In one of my previous blog post here I wrote about how Google sniped at Internet Explorer users on their Gmail account by saying that Gmail runs faster in Google Chrome. Well I realised Google snipes at IE users on the main Google search page too. There are constant calls for IE users to switch to Chrome.

I’m no big fan of IE. I hate IE in fact. I find it amusing Google is using so many means to hit back at Microsoft. And now news are out that Google is launching a new Operating System also called Chrome that is based on the open source Linux for netbooks. Well if this operating system becomes mainstream, we will just see cheaper laptops in the future. Which brings me to the next question, should I get a Macbook, a laptop with Vista, wait for Windows 7 launch on laptop or a netbook for portability?

It’s a hassle to transfer PayPal money for Malaysians. I do not know why it’s taking PayPal and the Malaysian banking authorities so long to provide this much needed service. It’s been quite some time since PayPal opened their regional headquarters in Singapore.

Anyway, I think the most hassle free way to transfer your virtual PayPal money into rock-solid bank notes is to simply head down to Singapore for a holiday, open up a POSB Bank account and then simply do a bank transfer to the Singapore bank account. I have done it and it’s completed really fast.

Here’s how. Head down to any POSB branch and open up a bank account. You can simply open a bank account with just a Malaysian IC. No need passport or any other crap. Cool right? Some features for you to consider with this POSB account - Internet banking and MasterCard Debit Card. I’m still waiting for my Internet banking package to arrive. But the MasterCard Debit Card is the single most useful piece of feature from my POSB account. It works exactly like a Credit Card and can be used online anywhere. It’s how I validate my PayPal.

I wanted this same Debit Card with my Maybank, but sadly they don’t provide it. Their Visa Debit Card can’t be used online. What crap.

Anyway, once you opened up your POSB Bank account, use the following details to key into your PayPal account. This is provided to me by a POSB Bank officer and it works perfectly fine for me.

Bank Name: DBS Bank Ltd.
Bank Code: 7171
Branch Code: 081
Account Type: Saving

The bank name is DBS because POSB is owned by DBS. Oh do note, if you are above 21 years old, you need to maintain a S$500 deposit balance else they will deduct S$2 per month (if I’m not wrong).

The entire process took about 3 working days before the money appear in my POSB account. Cool stuff I would say. Oh PayPal will deduct S$1 for bank transfer of less than S$200.

If you need to check your bank balance or report stolen DBS debit card, call this number: +65-6327 2265
And if you need to call PayPal for any reason, call this number: +65-6510 4650
Oh this PayPal number will be rerouted to a Shanghal call centre, so have fun talking there!

Don’t be discouraged to call the Singapore numbers listed above. It’s actually quite cheap to call Singapore. If you are on Digi, you can call Singapore for 18sen/minute. I’m not joking. This is serious shit. It’s cheaper than calling my neighbour on his mobile phone! I saw some adverts for Maxis and Celcom too, but I’m not too sure the exact price to call Singapore, but you can try for about 1 minute to get a rough gauge of the price. It won’t slaughter you, that’s for sure.

Hope this helps.

I was Facebooking as usual and while Facebooking I took a glance at the ad on the right bar of Facebook and I was taken aback by the ad that I saw. It was an ad by MCA to join MCA Gombak Facebook Group.

Cool stuff. Did not know that MCA are taking a serious step in battling the online world. But they still have a long way to go. There are not many ‘Friends‘ in their contact list. And shouldn’t a centralised MCA group be used instead of individual MCA branch groups?

MCA needs to ramp up their online presence. Well I have to admit though, the picture of this MCA group is indeed a good one. Creates a happy, youthful impression for me.

Someday in the future, if I have enough money to provide scholarships to others, this is what I will do. I will put up a full page colour advert on all the major newspapers  and run a month-long online ad campaign on all the major online media, portals, blogs to advertise my scholarship.

My scholarship will have NO application form. Yes you read me right. NO APPLICATION FORM.

The idea is, We have $$$ to be given out for scholarships.  But we are different from the rest. We don’t do things the normal way. Here’s the information that we will provide. An office address. An email address. Your task is to proof to us in the most outrageous, outstanding, radical way why you deserve to win this scholarship.

