Canon PowerShot A710 IS is Now Available

Yippeeee.... Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! *jumping up and down gleefully*

I'm so excited! After this reply, they decided to follow up with another reply as below.

From: helpdesk@canonsys.net.my
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 4:41 PM
Subject: RE: Customer Enquiry/Feedback


Dear Ms Xxxxxxxx,

With regards to your inquiry earlier pertaining to digital camera Powershot
A710 IS, we are pleased to informed that the said model is available now
and it is being retailed at RM1,399.
For any purchase kindly refer to our Canon Concept Store at KLCC or
Midvalley. The address is:

CANON LIFESTYLE CONCEPT STORE
KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
L329, Level 3, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Center,
50088 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-21662382, 603-21666813
Fax: 603-21711763, 603-21712631
(Business Hours: 10am to 10pm)

Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur
Lot S051, 2nd Floor, Mid Valley Megamall,
Lingkaran Syed Putra, 50088 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 603-22827037
(Business Hours: 10am to 10pm)

Should you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact
the undersigned.
We thank you for writing to us and have a pleasant evening.

"Customer Delight" <------ I am very delighted now :)

Best Regards

Canon Helpdesk
ME Division
Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn.Bhd
Tel:603-7844 8333
Fax:603-7844 8222

So it is confirmed that the previous email reply was an ambiguous explanation that "the model is not available in Malaysia yet" and not "not will be released in Malaysia at all". I have been hoping the former is the case and I'm glad that it is so.

Grammar 'Koyak'

By the time I ......, I had become .....
Since that research, doctors often have used it ....
A number of the companies have ....
The number of books available is ....
By tomorrow, you will have been convinced that .... is one of the wisest move in your life.
We have striven to ......
The .... has been brought into .....
In the same way that the jet plane has shrank the highways of the air, so shall the ..... shrink the highways on the land.
Maths, as well as economics, is required.
Each order has been ....

My head is spinning from the fact that I have a very lousy command of grammar. Sometimes, trainers have to attend training too and I am attending a training related to "business writing". We have exercise after exercise of grammar on the first day and realization hit me on how bad my command on the subject is. All my blog entries about past experiences; the past progressive tense, past participles, past don't-know-what-else tense, must have been 'koyak'. Please don't mind my grammar for now I realize how bad my grammar is.

Maybe I should change to photoblog. Then I don't have to write. Or maybe start vlogging from now on. But then again, where am I going to dump all the wretchedness, gloom, melancholy feeling in here so I can continue living up to the expectation of making the association to the sunflower? Somehow, diaries didn't work for me. I have many blank ones. Hmmm grammar 'koyak' pun koyaklah kan :p

Salam Ramadhan

Yoga Mat, Sleeping Bag and Wooden Ladle

My feet are aching so bad I don't think I can move anymore. I'm on leave today and the plan is to go shopping before the fasting month hoping to find a good deal before the fasting month's shopping frenzy. I don't have a baju raya yet. Tough luck! I only see ugly kebaya and baju kurung on the rack. No wonder nobody wants to buy them. The shopping complexes and stores should fire their buyer for such a lousy collection.

No shoes.

Disappointed not finding anything worth buying, I went to check out the new Carrefour at Kepong. The place is huge and everything is brand new you couldn't find a dusty item anywhere. I didn't take the trolley because I didn't plan to buy anything. But after walking around, I wish I had a trolley with me. I can always find a trolley and continue shopping but I refrain myself from getting one or I'd ended up putting everything I want into it.

Items that caught my attention: -

1. Luggage bag... the one I'm having now is too small for long trips but my next long trip is in December so that can wait
2. Laptop bag... as if what I'm having now is not good enough
3. Swimsuit... should be useful even if I'm wearing it under t-shirt and track bottom but I'm not going anywhere near the water anytime soon.
4. Tent
5. Sleeping bag
6. More camping gear... as if I'm going camping anytime soon
7. Foldable chair
8. Foldable mattress
9. Storage box... as if I needed more
10. Rugs
11. Square phone rack
12. Yoga mat with bag
13. Gym ball
14. Cooking utensils... as if I'm cooking up a storm in the kitchen nowadays
15. And I'm sure I'd be putting in more useless or rarely used items in the trolley if I push one around.

