The Straits Times Blogs - Sherwin Loh

Royalty versus loyalty

2009-11-21T11:38:00Z

Sherwin Loh asks what’s in it for fans when Blu-ray makes DVD obsolete.

FOR those who do not know, I am a movie addict.

I watch a lot of movies in cinemas and collect them in the form of DVDs, be it movies, TV shows, special edition releases, etc.

Lately, the shift has been to buying the high-definition Blu-ray titles and, if the price is right, replacing my DVD collection with a Blu-ray version.

So it was with much joy that I saw that Warner Brothers is having a DVD to Blu-ray replacement promotion, where users can convert their DVDs into Blu-rays.

The plan is simple – visit www.dvd2blu.com and check if you own any of the 50 titles listed, like Rush Hour 3 or Ocean's Thirteen.

Click on the titles you want and pay a token sum of between US$7.95 to $9.95 for each, and you will receive the new Blu-ray copies after you mail them the DVD versions you own.

The catch, of course, is that this is available only to US residents and even if you find a way to circumvent the shipping details, this exercise will most likely work on the US protocol (Code 1 DVDs) and not the local Code 3 versions.

While it is great to see a Hollywood studio rally consumers towards Blu-ray – and its own Blu-ray content – by getting movie fans to upgrade their DVDs rather than replace them, it is highly doubtful that local consumers will ever see such an offer here.

The simple answer is because Hollywood studios do not release DVDs or Blu-ray titles directly to the local market.

Instead, they use licensees who pay studios the royalties for movies on DVD and Blu-ray titles, and then sell them to retailers and consumers.

So if the licensee has already paid Warner for the royalties on that copy of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth DVD they sold you, they will not be thrilled to take back that DVD in exchange for a Blu-ray version instead – losing money in the process.

They will make more money if they sell you that copy of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth Blu-ray, because the token sum that they should charge, if the licensee ever rolls out such an exchange, will leave them with very little profit.

This royalty, when factored into the price of a DVD, also explains why movies cost a lot more here, compared to the US.

As much as I can see the reason behind the call to support local businesses and suppliers, it is reasons like this US-only deal with Warner that makes me question what I get for my loyalty.

I am stuck with a bunch of soon-to-be outdated DVDs with no other recourse than to buy Blu-ray versions as replacement.

If I had, like some of my friends here, bought the US Code 1 DVDs, there would still be the option for me to participate in the upgrade program.

But I picked the wrong camp to support and you can bet I won't make that mistake again.

Lines of succession

2009-11-19T06:25:00Z

Sherwin Loh asks why gizmo upgrades happen at such a breathless pace.

AS I sat at my desk this week opening up my review unit of the N97 Mini smartphone from Nokia, I could not help but feel sorry for the poor souls who, just a few months ago, had picked up the original N97.

The N97 is Nokia's flagship device, mixing a small computer with 32GB, 5MP camera with a 3.5 inch screen. It was launched in June for $1,028.

The Mini, as the name suggests, is a smaller device with a 3.2inch screen and 8GB capacity. The price, at $1,020, had not shrunk much when the gizmo launched this month.

Two phones, almost similar in specs, launched less than six months apart at about the same price. If you factor in telco subsidy, you can get either phone for about $500 on similar subscription plans right now.

Some might say that the extra memory in the original device makes it a better buy, but I'm looking at the N97 Mini as the more updated device, with extra time spent on improving it, and thus, the better product. Form wise, the metallic back cover of the new kid beats the plastic one of the big daddy any day.

But this blog is not just about phones, but more about companies releasing newer versions of their products at a faster rate, with cellphone companies the latest player in the catch-up game.

In the home movie industry, it is called "double dipping", where studios release a movie on DVD first, and a Special Edition with extra features and bonus disc a year later.

In the case of electronics, not too many consumers can afford to buy a second device for the additional features, but imagine spending a tidy sum on a new plasma TV, only to find out that five months later that the model you bought now has a thinner variant, with different colours and more bells and whistles too — and at about the same price.

I would be upset.

As a consumer, when I buy an expensive product, I hate knowing that there is a newer version just around the corner.

