If he had Facebook and Twitter then, his cave herd would quickly have started trumping up his latest exploits and conquests.

Soon, the posts would have read: Captain Caveman discovers fire. How cool is that?!

The reactions would no doubt have come flying in after.

Fast forward to 2010, and nothing has changed when it comes to such human instinct to say something and be heard.

The Straits Times website has garnered a sizeable following online over the years and while the process has been pretty much a "hunt-for-stories and broadcast them" process, we believe readers' reactions to them can always be featured in more prominent ways.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Enter our "Have Your Say" posers.

As you read through our stories online or on your iPhone app daily, you may come across the hotter topics and scroll down to see a "Have Your Say" at the end of the story, with a thought-provoking question.

This is intended to spur you into action.

You can comment straight away on the story at our ST Facebook page.

Or you can enter our forum discussion board to react.

We'd like to know what your reaction is, to the story you've just read.

We'd then like to publish your views, as one of our many news stories daily.

READERS REACT

You'll next recognise the follow-up compilations of reactions in "Readers React".

People - apart from reading the news - like to read what other people say.

In sports for example, we will post our "Have Your Say" segments at the bottom of the weekend's biggest English Premier League matches.

The same applies to the other hottest talking point in sports lately - the meek Lions of Singapore.

We've had great responses to some of our news stories like Donor is Wife's Lover.

Unlike Twitter, Facebook - unhindered by character limits in posts - lends itself well to featuring our readers' longer reactions on our ST Facebook page.

Just like the cavemen used to shout out loud and be heard, isn't it time to "Have Your Say" with ST Online?

Most of the time - and for as long as I can remember supporting them since the FA Cup heights of the 1980 team - they always bellow the chant with a hint of apprehension.

Somewhat like the Spain of football clubs (and I'm using this reference to when Spain were underachievers before their Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup wins), Spurs always tortured their faithful with extreme highs and depressing lows.

But this season is different.

Finally, long-suffering Spurs fans can actually look to a North London derby with real confidence.

You get the sense that more "lost" Spurs fans will emerge from the closet this season to suddenly declare their renewed faith.

I consider myself a zen Spurs fan. I constantly give advice to moaning Liverpool fans.

But if you see me at a pub on Saturday night, I could switch into "angry long-suffering Spurs fan" mode just as easily.

This is exactly the kind of scenario Spurs manager Harry Redknapp will love to use, to whip up the fervour among his charged-up players.

And after Jose Mourinho left the Premier League, I'd argue that there's no better motivator than Redknapp still around. Yes, there's Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United, but he's more the army sergeant type.

As Spurs' new Dutch signing and revelation - Rafael van der Vaart - told the Sun: "It's not that we do nothing - but it's close to that. There is a clipboard in our dressing room, but Harry doesn't write anything on it!"

Redknapp loves to take risks. And you have to accept him for that. Ferguson himself - for all his title wins - is one of the biggest risk-takers in the game itself.

The Champions League defeat of Inter Milan took the breath of the watching football world away when Spurs ran riot. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

It's the kind of football evolution under Redknapp you know that is not a one-off, one-hit wonder show.

Arsenal - under Arsene Wenger - were like that so many years ago, and derby or not, you've got to hope that both managers will keep to such a precious attacking philosophy for Saturday's showdown.

Arsenal will surely string all their passes lovingly on home ground, but Spurs seem to have fast-paced directness this time round that could serve them well.

I know the historical statistics don't bode well for Spurs.

Spurs have won only one Premier League game away to Arsenal, a 3-1 win all the way back in 1993.

But in April 2010, Spurs beat Arsenal 2-1 on home ground and it was Arsenal's first defeat by their London rivals in 21 league games then. It was a reflection of the changing fortunes for Spurs.

And I expect nothing less than a 2-1 win for Spurs on Saturday night while I eat calamari and think of my colleague Bryan Huang and his sour Gooner face.

Game previews:
Reds aim for Hammer blow
Injuries piling up for Chelsea
Fletcher wants return to winning ways
Spurs eager to spike Arsenal's guns
Arsenal look to spur title charge

2.15pm: The ceremonial gun carriage carrying the coffin of Dr Goh is being transported now from Parliament House to the Singapore Conference Hall, where invited guests, ministers and his family members are gathered in solemn silence.

2.18pm: You can almost hear a pin drop even on the streets. President SR Nathan arriving at S'pore Conference Hall now with his wife to take their places.

2.20pm: Accompanying the body is Mrs Goh herself. There are media photographers and public along the route on Shenton Way taking pictures as the procession goes past slowly but steadily. There is an instant sense of quiet dignity you gain from the proceedings, quite like the late Dr Goh himself, one of Singapore's founding fathers.