No shoes here.

Without a trolley, I have to choose the items I wanna buy carefully so I ended up with the yoga mat, sleeping bag and a wooden ladle. A very eclectic and weird choice don't you think so? The cashier asked if the wooden ladle belongs to me :) I can sure use the yoga mat and the wooden ladle but I have no idea when I'm going to use the sleeping bag. I was thinking of going to Belum in November but I'm upgrading my digital camera and going on a long outstation trip in December so decided not to go to Belum for now. Maybe I can use it tonight in front of the TV hehehe...

Next stop, Jusco. I'm happy to find out the same yoga mat with bag is priced twice as much in Jusco and the sleeping bag is more expensive too. Found some nice looking blouse but they don't have the size or the color I want. Sigh!

No shoes here too.

Last stop, pasar malam. Just bought a box of dates and some fruits.

Definitely no shoes here.

So there goes my whole Friday.

The "Very Handsome" External Trainer

We have a "very handsome" external trainer for one of our internal training recently. Every female in my office got very excited whenever he walks in an out of the training room. Every married female of all races at the office has their eyes on him. They are all wondering why I, the only eligible female in the office, didn't show any interest at all. He is kinda sweet looking and I'm not surprise if some women would find him handsome or attractive. He is just OK to me. There are many good-looking guys or gals out there. Doesn't mean every female would fall head over heels over the good looking guys, similarly for every male over good looking girls. Anyway, my female colleagues are more excited for me. If he is still single, they want to play matchmaker. My male colleagues are oblivious to the existence of one "very handsome" external trainer and the excitement it stirs among their female colleagues.

By the second day, I managed to have a good look at him and noticed his 'boroi' tummy hehehe... I told my colleagues, "You all only look at his face and your view stopped at his neck level. Look further down at his boroi tummy lah. Very much married looking LOL". To which, a colleague commented she has a single male friend who is also 'boroi' attributed to his Mamak trait. The final day, one of our female manager noticed he often didn't eat the tea and lunch break provided. So she went to him to chitchat and managed to dig some information. He is married and brought packed lunch. That is why he didn't eat the food provided. Guess who prepared his packed lunch? His lovely and adoring wife? Nooooo.... his mommy packed the food for him.

Suddenly, everyone in the office changed her mind. "Sue, he's married but even if he is not, not suitable for you lah. His mom still packed his lunch for him ROTFL". And others started to say; "he looked handsome when I first look at him but after some time, not very good looking anymore lah". To my amazement, everyone changed their mind when they agree he is a mommy's boy. Being a single guy and having packed lunch prepared by his mother is very different than finding out he's married but still bring food packed by mommy :D The latter causes his merit points to be deducted even more. So I am safe from their matchmaking effort hehehe....

No Canon PowerShot A710 IS in Malaysia???

Waaarggghhhh.... :( I've been eyeing this digital camera for several weeks. Look at the spec. Impatient to wait for it to be available in our beloved country, I contacted them via Canon Malaysia website and this is what I got in reply.

From:
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 5:27 PM
Subject: RE: Customer Enquiry/Feedback@xxxxxxx (30332)

Dear xxxxxxx,

We thank you for interest in our digital camera. We regret to informed you that at this moment of time the said product is not being released in Malaysia. As so we are unable to provide you the pricing.

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

We thank you for writing to us and have a pleasant evening.

"Customer Delight" <--- I certainly am not delighted with this news

Best Regards

Canon Helpdesk
ME Division
Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn.Bhd
Tel:603-7844 8333
Fax:603-7844 8222

Isn't it silly if for whatever reason the model won't be released here. It is like we have these 10 items but you all have to be a good girl and boy and choose only from these 7 items even if you have the money to buy it. We are not going to sell the one that you want here.

I only want this or I won't buy from Canon at all. If Canon Malaysia is not good enough to be selling this model, have to try other country lah like this.

I Hit My Boss

Time : Yesterday
Location: Office

I was talking to another boss about my training schedule in December when my immediate boss had a coughing fit.

Me: Are you OK?
IB: No, I'm not.
Me: Have you taken honey? (I find pure honey works better than any coughing medicine)
IB: I've just had my 'honey' last night

THWACK!!! I hit him with the notebook I was holding. Hard on his shoulder.