Some might argue that innovations give rise to these upgrades. So consumers get tinier gizmos yet with niftier tools.

I do not deny that soup-ups are great. There is the original iPhone, the much improved iPhone 3G and the current 3GS, all launched with significant upgrades about a year apart.

Take the new PlayStation 3 Slim. At 33 per cent smaller and 36 per cent lighter than its predecessor, it also comes with a 120GB hard drive against the 60GB of the original. And it’s priced the same as the original but with more to offer.

Unlike super fast handset roll-outs, the PS3 Slim – also trotted out in August this year – comes three years after the original made its debut in November 2006.

Of course, fans might take issue with the fact that after the roll-out of the $512 120GB version here last month, Sony announced this week the price of the 250GB version at $552. Again, I pity those who bought the 120GB version.

There is nothing wrong with gizmo makers trotting out newer models, but in a breathless span of a few months, or even week?

Surely, the respectable time distance should be a year, like cars, for which a new model is launched each year.

Such pacing – apart from discouraging over consumerism and clogging the earth with electronic junk – gives consumers the latitude of buying without feeling so cheated.

The least they can do is come out with the devices with new model numbers or names.

Alas, Nokia already has the N98 and N99 models lined up so it is stuck with calling the new N97 the Mini, but that is what happens when you launch and design things so close after the other.

The Internet Disease

2009-05-13T22:47:00Z

Sherwin Loh aims to be connected no matter where he is in the world.

MY WIFE calls it a sickness and she hates how it can take control of me, but I never realised I was stricken with it until two weeks ago.

Well, it was two weeks ago that I saw the symptoms but I reckon it's been in me for quite a while. The diagnosis is that I have this urge to go online wherever I am and if I don't, I turn cranky.

The cure? Well, short of a sharp blow to the head, or a lack of connectivity, it's an ailment that will forever plague me.

There we were, at Changi Airport at 5am waiting to catch out flight to Orlando, Florida and what do I do when I see a free computer terminal? I immediately log on to check my e-mail, despite having checked it an hour ago before leaving the house.

Upon landing at Tokyo, Narita International Airport, while other passengers were scrambling to the toilets, I rushed to the Internet area and grabbed myself a booth and started connecting my laptop. A quick check showed that unlike Singapore, wi-fi connectivity at Narita is not free.

While some would have gladly forked out the dough, I'm glad to report that my penny pinching ways prevailed. But rather than give-up, I started to log on to each available connection, to see what was available and believe it or not, I found a free connection.

For those traveling to Japan, click on the ANA connection. The web page that pops up is in Japanese but once you click on Agree, it's surf time as the unadvertised Wi-Fi service actually provides transit passengers with a free connection.

The next stop was Chicago's O'Hare and my experience with American Wi-Fi services is that more often than not, it's a paid service. The same goes for my final stop at Orlando International Airport, but that is fine because hotels should have it for free.

Well, not quite true. It really depends on the type of hotel you choose to stay in.

The US$60 a night place I stayed for the first two nights provided a wired hook up for free, but the US$217 hotel I was in subsequently required an additional US$14.95 a day to stay connected.

Again, the freeloader in me prevailed and I was without an Internet connection for most of the time while in the room. Of course, the conference I was attending provided free Wi-Fi at the conference area, which was a five minute walk from my room.

I figured I took about a dozen five-minute walks each day, on top of attending the conference itself.

Yes, it is ironic is that the more expensive lodging cum conference centre had services that pale in comparison to the budget hotel. Go figure.

On the way back, the stop-over was in Hong Kong and luckily, the airport there provided not only free Wi-Fi, but docking stations to charge laptops as well. That's definitely a boon for those with a four-hour layover.

But of course, the moment I landed in Changi, I didn't even bother with the free Wireless@SG service. I went home and immediately turned on the computer, without bothering to unpack, much to the chagrin of my wife.

But hey, in sickness and in health right?

SIN-NRT-ORD-MCO-ORD-HKG-SIN

2009-05-12T07:17:00Z

Sherwin Loh describes travelling during an unfolding pandemic.

