Singapore Housing Board's new Lease Buyback

According to an article in ST on 24 June 2009, HDB has launched a new

lease Buyback ( LBS) .

1) The scheme is available to low-income Singapore citizens who own

three-room or smaller flats, with an outstanding mortgage loan of

S$5,000 or lower.

2) Applicants must be at least 62 years old.

How it works :

• The HDB will buy back the tail-end of the flat lease at market rate,

leaving the household with a remaining 30-year.

• Out of the S$10,000 government subsidy given to those on the

scheme; S$5,000 is paid up front as a lump sum.

• The other S$5,000, along with money for the lease, is used to buy

a new CPF Life anuity in the home owner's name.

• The amont of monthly income that a household receives from the

scheme depends on the market value of the flat, the amount of

remaining lease, and the age and gender of the applicant.

An example of a 62-year old retiree with a two-room, living in his

flat for more than 40 year, will be paid more than S$400 a month

for the rest of his life, in exchange for the tail-end of the 99-year

lease of his flat.

The LBS targets those without the option of living in a rental flat,

downgrading to a smaller flat, sub-letting their entire flat, or relying

on family support.

What is your views on this scheme ?

We welcome your comments here.

Singapore International Water Week Convention 2009

Singapore’s signature water event – Water Convention 2009 will be held from 22^nd through the 26^th of June. The global movers and the shakers of the water industry will gather in Singapore for the second Singapore Water Week.

Close to 10,000 delegates and trade visitors, from at least 80 countries , are expected at the events to be held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Despite the global downturn and the H1N1 bug spread, the event has drawn even more delegates as compared to last year of 8,500 delegates.

The Convention will cover four main themes:
1.Water Technology Solutions for Today’s Applications
2.Managing Water Infrastructure
3.Water and Health
4.Planning for Sustainable Water Solutions

Over the coming week, high-level discussions will be held among the conference participants, and water-technology companies, both local and foreign, will showcase their latest innovations.

Changi water-reclaimation plant which is Singapore’s largest is also declared open on 23 Jun 2009, as part of the week’s programme. When completed, it will be one of the largest water-reclaimation facility in the world.

Singapore's "Father of Counselling" Anthony Yeo dies aged 60

In May, Mr Yeo was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, cancer of a type of white blood cell that fights off body infection, after he collapsed at home on the evening of May 9.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anthony Yeo was a Singaporean counsellor, described as Singapore's "father of counselling" for his pioneering role in the profession's development in Singapore.

He was born into a Teochew family in Singapore. He attended Victoria School and graduated from the [University of Singapore] in 1972. He later founded and served as clinical director of the Counselling and Care Centre, Singapore's first counselling centre; he also helped to establish a suicide prevention agency, SOS. CCC trained around a thousand counsellors.

He died on June 20, 2009, of Burkitt's lymphoma, and was survived by his wife Soo Lan and by two adult sons.

Yeo was a regular contributor to the The Straits Times, including as an advice columnist.

Facebook Vanity URL Landrush launch

Facebook Vanity URL Landrush launched on 12 June 2009

“Landrush" is a term used to define the stampede of registrations when a registry opens to registrations. First Come, First Served.

More than 500,000 registered within the first 15 minutes and additionally more than 3 milillions people registered their Facebook usernames in the first 12 hours after the land rush began. It was an impressive launch with a big number of videos circulating Facebook Vanity URL landrush launch.

Were you up late racing to get your name on Facebook? Did you lose out to someone else?

Came across some interesting usernames such as :

1) http://www.facebook.com/socialmedia

2) http://www.facebook.com/error.404

Isn't these usernames interesting ? Share your comments about the registration and some interesting usernames with us. Welcome your comments.

Govt e-service on your 3G smartphone

The Smartphones industry is coming soon to offer convenient access to Singapore government services and information.

Some of the e-services that we can expect offering soon such as :

1) To find out how crowded a polyclinic waiting room via direct video link.

2) Booking for sport facilities or arranging appointments with IRAS, the tax man.

3) To pay fines, check weather forecasts, etc

These are som of the e-services which Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and a Singapore company, Mobile Werkz will be working out.

Look like Smartphones going to dominate the world of mobile phone. Do you own a smartphone ?

So what is a Smartphone ?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia has the following details :

A smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality.

There is no industry standard definition of a smartphone. For some, a smartphone is a phone that runs complete operating system software providing a standardized interface and platform for application developers.

For others, a smartphone is simply a phone with advanced features like e-mail, Internet and e-book reader capabilities, and/or a built-in full keyboard or external USB keyboard and VGA connector.

In other words, it is a miniature computer that has phone capability.

Growth in demand for advanced mobile devices boasting powerful processors, abundant memory, large screens and open operating systems has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market for several years.

Examples of Several different smartphones such as

1) iPhone 3G

2) Blackberry 8820

3) Nokia N78,Nokia N81,Nokia N95,Nokia E65 & Nokia N70

4) The Palm Treo 750, a Windows Mobile smartphone released in 2007

and many more...

Do you have something to share ? We welcome your comments.