I love this idea. Students will scramble to crack their brains to be the most creative application since there are no application forms. They are encouraged to use whatever methods to impress. It can be low-tech stuff like sending a big colour package descriving your life in a postcard or sending in dozens of photos with short descriptions or high-tech stuff like creating a 5 minute video presentation of you skydiving explaining your reason or creating a website with support from members from you college and school or using faceboook and creating a group with 10000 followers why you deserve this scholarship. The idea is proof to us in a different manner why you are different. The key is the sky’s the limit. But one thing is certain - just sending in your resume and 10 page essays will get your application tossed into the bin unless it is accompanied by something unique and exceptional.

Send in you application in whichever way to the office address and/or email address to be evaluated. Only the most creative application will be shortlisted.

Your exam results, co-curricular achievements, personality, character and all will/should be reflected in the application. This is cool. This really shortlist the most motivated and determined people.

My 2nd round will be total hard-core business development, marketing idea/brainstorming, creative session individual presentation.

This is all about ideas and selling yourself. I like creativity. I think it’s understated in our current model. It is not being emphasized enough. Let’s go build creativity.

Oh I would love to give out 2 years bond or bond-free scholarships too. Hmmm….I would love to be surprised everyday during this scholarship application. Will I ever get to see this happen?

UPDATE: I was at Sime Darby interview on Monday and I sold this idea to them..Will they take it up? It will be interesting if they do.

OK I’m officially making RedPimple public and opening my cash wallet to entry submission.

Quoting fully from the entry titled Earn Money…Earn $$$…No Joke. Real Cash on RedPimple:

Earn $$$. There is no other easier way to earn money during this economic crisis.

Hantarkan article anda dalam Bahasa Inggeris, Bahasa Melayu, atau RedPimple style - ROJAK language!
We love Rojak stuff.

Write to us anything about Malaysia - whether the things you like or the things you dislike. We WANT to hear from you. Anything under the sun is good for us. Whether it’s your favourite nasi lemak stall or the fun time you had in school or the irritating traffic jams you have to endure or even about our politicians, just write to us. We WANT to hear from you. If your stuff is good, we will publish it and pay you RM5!

Yea, anda ternampak betul. RM5 untuk artikel original anda! Artikel yang sekurang-kurangnya 300 patah perkataan sahaja! Ini cara cari duit paling senang! Lebih senang daripada buat survey-survey yang hanya berikan puluhan sen sahaja.

And the best part is, y0u don’t have to wait till you have collected RM50 or RM100 to cash out. We pay you immediately once it’s published. Just give us one week to sort out the banking transaction and soon you will see the money in your bank account. This is better than all the other online advertising websites or surveys out there because most require you to hit a certain quota before cashing out. This requires lots of time and effort. We are sincere; we don’t want to trouble you much. We want to make this process of earning money as simple and easy as possible.

Tunggu apa lagi?

Come gempak with us at RedPimple and let us build a new cool real Malaysian youth portal, “BY YOUTHS FOR YOUTHS!”

For us to continue giving out money, we need to be a big thing in Malaysia. Only then can we attract future advertisers to part with their cash so that we can distribute to you. You Support Us, We Support You. So tell all your friends about this. Let us grow and you shall be duly rewarded. Email your friends, Write in your blogs, Tell your friends, Talk about us. Just remember RedPimple…RedPimple…RedPimple….

Submit your stuff to us at submit {at} redpimple {dot} com
Do include your name, age, location and school/college if you are still studying. Oh btw, only 13-25 years old are allowed to participate because we believe that’s the ideal age to be called a youth. Disagree? Jo in the discussion on the definition of youth here.

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Yea I’m throwing cold hard cash at making this venture a success in Malaysia. It’s a dog eat dog world out there, and the Malaysian youth market is a very competitive one. Is it large enough to accomodate and extra passenger? Support me and make the answer a Yes! YES WE CAN!

Is it ethical for a company to put up sponsored links on Google on search terms for their rivals? How do you judge business marketing ethics?

I was doing a random search for Reebok and Adidas and what I saw on the sponsored links on Google horrified me.

What do you have to say? Should Nike continue their practise?
Or better still, what has Adidas or Reebok has to say about their rivals placing sponsored links on Google on their search term!

Oh I’d just noticed something really interesting too. Adidas search listing is about 3 times more than Reebok’s. Where has Reebok gone wrong in their marketing?