IF THERE is one thing I have noticed about the H1NI flu, it's that the Japanese have some of the most beautiful mask designs.

Maybe that's why they are not afraid to wear them as they have become some sort of fashion statement.

Over the past week, I have had first-hand experience in seeing how people of different countries deal with the outbreak and short of one extremely ugly instance, it seems that many have learned to live and cope with it.

This all started in early April when I was informed about covering the Wireless Enterprise Symposium in Orlando, Florida. My excitement was tempered somewhat when "swine flu" hit, especially since the event, held on the first week of May, fell during the window period where not many companies were willing to make drastic decisions.

By this, I mean that my airline would not allow me a refund if I cancelled my trip, and my insurance company would not cover the cost of cancellation should I opt out of traveling.

My wife, who chose to join me (and was therefore the main reason why I could not tell BlackBerry, who sponsored the trip, that I was bailing on them), already bought her ticket and we decided then to take our own precautions.

The first thing we did was hunt for Tamiflu, the much sought after flu drug, as a measure of defence and not protection. This was the day after the news ran that pharmacies had run out and we had to call several clinics to hunt it down.

It was actually a small neighbourhood one that had stocks, and was willing to prescribe it. (To the bigger boys, shame on you for not thinking about the health and safety of outbound Singapore travelers.)

With our bags filled with masks and medication, we set off for Japan, our first stopover and despite the fact that both Singapore and Japan did not have any reported cases, several travelers, including ourselves, had on face masks during the trip. Whether it worked was one thing, but Sars sure put us on our toes.

And from Japan, it was off to Chicago and then, Orlando, Florida, where you would be surprised, from the looks of people going about their daily routine, that there was news of a worldwide viral outbreak. There were no masks worn, and no attempts to shuttle new arrivals to any holding area. But neither were there any scornful looks at us mask wearers.

When we turned on the news or read the papers however, the news of the H1N1 flu was everywhere, as it was back home. But it wasn't apathy that struck the Americans – it was that they had their own ways in dealing with the flu.

Maybe the hot impending summer temperatures made it uncomfortable to wear the face masks outdoors, but in little ways, the Americans showed their clean hygiene habits.

You know, when they walk away to sneeze or cover the faces when they coughed. And not stick their fingers in their noses and start digging. Or talk when taking food from the buffet table, or cleaning their hands (constantly) with the hand sanitizers placed throughout the conference location at the Orlando World Centre.

But deep down, people were afraid.

Dan Morrison, chief operating office of Research In Motion, the folks behind the BlackBerry and the event, revealed that there were some attendees, both international and domestic, who called ahead and cancelled due to H1N1 flu, and there was initial fear that the event would be under attended.

But by all counts, measures were put in place, preventive actions made and the four day event, which saw over 5,000 people from around the world went off without a hitch.

And on our way back a week later, when more states had reported confirmed swine flu cases, it was still more or less business as usual. O'Hare had a public address system that reminded travelers to be more vigilant, and many more (mainly Asians) had on face masks. By the time we arrived in Hong Kong on our final stop-over, it seemed that the vigilance was paying off, with countries lowering their alert levels.

But wait, what about the ugly instance I mentioned?

It was right after we landed on UA Flight 895 and were waiting to disembark. At this moment, when some passengers were still trying to remove their hand carry from the overhead compartments, two Singaporeans travelers, a male and a female, started shoving past everyone else down the aisle, attempting, I would guess, to be the first to get off the plane.

Yes, they were Singaporeans because of their accents and in their mad push to get ahead, they were shoving and touching many ahead of them on the queue, including myself. It is about personal space and yes, the “excuse me” they muttered made it even worse.

Can you imagine a person standing alongside you on the narrow aisle, saying the words in so close a proximity such that you can imagine their droplets of saliva landing on your clothes? It is rather ironic that my closest brush with poor personal hygiene happened not when I was halfway around the world, but right at my doorstep.

Luckily, I still have my box of Tamiflu with me, just in case. But why I should have even needed it in the first place is beyond me.

The time is ripe for BlackBerry

2009-05-07T07:52:00Z

Sherwin Loh starts to re-think his mobile phone needs.

