the Stamford, when we spent our special night out there. With this one meal we celebrated several things: his birthday (of last year, kids were too sick back then), his raise, passing my exams of last semester, my birthday, and our blessed life in general. Good food, good conversation, one couldn't have asked for more. OK maybe we could have asked for more of that mudcrab and ebi starter, or the fabulous beef cheek and steak. I was also happy to put on for the first time a strapless dress and be able to pull it off. But only figuratively, mind!
Sean gave me "The Glimpses of the Moon" which I've read at least twice off my Sony CLIE, downloaded from Project Gutenberg, a great online book resource. It was the perfect gift. The story is a charming and deeply insightful one, starring a couple of young, poor, and popular people experimenting with marriage in the world of the wealthy and free-wheeling Americans of the 1920's. Their "plight" certainly strikes some chords, but my heart is truly satisfied with the unpredictable ending. No spoilers here, never fear - I leave it to everyone to discover for himself the awesome writing of Edith Wharton.
Sean and I were treated to this sight at Equinox, Swissotel the Stamford, when we spent our special night out there. With this one meal we celebrated several things: his birthday (of last year, kids were too sick back then), his raise, passing my exams of last semester, my birthday, and our blessed life in general. Good food, good conversation, one couldn't have asked for more. OK maybe we could have asked for more of that mudcrab and ebi starter, or the fabulous beef cheek and steak. I was also happy to put on for the first time a strapless dress and be able to pull it off. But only figuratively, mind!
Sean gave me "The Glimpses of the Moon" which I've read at least twice off my Sony CLIE, downloaded from Project Gutenberg, a great online book resource. It was the perfect gift. The story is a charming and deeply insightful one, starring a couple of young, poor, and popular people experimenting with marriage in the world of the wealthy and free-wheeling Americans of the 1920's. Their "plight" certainly strikes some chords, but my heart is truly satisfied with the unpredictable ending. No spoilers here, never fear - I leave it to everyone to discover for himself the awesome writing of Edith Wharton.
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