The day after I came back from Singapore, I had a meeting with Darren, the founder of AdExcel - an online advertising startup - in his office in Gardens, MidValley. He’s really nice and motivating to me and is helping me with a youth community gathering cum the launch of RedPimple.

We were brainstorming for ideas on what can be done during the youth community gathering and we came out with a good idea. We are going to conduct a roundtable discussion on how youths can earn money through the Internet. There are many young people earning money to supplement their income through the Internet. It definitely beats the experience of standing as a promoter in some malls hawking some product.

Many people do not see the potential of the Internet. Those of you who are already blogging might probably be earning money through some form of advertising. But there are other methods that people use to increase their income and many people will be surprised to find out. So that is our aim for this event – to expose youths to the various methods of moneymaking activities online to increase their pocket money and cash loan.

I will be the moderator for this roundtable discussion. We plan to have 5 panel speakers for this discussion. We already have 3 speakers and are looking for 2 more - Darren will be speaking about online advertising, Kinsan, a blogshop directory owner at prettyandunder40.com might come and talk about the blogshop prospect in Malaysia and another blogshop owner will come and talk about her experience of setting up and running a blogshop.

For my remaining two speakers, I plan to get a freelancer to come and talk about his/her experience doing part time jobs online or maybe I might approach one of the part time website operators in Malaysia. Also I was thinking about several designers (like shoe painting and t-shirt designers) who are using the Internet to conduct sales.

Do you have anyone to suggest to me or are you someone young who is earning money through the Internet? We would like to hear from you.

This is a brief outline of the programme:

2.00pm: Registration
2.30pm: Start @ Games and Freebies Giveaways
2.45pm: Roundtable Discussion with 5 speakers
3.30pm: Games & Freebies Giveaways
3.45pm: Stand-up Comedian/Magician Show
4.00pm: Launch of RedPimple Malaysia
4.15pm: Closing Remarks
4.20pm: End @ Networking Session

We plan to have it on the Saturday, 25th April 2009. We will try to approach some pubs around the Sunway area to have our event, else it’s going to be in Darren’s office in Gardens, MidValley.

We are on the lookout for volunteers for this project. So if you are interested in helping out for this event or for RedPimple in general, just contact me and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

My last post had been more than 2 weeks ago. It is really dinosaur age updates in the blogging world for me here. Well, you shall expect the usual Busy excuse from me again.

OK, this is what I had been doing for the past 2 weeks while I was MIA. I put up my last blog post one day before I left for Singapore to collect my A-Level results. It was great fun down in Singapore catching up with friends and all. It was a hectic schedule down there. I met up with about 3 to 4 groups of friends daily while in Singapore. We slept late everyday (around 3 to 4am) and woke up early (8 to 9am) for the next meeting with another group of friends. We had brunch, lunch, dinner and supper appointments. It was crazy stuff every night. My classmates are one united bunch of friends. We are so close we met up about 3 times during my short trip down to Singapore.

The plan was to come back on Monday morning, but I had to delay my trip back by a few days because of some important missing letter from NUS. So I only came back KL on Wednesday.

Back in KL, it’s crazy time applying for scholarships and all. It’s my window to go join my friends in UK and to fulfil my childhood dream to study in a university in UK.

At the same time, I spent 2 full days sorting out my driving license. The Sunday was spent practising before the test on Tuesday. During my last lesson, my instructor was damn anal in pestering me to pay an additional RM200 to grease my way through the ‘On The Road’ test. I was irritated by his demeanours. Well I did not pay the extra money and passed by test on Tuesday. On Thursday my Probationary Driving License arrived.

Also at the same time I spent some days going down downtown KL meeting some friends, so that effectively killed off a huge portion of my time. But I’m still feeling kinda bored these days at home. I need to work on the RedPimple project.

I’m seriously short of cash. Perhaps I will need to get fast cash payday loans to sort out my working capital for the RedPimple project. Oh talking about RedPimple, I’ll write more about the upcoming meet-up I’m planning in my next blog post.

And I would also like to say the following. I’m going to climb Mount Kinabalu on the 27-28 May. We are going to be in Kota Kinabalu from the 25-30 May. It’s an expedition for 5. I still have 1 more place, so anyone interested to go together just contact me.