Royal Brunei Catering (RBC) brings back the famous $10 buffet breakfast at Seasons Restaurant located on the second floor of Centrepoint Gadong. The buffet promotion started from December 1 and is ongoing until December 31, 2012. Breakfast starts from 6.30am until 10.30am daily.

The spread is a combination of Continental and Local breakfast such as Nasi Lemak and porridge for its local delicacies and vegetable pie and baked beans for its continental dishes.

A live stall or Egg Station will prepare eggs of your own liking such as Sunny Side-Up, Omelette, Scrambled Eggs and many more. Other individual stalls serve chicken noodle soup and Nasi Lemak with all its condiments.

Seasons Restaurant Breakfast Buffet serves about 10 main dishes such as Pineapple Fried Rice, Fried Mee Hoon, Pancakes and Spring Rolls.

For those who like to start their day with porridge, it will not be a disappointment as the porridge station comes with all the necessary condiments to make it their own.

Delectable fresh pastries such as Chocolate Filled Croissant, similar to the ones served on Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) flights, are ready to tantalize your morning taste buds complimented with hot coffee or tea. Also available to help quench your thirst is a free-flow of orange and apple juice.

The Breakfast Buffet is priced at $10 per adult and $6 for children aged six to 12 and children under six years old can join the buffet for free. For reservation and further inquiries, Seasons Restaurant can be contacted at 2422291 or 2422292. For more information about RBC visit their website at www.rbccatering.com or like them on Facebook/royalbruneicatering for the latest updates and promotions.

All the dishes served at Seasons Restaurant are free of MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) and are only cooked with natural products. Text by Ammirul Adnan of The Brunei Times.

 

For the past few years, I have yet to attend one of their events because I’m always outstation and this year, I’m gonna miss it again *boohoo* This year’s TFF EACON 2012 looks impressive with many activities going to take place.

There will be a cosplay competition as usual and there will be a gaming competition organised by Counter Attack. The games competed are Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition 2012, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Persona 4 Arena and Mortal Kombat 9. Also part of the event is FIFA 13 and the slots are almost fully booked from the looks of it. Do check out their Facebook page for updates on the activities at TFF EACON.

There will be also a variety of anime figures on sale at TFF EACON by YESZONE too. So peeps, I think it’s better you visit their Facebook page event as all the details are there. Good luck to all the participants and the tickets are available. Not sure how much the tickets are though. Kudos to the organizers involved. Something to look forward to in December.

 

Try out their wagyu platter at Deals

Sorry for the late post on this awesome platter from Deals. Hui Chiet and I went to Deals to try out the latest food promotion and this time, it’s the wagyu deal. The wagyu will be served on a platter where there will be six portions from the different parts of wagyu. You can see clearly from the image above on the parts that are being served.

I love the wagyu Cheek and Armidillo. The portion is just nice for one or you can have it as a share entree for two. Well, we had as our entree before our main course. By the way, Deals also have new menu for the lunch and you should try them out too. For reservations at Deals, you can call 2244272.

BBQ Wagyu Sirloin with Onion Marmalade

Shot of Vietnamese style wagyu beef soup with ginger flower

Pickled Wagyu Topside with sweet cabbage and mustard

Seared Wagyu beef shine with horseradish cream

Hui Chiet getting her ready for her lunch

Slow cooked wagyu cheek

Fried Wagyu Armidillo stuffed with swiss cheese

The wagyu platter

Wagyu beef burger

Grilled black cod with clam risotto

 

HRH Crown Prince with the committee members of APICTA 2012

It was a great week for the Brunei contingent as they received a winner award and four merits. One of the winners was Chung Hwa Middle School for the Secondary category which I’ve posted recently on their mobile app “Brunei Treasure”. It was an award dedicated to His Majesty the Sultan as it was his kind words and motivation that inspired the students to put more effort into their project and the efforts paid off.

Among the 59 merit winners, Brunei had four in the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2012 and the all the merits and awards were presented by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office.