Everyone in the office turned their head to look at what happened but the scene had passed.

IB: Adooiii!! Sakit lah.
Me: Lain yang orang cakap, lain yang dia jawab.

*IB - Immediate boss

Whenever my immediate boss is in his I'm-just-one-of-your-colleague mood, he'd usually joke about 'malam Jumaat' and the 'last night' he's referring to is 'malam Jumaat'. That's why I reacted that way. He's happily married with two daughters but he don't have to always share what he did during his 'malam Jumaat'. I just didn't mean to hit so hard.

After that I walked back to my seat. My discussion with the other boss has ended anyway. The office seemed more silent than usual and as I took my seat, I wondered what have I done. Yikes... I hit my boss. Again... just a different boss and a different organization. I don't know what to expect this time.

As I continued doing my work, the atmosphere slowly turned to normal and my boss asked me some questions later as if nothing has happened. Pheewwww... maybe I just over reacted. Many times later I feel like I should apologize to him but couldn't find a suitable moment so the incident was left as it is. The intention to apologize is not just because he's my boss. Even when it is done playfully, I don't want to hurt a friend or colleague like that. Hmmm... sorry Boss. Peace \/

Training Without Notes

The training ended quite early yesterday. I was feeling very tired after what seemed like endless trainings since last month so all I wanted to do was rest and go back. There is another training session today but I assumed everything was in order. Our admin staff was quite efficient but I had an uneasy feeling this morning. Did I send the training material for printing? I should have set the training room yesterday but didn't. Did they do it for me? I called office while I was still stuck in the traffic but they're not in yet. Hmm.... seems like I have to handle things when I reached office.

I checked for my material but can only find a few extras from my last training session. The clerk handling my session called to say she'd be coming in a little bit late today so everyone else helped me haunt for my notes if it is around. It wasn't. Sigh! I photocopied some of the urgent pages and send the rest for printing. If everything was OK, it should be ready by lunchtime. Despite everything, I was feeling quite relaxed. The session went on quite well luckily.

Then I heard a knock on the door. I was informed someone knocked down my material while in the printing process and the pages have been mixed up. They requested another copy for reference. Luckily, the extra notes from the previous session was available and I give one set to them. Seems like I'll be getting my material later then expected.

After lunch, my notes still have not arrived. The clerk called them and they said they've been calling us but keep getting network busy message. Something is definitely wrong with our phone lines. Quite a number of people has tried calling and said they couldn't get through. Anyway, they wanted to inform their wire binding machine broke down so they have to use comb binding. I just said bind it whichever way possible as long as it is binded. Sigh! I finally got the material at about 3 p.m.

I'm thankful they have done their best in this situation. I'm surprisingly very calm and has a very good feeling today. Very much in contrast to what I was feeling last night and very early this morning actually. I like it when I have a good training session, where the participants are responsive and they really show they have learnt something in class. It is like all their positive energies energizes me :) That feeling always managed to keep me going.

* I normally refer to my training material as notes

I Was Here

I was in KT last weekend and stayed here. It was a short outstation trip. I really wish I can extend my stay there but I had another training in KL therefore I had no choice but to return as scheduled. I didn't manage to do much sightseeing but the trip has been interesting nevertheless.

I have to give a long lunch break due to Friday prayer. Two of the female participants bring me around town for shopping and sight seeing. We went to Pasar Payang and I can't really shop in such a short time. It is not like I was looking for anything anyway. So after walking around the market, I decided I wanted the sleeveless tank top I saw at a stall right outside the market. We went to bargain and it turned out the one the mannequin wore is the only one left. The light blue sleeveless tank top has a very sexy looking cross back strap. Not that I'll be able to wear it in public but I'm wearing it now and feeling very sexy much like a proud tourist with a very good purchase hehehe....

After the training, one staff who wasn't attending the training invited us to eat 'Nasi Dagang' at her place. I didn't know her personally and really appreciate her invitation. The ladies invited me for more makan session and jalan2 after Maghrib but I'm full and feeling really tired so I have to decline. The next day there is a staff wedding and we went there during lunch. Again, I didn't know the staff personally. That was a weekend training session and people do have life other than training and I'm glad I was invited. My colleagues are so jealous when they hear I got invited to eat Nasi Dagang and attended a staff wedding there :)

I can't thank Miss Lovely Lady enough for driving me around when I was there, treat me dinner at Primula on my last day and send me to the airport.