2.23pm: Ex-colleagues of Dr Goh, the various religious leaders representing the different communities in Singapore, are all seated among a full-house crowd in the S'pore Conference Hall. There are pre-recorded interviews with Singaporeans on the street being shown now on television.

2.27pm: The casket of Dr Goh is draped in the state flag, to accord him the highest honour. The ceremonial gun carriage is headed by three outriders and a patrol car in front of them, with another two outriders further ahead. Five cars are following Dr Goh's casket. They are all travelling at around 15kmh.

2.30pm: Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam awaits Dr Goh's family emerging from the convoy as Scottish bagpipes play the tune of Amazing Grace.

2.34pm: The eight army coffin-bearers draw out Dr Goh's casket from the ceremonial gun carriage and head into the hall, as the tune from Handel's Death March is played by the military band.

2.36pm: The by-invitation-only service is being attended by groups from the Singapore Armed Forces, Home Team, schools and statutory boards. Civil service head Peter Ho will be the master of ceremony and five eulogies will be presented by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Temasek Holdings chairman S. Dhanabalan, Dr Goh's grandson Goh Ken-Yi and grand-niece Marian Hui. The cortege will proceed to Mandai Crematorium, where a private ceremony for family members will be held.

2.40pm: The guests rise as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra - which he pushed for the founding of - plays Bach's Air Suite 3, while the coffin-bearers walk in slowly on stage carrying Dr Goh's casket.

2.43pm: The coffin-bearers now put back on their caps in order, smartly and sharply, as the crowd start to take their seats again.

2.45pm: PM Lee Hsien Loong walks up on stage to deliver his eulogy, he's wearing a white shirt and black tie.

2.48pm: PM Lee said Singapore, too, has had "giants" who have helped shape the nation. PM Goh starts off by detailing Dr Goh's famous thrifty nature, in starting the journey that would famously make Singapore the strong financial economy it has become. He credits Dr Goh's transformation of Jurong's swamps into an industrial hub.

2.50pm: PM Lee is talking clearly and vibrantly, as he recaps Dr Goh's achievements in the face of much early difficulties, describing his role as a "backroom" one. But his "robust attitude" encouraged the whole team to press on against "unwinnable odds", to help create today's Singapore.

2.58pm: PM Lee talks about being in the first batch of SAF scholars. He recalls how Dr Goh presented his group with two military classics: Sun Tzu's Art of War and Liddell Hart's Strategy: The Indirect Approach. He talks about how Dr Goh's gesture showed both his "grasp of strategy and security issues, as well as his keen interest in nurturing talent for the SAF".

3pm: As PM Lee smiles a little, recollecting the various tales of Dr Goh's robust exploits, a few guests in the crowd smile too, at the reminder of the "giant" Dr Goh.

3.02pm: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew now takes over from PM Lee as it's his turn to give a eulogy for his comrade. He says how Dr Goh challenged his views and they would then reach a better decision for Singapore. MM Lee captures their long relationship perfectly in a nutshell.

3.05pm: MM Lee describes first meeting Dr Goh, how he had a large Adam's apple and a gruff voice. Soon, they would become good friends, and plan a grand vision to win over the country from the colonialists. How he, together with Dr Goh, got rid of the Communists after, and their various tentacles. Dr Goh, the "thinker", MM Lee himself, the "executor".

3.11pm: MM Lee slows down a little as he recalls from his speech notes, and you can see that he is almost savouring the memories he shared with the colleague and friend whom he once gave "the toughest jobs in Government to".

3.12pm: MM Lee breaks quickly to take a sip from a glass of water.

3.14pm: Like PM Lee, MM Lee is also wearing a white shirt, together with a dark tie.

3.17pm: MM Lee says that with the passing of Dr Goh, "we have lost a remarkable son". He closes on that note and walks down from stage to take his seat.

3.20pm: It's the turn of Temasek Holdings chairman S. Dhanabalan next, to deliver his eulogy. Mr Dhanabalan says Dr Goh was a visionary. But he adds that Dr Goh hated being called one. "Visionaries are dreamers", he recalled Dr Goh's remark once. Mr Dhanabalan says Dr Goh was a "realist". But he could see "over the horizon".

3.23pm: Mr Dhanabalan recalls meeting Dr Goh in late 1959. How Dr Goh's willingness to meet him - when he had other pressing governing matters to attend to and did not know Mr Dhanabalan before - convinced him on his path in economics that would change his life. Dr Goh would eventually become his mentor in his early days as an MP.

3.28pm: Mr Dhanabalan recalls how an American company in 1968, wanted to build a petroleum refinery on Sentosa, but Dr Goh - even when the plan was potentially lucrative - believed that Sentosa should be kept for recreation. The company was persuaded to set up in Jurong instead.