So who won the Merit Awards? The first was ZimacSilicon Technologies (ZST) for their Merit Award for “iCLID” in the e-Government category. Mas Idris of ZST was very proud of the achievement and he thanked this team (Tay and Khern) for investing a lot of effort for the APICTA presentation.

MediaHikmah which won the BICTA 2012 trophy also received the Merit Award for their “Let’s Pray” app in the e-learning category. Hadi of MediaHikmah said winning the Merit Award is bigger than this award at BICTA because this is an international event and this will motivate him further to shine.

Liam Janin of MeSixty also bagged the Merit Award for their product “Chatworthy” under the Tourism and Hospitality category. It was also his first time presenting to the APICTA judges while his brother, the founder of MeSixty was away. John Harith Technology also won the Merit AWard in e-Logistics and Supply Chain Management category for their EPCIS Halal Food Traceability system.

So well done to the Brunei participants and there were also other participants from Brunei and great job to them too.

Pei-pei was awesome!!!

The winners lining up to receive their awards

Liam Janin receiving the Merit Award for “Chatworthy”

The winner for the Tourism and Hospitality category

MediaHikmah receiving the Merit Award

ZST receiving their Merit Award

The winner of the e-Government category

John Harith Technology receiving the Merit Award

Some of the committee of APICTA 2012

Brunei represent yooo!!!

 

Check it out at AV Electronics

 

Love your hair, Love Cityhair. Located at Gadong Central.

The vouchers at Cityhair Studio

The lucky draw dip during the opening ceremony

RVP scored the winner though he had a quiet night against Manchester City. Now Manchester United have 6 points lead over Manchester City.

Messi beat Gerd Muller’s goal by scoring his 86th goal in a year calendar. The last record was back in 1972. He is definitely a phenomenal player and how I wish he plays for an English club before he retires.

 

RA saysWhat a weekend!!! I managed to cover the Red Bull Rookies event last Saturday, caught a bit of Thirst at Sepang then flew back to Singapore in time for Zoukout event at Siloso beach and it was a spectacle. Now I’m having my sweet time and not worrying about coverage this week as I will be in Singapore till the weekend and taking time off. So if you want to reach me on my Brunei line, tough luck mates.. You can reach me via email if you want to get hold of me or those who have my contact, you can still whatsapp me.

Yesterday I covered a gaming event at Marina Bay Sands and it was similar to my version of Brunei Cyber Games but this one which was called Licence 2 Play was 10 times better than the one I normally organised. Judging from the props and set ups, they must have fork out a fortune and plus they have tons of sponsors to fund the event. I did have a good time and I got whipped in FIFA 13 by a Malay guy in a friendly game.

By evening, I was contemplating whether to catch Argo (the movie) or nap in time to catch the pulsating derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City. I opted for the latter and wow, someone realized that I had dark circles around my eyes. It must have been the lack of sleep for the past few days and even last night’s sleep wasn’t enough because my body clock normally is 7-8am.

I’m planning to catch Jersey Boys and maybe.. just maybe The Jackson’s Unity Tour this weekend. Oh yeah, I will be heading to Legoland with the family this week. So something to look forward to 😀 With a week left, I can still take my sweet time and just enjoy my time in Singapore. I have yet to catch anyone in Singapore though I bumped into some friends here and there at Zoukout. Last year, I failed to bumped into any familiar faces. However, it was a different case last weekend and the crowd was just massive (40,000 people at least) at Siloso Beach.

So do bear with me with my relatively moderate to slow updates on RA. Have an awesome Monday and of course, throughout the week!!!

Security check at the entrance. I was pretty sneaky because I cut the queue which was at least 500 metres long.. Shhh…

The DJ lined up at ZO

I loved the lightings

Calvin Harris in the house. Definitely the highlightt of ZoukOut 2012

They have upgraded the lighting effects and it looks wicked

The crowd and the atmosphere were pretty crazy

Meet the drum guys!!

Glow sticks were selling like hot cakes. I didn’t get one for myself though.

