Sofia Verlag Blog

A few days ago, I saw this women trying to answer her mobile while eating her Popeye Chicken. I could only snap the photo while she was getting ready to hang up but she did have that phone by her ear and was holding it there in almost the same manner… trying not to get the greasy chicken from her fingers all over her designer phone.

How do you solve this problem? I think she should have a blue tooth device, those ugly star trek things people wear to avoid having to touch her phone (But they are so ugly to wear) OR she should just be considerate and not talk with someone else while enjoying lunch with her friend.

I find it interesting in Asia that if your phone rings, and you are in a meeting, people seem to think it is OK to start another conversation. As if the person who is calling you has first right to your time even though they have no idea what you are doing.

I am writing for this magazine and interviewed ATTWilliams for the cover story.   Challenges are always fun and this time the challenge was to combine HR and Formula 1 racing.

I recently talked with someone whose boss hid for three weeks.    A decision needed to be made and the manager disappeared.    It is interesting that people hate making decisions. They hate being wrong.  In Singapore, part of the Asian culture makes it difficult for people to admit defeat, failure, or making an error.   Because of this cultural pressure, people will fade into the background hoping that you will not notice them and ask them their opinion.. hopefully they don’t become a nation of shadows.

The government is working on this but there is just so much you can tell.. sometimes you just need managers who show you the way.

There is a fine line between what is fun and what is work… at least for me. Here is a photo I took using the Sony DSC-H50 last night on the way home from one of the Sony Stores on Orchard (There are two of them there).

I know it isn’t a professional camera but I walked around for an hour this morning holding it in one hand and my arm isn’t sore. I also didn’t want to put it away and I didn’t feel like a tourist.

An added bonus of this camera is that it still fits in my purse!

There is a company that promotes their brand by saying you are just keeping it for the next generation (Watch Company) but with my Sony products, we pass them down to the next generation after a few years and is probably the only time my daughter is happy to get a hand me down…

A few weeks ago, the hard drive on my iMac failed. It was not a surprise, I leave it on almost all the time and I use it for everything. So when my computer started to run slow I got nervous and backed everything up. Then, I tried reinstalling my software but it just gave me a big fat NO. No you cannot reinstall software and No you can’t access anything and if it had a tongue my computer would have been sticking it out at me.

I packed up the iMac in its HUGE box and lugged it down to the store. The customer service in Singapore for Apple is great and after telling me that it was probably my fault, she took the computer and gave it to the technicians… two days later I got a call to pick up my computer…. it was not my fault.. the hard drive failed and they replaced it with a smile… even lugging the box to my car. (the box is bigger than my child and barely fits in the BMW Mini)

Now, I have a fresh hard drive and I want to keep my daughter from downloading stuff.. she gets onto kids sites and hits print and then we get all kinds of interesting things coming out of the printer using up my valuable ink. (paper is ok.. ink is the killer)

So, Avanquest is now offering net nanny for Apple computers which gives me the option to limit my daughter’s access to the internet without having to sit right next to her while she plays children’s flash games. (fun only the first time for adults) I am happy that Avanquest is heading in this directon.. they bought Emme, I thought I would be seeing more of them. I guess it takes awhile to tackle the female market even for a big software distribution company.

It has been a year since I moved to Singapore and I finally decided to create a company in Singapore so I can continue with my project.  The Singaporean version of my project is called Sofia Says… verlag does not mean much to Singaporeans so we are going with the name of my personal blog….

Now that I am registered with Singapore, I can go out and get business or make a business or just sit here and think about business but I have permission from Singapore to be doing it… that is what is important.

Here is my logo:

Who said that women don’t like technology?  Here is a woman who walked down the street without a purse but could not leave home without her tech gadgets.  In one pocket she stuffed her mobile phone and in the other pocket  her iPod gadget.  Not only does this show you that women will carry around  gadgets if they are small enough but more important, you don’t have to worry about pick pockets when visiting Singapore.

 I passed this ad this morning.   Would you be compelled to buy a hoover if a women is naked holding a hoover?  No.  I personally do not think any naked women could get me to buy a computer.. maybe a naked man.. with the computer strategically placed… a cute male model.. NOT an IT guy….  I know they are playing with the slogan but I think they could have done something a little more interesting than naked women… boring… Think of Apple ads.. they are just really cool….On Thursday, walking  into the Sony store at the tech mall,   I was the only women in the store.  They have some wonderful accessories coming out but of course women do not know they exist because they are not entering technology stores.  We did see a woman buy a sony computer but she bought it at the outdoor display not in the store…I read a review about computers a few days ago where the journalist reviewed the new Sony laptop, apple laptop and a linux version.  She said that she loved the Apple and would be getting it for her next computer.  In her review she said that she liked the Sony but it had so much stuff but not the best for what she wanted (video streaming was one of the problems)I agree with her.. I love both Sony and Apple but if I had to chose right now, I would choose the Apple computer because it is just easier and when you do not have hours to spend to figure something out, it is great to just be able to work on the computer to do things like this: I did this with my Wacom board, my Imac And Adobe software……   The software to create this project is available for all computers we just need computers capable of handling the software and the file management for such a project. 

For the last week, I have been following the articles about the Miami based company offering a computer that will run Apple Software.  Psystar  realized that there is a market demand for such a product but in a rush to get the product on the market forgot a few business basics.  I understand the problem with processing orders but they certainly did not plan how to deal with the media and viral marketing.  That is a pity but hopefully they will have time to learn. There has been a lot of talk about how they are not professional but they are entrepreneurs.. that does not make them professionals.   I wish them luck but the US is not the location to try this kind of stunt… this sort of activity would work in Asia or Europe where the court systems are more sympathetic to the end user.   In the United States, the individuals involved (not only Apple but some other owners of intellectual property) will make it difficult for this company to succeed.  Who has the most money to spend in the court systems of the US? 

I worked on this design for someone at Deloitte.   A few weeks ago, I got a Wacom Cintiq Board which allows me to easily work with photoshop and illustrator.   The color of the background is actually black but in this jpeg turned out a different shade.    What I wanted to show you was how you can take a corporate event and make it into an interesting motivational piece for employees.  Here, the staff participated in a team building event and now they have an interesting momento which may also be used internally for recruiting.   Do you have what it takes to use a Wacom Cintiq Board?