I Am Pleased :)

1st weekend August	:	Outstation
2nd weekend August	:	Outstation
3rd weekend August	:	Outstation
4th weekend August	:	Scrub living room and bedroom floor
1st weekend September	:	Vacuum; wash curtain; organizes old and new bills/mails; rearrange living room furniture
2nd weekend September	:	Outstation
3rd weekend September	:	Outstation
4th weekend September	:	Outstation
5th weekend September	:	Repeat 4th weekend August task and more cleaning in preparation for Raya. Sigh!

Who would have thought keeping a small apartment like mine clean is so difficult. Even when you're not around, dust will accumulate. When I'm back from work, all I wanna think of is my dinner and rest. The most I would do is wash clothes. Unless of course something is really bothering me like a dirty bathroom or kitchen. What more if I just came back from outstation and tomorrow is working day or worse, another training in KL.

If you have always rely on your spouse to keep your place clean, don't ever take things for granted. It is not easy. Who ever said a housewife's or househusband's job is easy, have no idea at all. Besides, they have more pressure to keep the house clean coz they're at home all the time and what else do housewives or househusbands do but watch soap dramas and gossip. Housewives and househusbands please don't shoot me coz that is what some people thought. Otherwise, they wouldn't put one soap drama after another on TV during weekdays right?

Anyway, nothing pleases me more than a clean apartment where everything is in place and the things I have no time to attend to is hidden in a box somewhere in the store room heh :) It makes me high-spirited, full of zest for the week ahead and feeling more relax. Hmmmmm... pleasure in simple things :)

Cleanliness is encouraged in Islam. One of fengshui principle is to clear away clutter for a smoother flow of chi. No matter what you believe, what matters is you feel good about it.

Lesson in Living

A friend shared with me her favorite poem. It is so beautiful. Here it is. I'm sure you can find its original source if you google it.

The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Isn't it very true that the true measure of your worth is not the wealth you have but what you do when you don't have anything? Not just your loving friends and family around you but how you cope when you're being betrayed by any one of them? Not what you are now but what you really want to be? Not just by your successes but how you survive failure? Can we enjoy the little things in life or shun it and worry only about the big things?

It is not like answering an exam question. If this happens, this is what I'll do. If that happens, this is how I'll react. We'll only know the kind of person we are when we're facing a difficult situation. Fight or flight? Whether we'll be strong and face it or run away and hide. Many minor adversities in life and how we deal with it can prepare us when faced with major hardship. There is no easy answer but we have a choice and we can control what's within our control. We might not have much of a choice but there are still choices.

I've made some wrong choices in the past but those choices had teach me lessons about life and I've become what I am today. I might still make mistakes in future but I hope I'll be much wiser and didn't do too much of it. Thanks Ben. It is such a lovely poem.

When I'm In My Nasty Mood

I almost never go online on any instant messaging application while at work. There is just no time to chat. So the moment I'm on leave and go online on a working day, there will be influx of messages coming in.

stranger1 (4:40:46 PM): iiiiiii
sunf10wers (4:40:51 PM): hi
stranger1 (4:41:00 PM): leh chat
sunf10wers (4:41:09 PM): ok
stranger1 (4:41:19 PM): asl pls
sunf10wers (4:41:56 PM): 32 jantan bombay
sunf10wers (4:43:42 PM): ckp jantan jer terus diam ker ROTFL

I really hate it when people asked me ASL question (Age-Sex-Location for those who never chat). Sounded so juvenile. Yeah if you wanna chat you have to get to know some basic info about the other person but there are better ways to do it.