Everyone going nuts when it was time for Calvin Harris

Loads of human lifting too

I bought some merchandise from ZO

High demands for recharging your smartphones. However, signal is very poor because of network congestions

I kinda like Nina Kraviz

The mini fireworks by 2am

ZoukOut 2012 was a blast indeed!!

I love DJ Porter Robinson

The scene at Siloso Beach

There were some games for the public to play

Such a bad idea to have this game, don’t you think?

A-Trak was not bad.. Apparently the Star Stage didn’t have as much of a crowd compared to the Moon Stage

The great thing about carrying an SLR, they keep asking me to take photos of them 😀

So did these ladies…

Brunei represent yo….

The ushers killing time as the queue died down.. Well, it was almost 4am that time

My final pitstop before heading back to the hotel. My cab charge was $50 then.. but I was just wanna get home without the waiting for so long

Melissa Huang of Singapore and Zira (Siti Zirwatul) of Brunei will be representing the female Red Bull Rookies Racing team today in the Sepang 1,000 endurance race at the Sepang International Circuit

Last year was Ogy. The previous year were Liana and Mel. This year, Zira grabbed the headlines for representing Brunei for the Red Bull Rookies Racing Team. According to her friend, she came across the Red Bull Rookies application through my blog and now her dream came true in racing against the big guns and more importantly, representing a strong brand Red Bull.

Yesterday during the qualifying, Zira clocked 2 minutes 55 seconds which is her personal best and it was also an improvement of three seconds. However, the real deal will be on the race day which is happening as I’m typing this entry. At the moment, Melissa and Zira’s car is in 22nd place among 32 cars.

Perhaps the main aim is to finish the race and not to worry about finishing on the podium. However, there’s a new twist to this as Red Bull has created a new incentive for both male and female drivers of Red Bull Rookies. The winner between the two gender will win a grand prize of RM 10,000 so there’s a lot of stake here within the Red Bull rookies.

I’m quite happy to see Melissa Huang representing the female and she’s also the female anchor driver for the duo. Apparently two other drivers missed the cut due to unforeseen circumstances. Though it’s a numerical advantage for the guys (4 drivers), there is still some pros and cons with having more team members driving the car and mind you, it’s a 1,000km endurance race. So anything can happen.

For me, I just hope Melissa and Zira can finish the race and to win the battle of the sexes will be an added bonus. Good luck to two 😀

The female drivers with Malcolm Lim, Managing Director of Kingston Beverage & Creamery Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Red Bull in Brunei

Melissa Huang getting ready for her drive on the track

Don’t play-play ah.. Zira is also a traffic police officer

Cool sticker 🙂

Zira and other Red Bull crew monitoring Melissa’s progress on the track

 

 I’m back!!! in Singapore

RA says I’m back in Singapore after a 3 month absence and I’m here for a 10 day break to cap off a fulfilling year for me. And yes, I needed the break as well. I realized that I tend to be a workaholic back at home because I would feel restless if I don’t do anything at all. I would be at different places throughout the day, meeting clients or friends or covering events. I’ve been ignoring my books at home because by the time I have my free time (again my choice), it was time to snooze. So yea, it’s great to be away from Brunei and just take my sweet time and don’t focus too much on work.. And plus it’s December….

Good thing my family is here in Singapore as well so it gives a good chance to spend time with them especially my little siblings. I know they are already in their own world and maybe just think that I’m their elder brother but we hardly connect or carry a conversation. Maybe it’s me judging myself that I can’t be a good communicator as a bigger brother. Well, I’m getting there and I won’t force myself. My siblings really have grown up and I feel like I have to catch for loss time. Hence, being in Singapore will give me that opportunity once again to spend time with my family.