In Orlando, Florida

IF I mention e-mail applications, mobile security, online interactivity and a qwerty keyboard on a cell phone, I am sure one brand pops to mind.

But what happens when I throw in an application store for games, music and video content, and name drop rapper/actor will.i.am? That's where the puzzling looks come fourth and you go: “Are we still talking about BlackBerry?”.

Well, your first instincts were correct. In the last few years, BlackBerry, the brand synonymous with businesses who want mobile e-mail and secured connectivity, has been eyeing another pool of users – regular joes like you and me who have never seen BlackBerry devices as anything more than business tools.

Just for the suits?
ST Photo: Sherwin Loh

Or for regular joes too?
ST Photo: Sherwin Loh

Much like how early on, no one saw computers as entertainment devices, cell phones as Internet enabled tools, digital cameras as cell phones and so on.

But millions of others have seen it.

Half of the company's 25 million subscribers belong in the non-business category and a recent report by research company, The NPD Group, revealed that the BlackBerry Curve has outsold the iPhone in the US.

What is more surprising is that the BlackBerry Storm came in third list, with the BlackBerry Pearl coming in fourth.

So it was no surprise that on Tuesday's opening night of the Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2009, Research In Motion (the company behind the BlackBerry) had Black Eye Peas' musician will.i.am kick start the celebration.

Not that any of the 5,000 BlackBerry vendors, developers and fans at the week long event in Orland, Florida, needed another reason to cheer.

If anything, it is a sign that the pivotal business device has successfully branched out, even as other cell phone companies are trying to get a pick of the BlackBerry market.

Newcomer Acer, of PC and laptop fame, is debuting several devices here this year, while the likes of HTC and Samsung are focusing on touch screen devices, all with a focus on the business environment. Nokia has also unveiled a new application for getting your e-mail on your phone.

While I'm sure I have missed a few others, these launches show that the cell phone market is growing despite the recession, with telcos also becoming more heavily involved in the process.

Case in point, look at StarHub's recent unlimited data plan that caps the price at $36.38, to entice more users to pick up data plans.

Last week, I had a member of the public call me to ask for a recommendation for a mobile phone and in my reply, I told him that it all depends on what he intends to do with the device – to make calls, surf the net or take pictures.

If he had asked me this week, my advice would be to look at phones as two distinct two categories, similar to that of computers. You either get the full-fledged, more expensive laptops (smartphones), or the stripped down, cheaper netbooks (regular phones).

I decided a long time ago that netbooks were not for me and it seems the time is ripe for me to re-look my phone buying habits as well.

3D makes Jonas' come alive

2009-04-16T09:30:00Z

Sherwin Loh admits to enjoying the Jonas Brothers 3-D concert.

I HAVE seen the Jonas Brothers 3-D concert. Yeah, quit rolling your eyes. And I actually enjoyed it. Much more than I expected. (Again, stop with the eye rolls)

But no, I cannot tell you the names of the three brothers, the songs they sing or even explain why they are famous enough to warrant a movie to their name. I do know that Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift show up for a song each.

I only went to see the movie because it was in 3-D.

The Jonas Brothers' 3-D movie experience.
SOURCE: Disney Enterprise Inc.

My first 3-D concert experience was last year's U2 3D, touted as the first 3-D concert featuring the Irish rock band. Being able to watch Bono up close, as if I was really on stage with him, and seeing the Edge let rip into his guitar was a real eye opener.

The reality is, I will never be able to get front seat tickets to a U2 concert and even if I did, the in-your-face experience will be sorely lacking.

But back to the topic of 3-D, the constant nagging feeling was whether I enjoyed the experience because of my love for U2, or did the 3-D aspect have an impact? Now I can safely surmise that it made a whole world of difference.

While concerts have singers perform their music live, one joy is also to see the act on stage, or rather, see that moving figure who sings and acts like your favourite singer, but at this distance from the stage, who can really tell?

And if you cannot see the singer, what's the difference between listening to a live concert and buying a “Live in Concert” CD of that act?