stranger2 (4:49:49 PM): berapa umur u
sunf10wers (4:50:05 PM): 32 jantan bombay
sunf10wers (4:50:09 PM): ROTFL
stranger2 (4:50:46 PM): u lelaki ke? (at least he asked and it sure is weired if I'm a guy coz I use Sue Sunflower as my display name)
sunf10wers (4:50:58 PM): hahahaha
sunf10wers (4:51:02 PM): tak lah acah jer
stranger2 (4:51:13 PM): terkejut saya
----------------------------------------------------
stranger2 (4:52:34 PM): u dah kahwin ke
sunf10wers (4:52:51 PM): janda 7 kali
stranger2 (4:53:09 PM): amboi tak baik tau
sunf10wers (4:53:27 PM): single lah
sunf10wers (4:54:54 PM): awat semua lelaki tanya single ker tak?
stranger2 (4:54:54 PM): ok saya 34 dah kahwin pun anak sorang
sunf10wers (4:55:01 PM): i chat dgn laki org ok jer
sunf10wers (4:55:07 PM): hah laki org pun ni
stranger2 (4:55:26 PM): i suka terus terang aje
stranger2 (4:55:36 PM): so u ni janda ke?
sunf10wers (4:56:08 PM): no i'm single
stranger2 (4:56:29 PM): ok.....
stranger2 (4:56:34 PM): sorry lah banyak tanya
stranger2 (4:56:44 PM): takut u ni single mom ke atau bini org ke sebab tu tanya
sunf10wers (4:57:05 PM): y takut single mom or bini org?
sunf10wers (4:57:10 PM): u laki org ok plak chat?
stranger2 (4:57:59 PM): saya nak cari yg open minded
stranger2 (4:58:37 PM): saja nak berkawan
stranger2 (4:58:43 PM): asal kan pandai jaga diri
sunf10wers (4:58:48 PM): sorry if i may say awal2 u dah tunjuk tak open minded sbb tanya status tu
sunf10wers (4:59:09 PM): i have no problem chatting with anybody
stranger2 (4:59:48 PM): i cuma tanya aje kut u tak selesa dgn laki org ke (ayat cover line)
sunf10wers (4:59:54 PM): ok

Kalau "saja nak berkawan", what's wrong with befriending another guy or single mom right? Anyway, we chatted about work a bit and stopped just like that. He probably hated my guts and I already have not a very good impression of him. Anyway, I think I have to forever be 'invisible' from now on. Use stealth settings to be online only for my friends. Probably what one of my friend send to our egroup is true. I don't know. Only those in the position would know.

Before any guy shoot me, it was sent by a guy friend.

Men:
1. All men are extremely busy.
2. Although they are so busy, they still have time for women.
3. Although they have time for women, they don't really care for them.
4. Although they don't really care for them, they always have one around.
5. Although they always have one around them, they always try their Luck with others.
6. Although they try their luck with others, they get really pissed off if the women leaves them.
7. Although the women left them they still don't learn from their mistakes and still try their luck with others.

* I either have too much time on my hand or too many things on my mind to be posting four entries in a day.

Sunset From My Window

The weather today is very nice. The morning is bright with blue skies decorated sparsely with beautiful white clouds, the view is surprisingly very clear (measured by whether you can see Genting Highlands or not... let's say from Jalan Kuching), the cloud looks darker in the afternoon but in the evening it clears up again. Here is a picture of the beautiful sunset view from my living room window. The view from where I sit on my sofa, feet up with laptop on my lap and TV right infront of me. Just perfect for blogging:)


Almost as bright as my salt lamp.

Shoe Woes

I didn't expect shoe shopping to be such a difficult task. I have lost count the number of times I intentionally go shopping for shoes and return empty handed or how often I went shoe shopping only to return with a handbag or blouse or like today, a pants and t-shirt and two bottles of perfume. Sigh! Why oh why can't the modern cobbler have common sense or be sensible when designing shoes for practical office wear? Or could it be just me?

The shoes must not be made of any kind of fabric. Haven't you notice how our roads will be submerged in water (if not totally flooded) whenever it rains? The height of the water depends on the heaviness or length of time of the downpour. Shoes from any kind of fabric won't be able to stand the onslaught of water. Dirty water if I may add. Any kind of shoes will not last actually but more so of a fabric material.

The shoes shouldn't be fully covered. In our humid weather, it is not healthy to constraint our feet in shoes where they can't breathe properly. Just imagine the bacteria and smell it can cause. I do have court shoes and pumps but they either come with back straps, bare middle feet part or peep-toe designs.