I’m currently at Terminal 1, Changi Airport waiting for my departure to KL for the coverage of the Sepang 1,000km endurance race. Why I’m there is because I will be doing a coverage on our Brunei racer Zira who will be racing under the flagship of Red Bull Rookies. She will be partnering with another racer from Singapore, Melissa. So yea, I’m pretty exhausted because of the early morning flight and I had to leave the hotel by 5am and I’m barely 24 hours in Singapore *lol*

Another thing that I have put myself into is accepting a 12 hour trip to KL before heading back to Singapore, just in time for my other coverage and the most anticipated event in Singapore’s calendar – Zoukout 2012. I was there last year and it was also my first time too. This would mean that I will be heading straight to Sentosa right after my arrival from KL later tonight. I shall be posting later.. Time to catch my flight and have a nice weekend peeps!!

My siblings trying out their new bed for their room last night at Park Mall
 

 

The Sketch Club brought to you by Coldbrew Studios

The first session successfully kicked off last night at a studio at Jalan Telanai. It is a drawing workshop organised by Coldbrew Studios and those who have the passion on drawing or such, then this is a good avenue to learn especially those with the same interest.

The drawing sessions will be a weekly thing every Thursday from 7:30pm onwards. For adults, it will be $15 and for children, it will be $8. I was told that the next Thursday’s session will be a live model as the subject for drawing.

For more info, you can call 813-7474 or email sketchclub@coldbrewstudios.com

The participants last night at the Sketch Club

The participants last night at the Sketch Club

Now I know why the bear was rushed from Gadong last night *lol*

Almost a year ago, I caught the actual musical play of Wicked at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore and I was impressed. Last week, I saw a local drama production under SEEDS Brunei and boy, I really have to salute the whole team involved for putting up an awesome show. One of the characters that caught my eye was Elphaba, the Green witch, and the role was played by Dk Nurazyyati Pg Hj Mulek and she was amazing – the acting, the vocals, a good whole package I must say.

Another main character was Glinda, the Good Witch of the North played by Nuroul Naqibah Nooaradin and both the characters have a good chemistry presence on stage where the audience, I felt, was emotionally invested. Thumbs up to Syaf the director/producer of the show and the people involved are mostly students from the actors to the lightings to backstage and props. Their handwork and teamwork paid off and I see a lot of potential in our local youth. We have the talents and it was the perfect time to showcase it to the audience. You guys deserved a big pat on the shoulders.

The whole production was led by SEEDS students and SEEDS stands for School Extracurricular and Educational Drama Society. You can follow them on twitter @seedsbrunei and Facebook for updates. Keep up the good work, fellas!!

The Musicians for the play

Glinda and Elphaba

Syaf of SEEDS Brunei – the director/producer of The Wicked Witch

His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, presented the APICTA award to Chung Hwa Middle School in the Secondary Category at last night’s APICTA 2012 Awards held at Indera Samudra Hall, The Empire Hotel & Country Club

I remember last June they won the BICTA awards and they showcased their product “Brunei Treasure” during the BICTA 2012 to HRH The Crown Prince. A few months later, the students presented their project to His Majesty the Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan at Chung Hwa’s 90th anniversary. From there, His Majesty gave his word of encouragement to the team to win the APICTA 2012 awards and surely this movitated the students to do so. Last night their project was awarded the best in the Secondary School Project category.

Angeline Cheng Lin of Chung Hwa said that they revamped their concept by introducing a mobile app for their Brunei Treasure. Previously it was a computer based software where they presented for BICTA 2012. Hence, they improved their prototype by creating a mobile app for Brunei Treasure. So far, it’s available in Android market and they will be hoping for an IOS version, pending approval.

Derby Teo Nyet Win is the newest member to the team and she couldn’t believe that they won the award. They were able to answer the judges’ comments during the presentation. They thanked their mentors, teachers and those involved in APICTA and BICTA for making their idea a success.

I’m very proud of their achievements and to win an award at APICTA is something huge because you are competing with 11 other countries for the trophy and you guys did Brunei very proud indeed. I hope your victory will inspire more younger generations to follow your footsteps that anything is possible if you believe in your ideas.