So while I did not recognise any of the songs by the Jonas Brothers, I found myself appreciating the stage set-up, the on-stage actions of the three brothers and wondering how they could fill an entire hall full of screaming young girls, many who were filmed on camera crying, getting into a frenzy and if I can say it, acting like petulant children in many instances.

Of course, the filmmakers behind U2 3D made a greater effort in focusing on the individual performers, giving audiences a taste of Bono's stage flair, whereas for the brothers, it was all about their prancing about on stage.

The bottom line is, the 3-D concert experience adds another dimension to your viewing experience. Whether the camera is panning across the crowd or following behind one of the brothers on stage, there is the greater sense that you, the viewer, are on location with them.

Better yet, all this is taking place in the comfort and security of a cinema hall. I wonder if the distributor is thinking of having a mini concert.

Instead of selling seated tickets, fill the hall with screaming girls holding their placards and swaying their glowing cyalume sticks. With the screams on and off screen, one can hardly tell what's real and what's not.

And just maybe, the parents who are with them can see what their children are seeing.

Then they can roll their eyes if they want to.

Wolverine unleashed

2009-04-02T04:46:00Z

Sherwin Loh shakes his head at the leaked videos of the upcoming film.

IF IT was an April Fool's joke gone wrong, Hugh Jackman isn't laughing.

Reports of a full length, DVD quality workprint of the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie emerged on April 1st and it took only a short while before Netizens realised it was not a joke.

Just give me a keyboard!
Source: Handout

The source of the leak has not been determined, but the non-watermarked video file has cropped up on several file sharing sites and reviews have also started to emerge.

What is definite is that this is an early print containing unfinished special effects and is shorter in length than the final cut scheduled for theatrical release only one month later, on May 1st.

Naturally, lawyers from distributor 20th Century Fox have been quick to serve notice to sites distributing the movie, but the damage is done and Wolverine has been released to an unsuspecting public, one month before his official premiere.

Unfortunately, this fiasco is not something that everyone's favourite mutant can claw himself out of. A quick check at a popular file sharing site has shown that there are about 25,000 people trying to download the movie.

I'm asking that anyone who reads this not be the 25,001st. And this includes those who, in the next four weeks before the movie opens, decide to make a trip across the Causeway to pick up a bootleg DVD of the movie.

Now, I have not seen the leak, nor am I downloading it as I write this. And no, I will not tell you where the site is so don't bother asking. And no, I don't secretly work for the studio either. So why am I writing this?

Because I want more comic book movies to be made.

As with the rest of the world, Hollywood is suffering, with almost all the studios cutting their film slate for the year, as well as laying off people. DVD sales are down and while it might be hard to sympathize with a business market that produces movies that gross over US$100 million, it is also this target that prompts a studio to decide to make more of such movies.

Ever since the first Superman movie came out in 1978, comic book movies have had a love-hate relationship with Hollywood and fans. Tinseltown loves making them, and fans, for the most part, simply hate how Hollywood does a bad job in translating their spandex clad heroes onto the big screen.

But a few years ago, things changed. Director Bryan Singer's X-Men did well enough at the box office to generate two sequels, while Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins eventually led to the production of last year's hit sequel, The Dark Knight.

Along the way, heroes like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and even Superman made an impressive showing on the big screen. Naturally, there have been some bad ones like The Punisher (both of them) and Elektra but the point is, it is clear how Hollywood thinks – movies that do well at the box office deserve sequels or spin offs.

So what happens when X-Men: Wolverine opens in cinemas and comic fandom, alongside other members of the public, has already seen it? As it so happens, the comic book geek crowd the movie is targeting is also the same demographic that would possess the know-how to download the leaked movie.

If the movie tanks, it a safe assumption that 20th Century Fox will not greenlight Wolverine 2. Hugh Jackman will not be brandishing his adamantium claws on screen again, and comic book and movie fans will not get a chance to see him take on The Hand, interact with Alpha Flight or whatever comic book storyline the movie writers deem fit to adapt, in the character's brief 24-year history.

