Whyless@SG

I should be a huge fan of wireless@SG, but I'm really not. Not yet anyway. Wireless@SG is the Government sponsored WiFI network that was launched last year. It is not, as is often reported, an island-wide network, but rather a collection of hotzones around MRT stations and shopping centres intended for use while on-the-go. It certainly doesn't reach anywhere near my house. The closest would be the McDonalds either at Khatib or Northpoint.

It provides a free, unlimited use, basic Internet service running at (up to) 512kbps downlink, but you can chip in and pay for a premium service. The free service is subsidised (until 2010 at the moment) by the Government to promote wireless services and devices. They divvied up the contract to 3 operators who each cover about one third of the island. You have to register to use the network but a login account on any of the 3 operators works everywhere. Some locations automatically SMS you the URL when you come in range of a hotzone which is great for tourists and visiting business types.

My first experience was pretty poor. I applied online but used my home phone number. You were supposed to provide your mobile so they could SMS you the password so I needed a frustrating support call to get going. Pretty poor show as mobile numbers begin with "9" and landlines begin with "6" so the software should have caught that one.

In use, my major gripe is that it hardly ever works when / where I need it. Sure, sat in the lobby of SingTel CommCenter you get fantastic signal strength but elsewhere it becomes theoretical. Portable devices like phones & laptops don't have great antennas and may not even run at full transmit power so you really need to be close in to a node.

It's a pity you can't change your password so I have to remember 8 or 9 random letters and numbers. Logging in is done by portal page which captures your first web access. This is very common, but you need a full browser and keyboard. Until you login in, other IP services such as remote login won't work.

The last minor gripe is the incessant marketing. Every time you login, (with SingTel at least) you are asked to answer 2 personal questions. I positively refuse to volunteer information which is going to be used against me so I always get prompted with the questions. They are trying to provide location based services, but still the full list is mind-bogglingly intrusive:

"Imagine you can see promotions based on your preference around you when you log on to SingTel Wireless@SG! Isn't that fantastic?! No pop ups, mass email spamming or SMS alerts! All you need to do is to fill in the following questions so that we can serve you better."

• Name
• Family Name
• ID Type [I/C (pink or blue), FIN, Passport (foreigners only)]
• ID No.
• Date of Birth
• House No/Blk/Tower
• Street Name
• Floor / Unit No
• Building Name
• Postal Code
• Dwelling Type [ HDB | Private Property ]
• Email Address
• Mobile Number
• Home Phone
• Office Phone
• Fax
• Gender [ Male | Female ]
• Marital Status [ Single | Married | Others ]
If married, do you have any children? [ Yes | No ]
• Educational Level [ Below Secondary | Secondary| Post Secondary | University | Post Graduate ]
• Occupation [ Professionals / Managers / Executives | Proprietor / Business Owner / Company Owner | White Collar | Skilled Worker | Semi-skilled Worker | Students | Homemakers | Retired | Others ]
• Industry [ Manufacturing | Construction | Wholesale & Retail | Transport & Storage | Hotels & Restaurants | Information & Communications | Financial Services | Real Estate & Leasing Services | Professional Services | Admin & Support Services | Community, Social & Professional Services ]
• Personal Income [ No income | Less than S$1,500 | S$1,500 – S$2,499 | S$2,500 – S$3,999 | S$4,000 – S$5,999 | S$6,000 – S$9,999 | S$10,000 & above ]
• Household Income
• Which of the following are of interest to you: [ Entertainment |
Sports/Fitness/Health | Dine/Wine/Night Life/Clubs/Pubs | Fashion/Arts/Culture | Travel/Lifestyle | Business/Computers | Movies/Music | Gaming ]

Crikey, bad survey alert! Another major Singaporean organisation too timid to use the word sex and fluffs it with gender and then compounds the error by not using Masculine & Feminine. Who has a marital status of Other? Apparently they are only interested in your children if you are Married. Funny there's no "Do I want to avoid all market research: Yes/No". It's too depressing.

Still, it's free, unlimited, decently quick, increasingly available and when I get an iPhone, I'm hoping for the best but I expect to need 3G cellular data service as well for the majority of time when I'm out of range.

We Mustafa Look

This story starts at a dinner party of 8 people, about half of whom we knew. As the conversation meandered around the usual middle-class obsessions of jobs, stupid politics and rising house prices we took a detour into shopping and one man's eyes lit up when we expressed no knowledge of a Singapore shop called Mustafas. We were regaled with stories of people arriving at Changi airport, leaping in a cab and saying "Take me to Mustafas". Our host admitted to starting a fracas by going to the food section to buy chapati; stood in front of a large display of many brands, she asked the Indian lady on her left which was the best one and ended up starting an argument with the lady on her right who disagreed vocally. Our host grabbed a pack and ducked out of that one. Part of the shop is open 24/7 and we were recommended to visit during the night to avoid the crowds.

So with this setup, we had to find out. Mustafas is a department store spread across several buildings in a block at the north end of Little India. Allegedly, it was mentioned in passing by the Prime Minister in an August National Day speech when he noted the significant export trade in TVs and other electrical goods that Singaporean retailers achieve.

When we moseyed along there on Saturday night, we realised we had been there before, but had never bothered to explore what looks like a fairly ordinary department store. What sets it apart is ferocious cost cutting and a wide service portfolio tweaked for Indian expats and visitors. It reminds me of Trago Mills; a large, rambling store full of everything from food, clothing, luggage, electronics, cosmetics, medicines, computers, a Post Office, money change bureau, calling cards, credit services and even an hotel. We asked one checkout lady what was in the other building and her reply of "more items" seemed unhelpfully terse until we went to check it out and indeed, it was just more stuff with little to differentiate it from the previous section other than latitude and longitude.

Prices can be good or just typical, it varies, so you need some discretion when buying but the feeling is of cost-plus pricing rather than what will the market bear?

There's loads of staff (mostly Indians) and security is reasonably tight to avoid retail shrinkage. Carry bags are tie-wrapped off at the till and later when we tired of the crowds and retired across the road to an Indian vegetarian restaurant for a stuffed naan with paneer mutter (cheese with peas) and a mango lassi, the other tables were strewn around with the characteristic pinched carrier bags. We'll be going back as it's worth an occasional visit to pick up cheap essentials and have a good Indian meal.

Spotting Tourists

Number 1. Shorts. Virtually no man who lives here wanders around town in shorts. If visitors wear long trousers on the plane, they don't last long. Job #1 is to strip off, shower and don shorts and a T-shirt. The only exceptions are older gentlemen and Japanese visitors who both demand greater sartorial dignity.

So the burning question is how quickly do economic migrants (e.g. expats) flip from shorts-wearing tourist mode to local long pants? In my case, about 2 months, a random statistic I am going to arbitrarily state as the average.

Number 2. Cameras. Anyone taking a picture of a glass building is a tourist. And one clearly without the creativity to think of a better picture after having done the Merlion and the Durian concert hall.

There are other dead giveaways like maps, Swedish students with enormous backpacks and Japanese tour groups who all wear cotton hats and sensible shoes. But for me, it's the shorts and white knees.