Angelien Cheng Lin, Wong Chun Lynn and Derby Teo Nyet Wen with the APICTA Awards last night

The winners with the teachers and mentors from CHMS

Angelien Cheng Lin and Wong Chun Lynn showcased Brunei Treasure to HRH the Crown Prince back in June 2012

 

  

 

Sending off Zira to KL for the 1,000km endurance race

Red Bull Rookies will see Siti Zirwatul Iradah Awg Adinin race in ‘The Battle of the Sexes’ 1,000km endurance race at the Sepang International Circuit She left for Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

During event set to take place from today till Saturday, a men’s team and a women’s team will be battling it out for the RM10,000 grand prize and also to determine which gender possesses the most skillful driving ability.

Zira, as she is affectionately known, is also the sole Brunei participant, chosen over a thousand candidates from Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore to represent the Sultanate. She is also the third racer to ever represent Brunei since the search was inaugurated here in 2010.

This also marks the first time in six years that the Red Bull Rookies have fielded two teams who will compete against each other and solve the age-old question of which gender is the better racecar driver.

Present the Brunei International Airport yesterday to bid farewell and hand over the Red Bull race helmet to Zira was Malcolm Lim, Managing Director of Kingston Beverage & Creamery Sdn Bhd, the distributor of Red Bull drinks in Brunei. Images and text by Nazirul Hakeem.

Zira with Malcolm Lim, Managing Director of Kingston Beverage & Creamery Sdn Bhd, with Zira’s family at the airport yesterday

Click image to enter website

Anisah holding the hard cover of “Kampong Ayer: Living Memory”

After months of the announcement, “Kampong Ayer: Living Memory” book is finally here and it is produced by Dato Paduka Dr Hj Latif Hj Ibrahim. It is a 250 page book which has pictures dated to the 20th century. I would have to say the pictures are priceless and bring meaning to the Brunei heritage and culture.

The author gave one nice quote – “Kg Ayer is Brunei, Brunei is Kg. Ayer. Brunei would not come to be without the existence of Kg Ayer.”

The guest of honour was Datin Paduka Hjh Adina Othman, Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. She highlighted that the ministry is working with the government and other agencies to “review the possibility of proposing Kg Ayer as being part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List”.

For your info, the book can be purchased at Au Lait Cafe at Seri Q-Lap Mall and it comes in hardcover and softcover. I’ve bought a copy and they come in either English or Malay version.

Datin Adina receiving a memento from the author

Dato Paduka Dr Hj Latif expressed his thanks to those involved

The invited guests

A few of them getting the book signed

Hj Rozan was one of the contributors to the book

Another contributor to the book

 

 

The moment of truth will be revealed tonight. Who will bagged the award for their respective categories? Last year, Brunei won the prestigious APICTA award at Pattaya, Thailand. Can they retain the title again this year?

We have a few local companies competing in different categories. One participant is MeSixty, a company that focuses on creating local mobile app content such as Chatworthy and they are competing inthe “Start up Company” category. PHMD Publishing Company is also another participant as they created an app, “Road safety interactive e-book & games”. Another potential winner is an app called “Mari Sembahyang” created by MediaHikmah Enterprise which recently won in the BICTA 2012 (a national level competition).

With 11 countries participating, the stakes are quite high and after last year’s great performance and Brunei being the host, let’s hope our local participants can make the Top 3 in their respective categories.

The presentations were held at North Lagoon, The Empire Hotel & Country Club. The rooms at North Lagoon were turned into a presentation rooms to accommodate the judges and presenters. The presentations went for two days with 42 judges involved from different countries.

Tonight will be the APICTA Gala Night where the winners will be awarded. More updates on that tomorrow.

The participants from Sri Lanka

The participants feeling relieved after their presentation

A finalist from Indonesia with his guitar

The judges took some photos before the presentation

Each presentation consists of 5 judges

Tay Eue Kam, General Manager of ZimacSilicon Technologies and Chee Nee Khern, Business Development Executive of ZimacSilicon Technologies were being interviewed after their presentation

It was good to see confidence in both Tay and Khern of ZimacSilicon Technologies (ZST) after they finished their presentation on their device – Intelligent Clearance Identification system (iCLID). According to Tay, the presentation was beefed up from their previous presentation for BICTA 2012 as they were aware of the international judges being involved.