The shoes must have back strap and it must be easy to put on. I like the hook design or the stretchable material. I walk very fast and the shoes could get left behind if not strapped properly. And if it rains, the insole of the shoe would get very slippery and walking can be a real problem. I've had many similar incidents in the past. Leaving your shoe in the middle of the road on a slippery rainy day is not an option so from now on, a back strap is a must.

A really round toe shoe design is a no-no. It makes our feet looks so unflattering (Read: Ugly!). My favorite shoe design (shown in picture) can also considered round toe but not really round that the feet look funny.

Shoes with flimsy strap or what you can call a nude-feet-look is a no-no too. Not even for casual wear. It lacks support, you can't walk fast or if you do, you could risk having the thin straps broken.

The outsole of the shoes must be of a material that is durable and have good traction capabilities. I found nice looking shoes today but the outsole didn't look like it would have any traction effect at all. Purchasing it and bringing it to the cobbler to fix is an option but I don't normally like to do that. So troublesome.

The heel of the shoe must not be flat. Flat shoes will not flatter the feet or any dress you wear. My favorite shoes only have about half an inch height to make it not totally a drab. I don't mind a higher heel if it is comfortable. Wider heel is preferred to stilettos. I have to think of my feet when I'm giving training and have to stand and walk from 9-5.

I do look for comfort but Scholl shoe design can't tempt me to make a purchase even when I'm desperate for a comfortable shoes. I have tried. Look and consider, look and consider, naahhhh... not my type :)

So here I am, after several attempts of shoe shopping, still no shoe and my favorites are falling apart. I even went to the shop where I bought them but they have run out of stock. Oh what a woe for I have no shoe... Hahahaha... that rhymes.

Unrelated: I'm feeling better today and even went for a yoga session this morning. Other than feeling a bit dehydrated and nauseous from mild gastric, I survived. After the session, I finished a big glass of cold and fresh soursop juice, drank bowls of tomyam soup, ice cream and Thai tea. I was hoping the hot tomyam soup and hot Thai tea would counter the effect of cold drink and ice cream and will not make my fever return.

Vista and Office 2007 Preview - Part 2

I have been wanting to continue with this topic immediately after the first one but other matters arise :) Better late than never, here it is...

After tea break, the Microsoft reps showed Windows Vista to the group. The login screen is different. The desktop looks different and they try to provide as many tools as possible so we don't have to install other software and freeware on Vista. One of the improvement showed are the Date and Time on the taskbar can now be used as calendar. The security feature is controlled via Administrator login. If you try to access any Administrator function like changing the system date, you will be prompted with password. Key in the correct Administrator password and you're in. More info here.

I asked whether now they have folder password. The guy goes on and on about how we shouldn't work that way, how everything should be controlled by the login ID and so on and finally I get the point. Actually I got the point earlier when he started beating around the bush about it. Nope. They did not have password on folder feature. They guy started with how Microsoft heard the public views and concerns all these while and they have tried to fulfill it via the many new tools provided in Vista but not folder password. Hmmm... Just take a look at the result for "folder password" search in Google to see how much people want it or there will be no shareware and freeware for it.

"Networking and information sharing is a breeze with Vista." Someone is not being very realistic here. It is rare to find an organization where everyone has the same PC spec with the same OS and Office version. Even if they use the same version, not everyone would install the latest patch. I'm sure Microsoft has a dream or thought of an ideal situation where everyone would use one version of Windows and Office. They thought every one would upgrade whenever a new version is released. They are going to get very disappointed. I can still find PC with Windows 95 in my organization. Try doing a peer-to-peer connection between Vista and 95 or 98, or 98 SE and then use the word 'a breeze' to do.

With Google Spreadsheet and Writely, and many more web office applications available, users have more options to choose from. OpenOffice.org is free. No matter how beautiful the package is, any organization would look at the dollars and cents. Would it improve productivity? With training and a more streamlines work process, maybe. But to just purchase the latest of everything without analyzing how the current job is done is not a good idea at all. If all you ever do is memos and letters, you don't need all the extra functions.

Anyhow, I have the beta version of both. Just have not decided to install it yet. Vista, not very likely. Office 2007, maybe.

Previous entry: Vista and Office 2007 Preview - Part 1