It's a simple argument really – download the movie now, watch it and you effectively kill James Howlett (that's Wolverine's real name by the way) – a feat that the villainous Magneto, Sabretooth, Apocalypse and Romulus have not been able to perform.

And that's not something to be proud of.

Round one, fight!

2009-02-20T06:41:00Z

Sherwin Loh with the low-down on Saturday's Street Fighter 4 competition.

LAST Saturday, on Valentine's Day, Digital Life and Microsoft organised a Street Fighter 4 competition, to celebrate the launch of the the game, which has taken almost a decade in the making.

At least, that is what was listed on paper, but in reality, the idea was borne of four gamers, namely Ian Tan, marketing communications and partnership manager of Xbox 360, Oo Gin Lee, deputy editor of Digital Life, Billy Teo, freelance writer, and myself.

From right to left: Ian Tan, Billy Teo, Oo Gin Lee, and Sherwin Loh.

Take away our job titles and what you really have are four Street Fighter fans who have been waiting for this sequel since we first discovered the game back in our school days, where we would cut classes just to have a go at the game in the arcades.

Fine, so I won't speak for the other three, but as gamers go, few can ignore the cultural impact of the game. I picture Chun-Li in her blue outfit making her victory jump as the video game equivalent of Star Wars' Princess Leia in her golden bikini outfit. Then there was Ken and Ryu versus the likes of Blanka and M. Bison, with you in control. Back then, this was the pinnacle of video game action.

I remember playing Street Fighter II at home on the Super Nintendo Entertainment system using the joypad and how the constant pushing of the directional buttons caused my thumb to blister, or even worse, separate my thumbnail from the nail bed.

Then came the spin-offs and sequels, like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Marvel Vs. Capcom and I lapped it all up.

So last weekend's event was the result of four fan boys who suddenly had the means to bring a classic game to a new audience.

Not that we needed to. From the 18 year-old-student to the 54 year-old taxi driver, to the wife who took her husband's place because he could not attend, we found excitement from the local gaming circle.

One rule we put in place was to have Digital Life readers write in to tell us why they should be invited to compete and almost all wrote about their devotion to the game. Some went as far as to punctuate their descriptions with the battle cries of their favourite characters, which in their unabashed geekdom, won them a shot at the title of Street Fighter 4 champion.

Local gamers at play.

Some came not knowing how to operate the controller pads as most were used to playing with the arcade sticks, while others just wanted to take a look at the new versions of their favourite battle mates. All definitely expected that the new Chun-Li looked much prettier than the one from 20 years ago.

But whether it was trading tips on which moves to make, or trading Xbox gamertags for future online battles, to discussing the merits of the various Street Fighter games, few were there for the prizes. Some already bought their copy of the game, which was released two days earlier.

They simply wanted an opportunity to play with other fans.

Who knows. Maybe in another decade or so, a few of them will grow up to be in the position to host their own Street Fighter 5 tournament. I can only hope I get picked to attend.

Where's my 3-D TV show?

2009-02-04T06:00:00Z

Sherwin Loh wants his 3-D glasses from the cable providers.

I AM forced to look elsewhere for my entertainment fix once again.

This week, the US is screening a special 3-D episode of one of the best shows to come out in the last few years – Chuck. My affinity for the show's lead title character, a computer and comic book geek notwithstanding, this is also the first time that a major US network is giving out millions of 3-D glasses across the country, to do a special 3-D content extravaganza.

Alas, those crispy clear images will not been seen here. Despite having viewers pay a premium for the latest TV content, SingTel, which offers Chuck in its Season Pass demand TV service, will only be airing the 2-D version of the episode. Chances are when Channel 5 airs it, they will also focus on the regular version.

Unless something radical, like say, a special 3-D National Day Parade telecast, is planned and glasses are distributed to every household here, 3-D will remain a cinematic and occasional home DVD or Blu-Ray experience.

But honestly, it is not entirely SingTel's fault. Its explanation is that the studio provided them the non-3D version for use and I suspect that not too many people have the prerequisite 3-D glasses lying on their coffee table anyway, waiting for the occasional 3-D show to pop up on TV.

Unless of course, some brave local content provider decides to take a risk and offer 3-D content and glasses ahead of everyone else.