3.30pm: Mr Dhanabalan closes his eulogy, describing Dr Goh as a man with a "great mind".

3.32pm: Dr Goh's grandson Goh Ken-Yi - the apple of Dr Goh's eye - is up next for his eulogy on stage. He recalls the cherished moments with his grandfather. How he nudged Dr Goh awake from his naps in the 70s, not realising how tired he was from shaping a nation then. How Dr Goh bought him a Nikon camera in his teenage years, which he has kept till today. Dr Goh loved photography. They would visit the zoo, bird park, fireworks, air shows, and take pictures together, but Dr Goh always tried to avoid his grandson snapping pictures of him. Sometimes, Dr Goh did comply with his grandson for a "comical pose", which was totally different from his public persona.

3.37pm: Goh Ken-Yi recalls how his grandfather reminded him at the start of his adult working days, to always be "someone whom others could always rely on", no matter what path or position he would end up in.

3.40pm: Goh Ken-Yi is clear in his points all the way through, and he is clearly determined to share the same dignity and ethics of principles his grandfather had taught him, with the guests in the hall.

3.42pm: Grand-niece Marian Hui is up next on stage, to deliver her eulogy. She recalls how Dr Goh never made her feel that she was ever "too small" to be of any importance to him. She looks as if she has clearly been through an emotional time before her speech, but she continues to deliver her eulogy firmly, always referring to "grand-uncle" Dr Goh. She recalls how "grand-uncle" Dr Goh used to tear tissue paper into halves, to keep the other piece for later, perfectly personalising his famed frugal nature in one simple reference.

3.49pm: Marian Hui recalls how Dr Goh, even when his health worsened, would always have a robust "Hello, how are you?" question for everyone in the family. She almost chokes as she finishes her eulogy, determined to make a difference in her life, as Dr Goh did.

3.51pm: Mrs Goh places a wreath on stage now. This is followed by PM Lee placing a wreath, on "behalf of the nation", as described by Civil Service head Peter Ho, the master of ceremony.

3.54pm: The state flag and accoutrements are taken off the coffin and folded by the coffin-bearers. They will be forwarded to President Nathan, who will then in turn present them to Mrs Goh. Both stand up as President Nathan says a few words to Mrs Goh.

3.58pm: A minute's silence as all guests in the hall stand and bow in respect. This is followed by a solemn bugle call titled "Last Post", signifying the final call for Dr Goh Keng Swee. Uniformed groups and officers in the crowd salute.

4.02pm: The cortege will now proceed to Mandai Crematorium, where a private ceremony for family members will be held.

Straits Times Online's Ernest Luis summarises his own thoughts after this live coverage: The silence for large parts of the ceremony - apart from the eulogies - somehow served to remind me of the quiet dignity of Dr Goh Keng Swee himself. The principles he stood for - as explained by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Temasek Holdings chairman S. Dhanabalan - are also a timely reminder of classic values all of us should revisit, as we take part in an increasingly faster rat race. Dr Goh's grandson Goh Ken-Yi and his grand-niece Marian Hui stirred something in me as they recounted warm tales of time spent with their grandfather and grand-uncle respectively. Which is why I'd now like to leave work and go spend some time with my sick father, in part a tribute to one of our nation's founding fathers. I'm pretty sure that if I knew Dr Goh when he was alive, he would have told me to go, and not wait any longer. Goodbye, Dr Goh, thank you for making a nation and helping each of us become what we've become today.

Today, we usher in the debate of whether we will all start circling our tablet computers with our fingers, if Apple’s hyped iPad really does change the way we read newspapers on the go.

Are you like me, where you find yourself increasingly able to tolerate reading news or websites on a small smartphone screen?

If you already are, you'll love it more on a bigger tablet touchscreen.

The key difference from the usual laptop, lies in the applications or 'apps', for short. They can replicate the page-turning experience too.

News consumption habits are evolving from just the newspaper or magazine experience.

Squeezed for time daily, we find ourselves catching up with the news on the go, via our smartphones.

Ever have friends or loved ones checking their Facebook or Twitter accounts and seeing them turn into your own instant personal newsreader?

All because they’ve seen newsflash feeds from The Straits Times or numerous other news sites’ apps?
Some may even consider reading such updates, to be as good as reading an actual newspaper itself.

For news professionals, that’s good news. The appetite for reading has never been this voracious.
Apple said it sold more than 300,000 iPads on the first day of availability in the United States last Saturday.

And already, they’ve spurred other big brand names like Hewlett-Packard to come out with better tablet e-reading computers.

When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, no one expected to use their mobile phones the way many of us do now, two years later.

I think the same will happen here with news consumption habits within the next two years, with the iPad and other similar versatile tablet e-readers.

Get set for a new generation of news e-Readers.