This all boils down to the fact that be it video games, movies, TV shows, gadgets or software, local content providers, be it the retailers or distributors, never see the need to differentiate themselves to consumers, and are happy pushing what is made available to them.

I remember back in the 1990s when video games had few local distributors, and unless you wanted to be at the mercy of shops who charged an arm and a leg for the latest Japanese or American game, your only option was to get the game yourself, through friends traveling to those countries.

That changed in recent years, as stiff competition prompted companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to be supply more games here, with the market growing because of it.

Season Pass took a step in the right direction by offering the latest US TV shows to local viewers within a few days of their US broadcast. But the lack of the 3-D episode of Chuck means that viewers here are not really getting what they paid for.

And in the case of other entertainment options, from technology like the first generation iPhone, DVDs and Blu-ray, consumers are still left to their own devices as local distributors have not learned that consumers are willing and able to pay for what they want.

When the local distributor did not launch music game Rock Band 2 here, parallel imports took over and are selling well despite the higher price tag. Just two years ago, Apple fans willingly paid over $1,200 for an iPhone shipped directly from the US. For movie fans, good luck finding the limited edition Blu-ray of The Dark Knight that comes with the Batpod model on sale here – you're better off shopping online.

For now, I have my 3-D glasses in hand and I'm trying to get my hands on the special 3-D episode of Chuck. But until local content providers can give me what I want, I think my money is better spent elsewhere.

Microsoft, please release Windows 7

2008-12-29T08:06:00Z

Sherwin Loh makes the case for an early release of the operating system.

I GAVE my younger sister my old laptop for Christmas. Despite about my re-gifting nature aside, she was happy that it had Wi-Fi and a DVD burner and was pre-loaded with a bunch of software like Microsoft Office and anti-virus programs.

But the thing that made her the happiest was that it was running on Windows XP.

After almost two years of using Windows Vista on her desktop, she still can't get used to the resource-draining and system-resource-heavy Vista operating system. Like many around the world, she prefers its predecessor, Windows XP.

If it's not due to user preference and demand, why else would Microsoft recently extend the shelf life of XP to May next year, from its original Jan 2009 deadline, itself a date that has been extended several times, since Vista's debut in 2007?

But if you look at the May 2009 deadline for XP, it seems a perfect time for the company to launch its latest Windows 7 OS.

Short of admitting Vista's faults outright at the Professional Developer's Conference (PDC) in October, Microsoft explained that the upcoming Windows 7 takes a back-to-basic approach to its operating system.

Most of the upgrades to Windows 7, or rather changes, unveiled at PDC, made an impression to the audience, myself included, and the only bad news was that Windows 7 was only coming out in late 2009.

Those few more months won't be enough to convince users that Vista is worth the effort and unless it is prepared to extend the kill-date for Windows XP again, why can't Microsoft bite the bullet and release Windows 7 already?

It's not as though there is a tight veil of secrecy surrounding Windows 7, which offers touch screen interface, more network connectivity features and is less system hungry. Steven Sinofsky, senior vice-president of Windows and Windows Live presented his copy of Windows 7 at PDC, running on a netbook. The product cannot be secret any more when several hundreds of us attending PDC saw the software at work.

Copies of Windows 7 beta are expected to be made available at CES 2009 (Consumers Electronics Show) next month (Jan) and if you know how to, beta kits for Windows 7 are already being traded on Bit Torrent file-sharing sites.

And the best news Microsoft is really happy about is that early reviews for Windows 7 are glowing compared to Vista. I have been using it since October and even though it was an earlier release, I found it simpler, faster and more intuitive.

If not for the fact that I was told the copy I was using is a beta unit, nothing about it (from any annoying limitations or pop-ups) identify it as lacking in any features.

Given that 2009 is the year analysts are predicting the rise of the smaller netbook, there is no doubt that Windows 7 will be a boon for Microsoft. So the earlier it releases the new program, the better for Microsoft and its users.

Because let's be honest – do we really want to continue using Windows XP, a software that was made in the last millennium and released way back in 2001?

I don't think so.