They attended workshops to further enhance their presentation skills and it paid off. They have gone through some changes in their approach (presentation wise) though the content are still similar from previous. Tay revealed that the judges weren’t as tough but she felt that they were tougher on themselves as they felt scared prior to the presentation. She hopes their iCLID presentation will bring back an award for them tonight.

ZST won third place in the e-logistics category in BICTA 2012 and now they are in the e-logistics category in APICTA 2012. Good luck to both of you tonight.

The 11 economies stationed at North Lagoon

For your info, Hong Kong will be the host for next year’s APICTA 2012

The secretariat room

Students from KL before their presentation

Yeeeehhaaaa!!!

The committee helping throughout APICTA 2012

 

The winners of the Battle Royale

A total of 42 participants competed in this year’s edition of Battle Royale organised by GETFIT Crossfit at the DST Carnical 2012. The finale took place at the Jerudong Amphitheatre. The previous circuits took place at Tasek Lama and GFCF gym.

There were four categories in the Battle Royale challenge which were the Open category, Scaled Category (Men’s and Women’s) and Team category. Husni Damit of GETFIT CrossFit won the Open category while Mohd Faizal of Core Fitness Kota Kinabalu won the Men’s Scaled category. As for the Women’s Scaled category, it was won by Emily Mogard and the Team category was won by Ricky Ang, Terry Teo, Emma Agaki and Mandy Tay.

I’m proud to see my cousin Amalina and buddy Cheelin taking part in the Battle Royale. It was a great competition organised by GETFIT Crossfit and the best part of the challenge is that everyone was motivating the participants to finish the reps and giving them self-belief and the will power. Some of the images are courtesy of Mandy Tay (took off your instagram :p) and Amalina.

The ladies who took part in the Battle Royale

The winners with the judges and committee of Battle Royale

The winners of the Team category of Battle Royale

Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Communications and Chairman of APICTA Brunei, delivering his welcoming remarks and he was delighted Brunei is hosting this year’s APICTA

The welcoming reception for APICTA 2012 participants took place at The Baze, The Empire Hotel and Country Club. For your info, APICTA stands for Asia Pacific Info-Communication Technology Alliance and the participants from different countries are in Brunei to present their ideas and prototypes to the judges and the winner will be declared in each of the categories.

The APICTA Awards is organised by the Ministry of Communications and supported by AITI and Infocom Brunei. The competition is held over the 3 days and tomorrow night will be the APICTA Gala Dinner where the winners will be awarded.

There are 11 countries competing for the awards and there are 42 judges from different countries who consists of CEOs, ICT professionals and consultants. The welcome reception was entertained by Dj Naz who was the emcee and the magician for the night accompanied by a jazz band from Virtuoso Studio.

Jazz band byThe Virtuoso Studio

Naz doing some tricks on Khern

 

 

Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) has a pavilion at the TechXpo 2012 which is launched today. As Brunei’s leading telecommunication regulator and ICT industry promoter, the AITI pavilion aims to promote public awareness regarding its roles, programmes and initiatives.

So today is the final day for the AITI Guess competition and you can stand a chance to win fantastic prizes. All you have to do is visit AITI’s pavilion at TechXpo at ICC today before 4:30pm and the draw will be done by 5pm. The guess is pretty easy so you guys have nothing to lose, right? Who knows you might win an iPad mini. I remember last year I won a prize from the lucky draw. Let’s see if my luck is there again *lol*

Members of the public can look forward to a quiz cum lucky draw “AITI GUESS” and stand to win attractive prizes. The first prize will be iPad Mini, the second prize is a PS3 Slim 250GB and the third prize is a Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos.

AITI quiz competition with awesome prizes. Only at TechXpo 2012

Once you finished answering the questions, insert your paper in the box

 

Call 224 4272 for reservations for Hula Hula night at Tasek Brasserie

Petals deco on the table for patrons

“Umu Chicken” from the Earth Oven

Pineapple Salsa for the calamari dish

Kokoda (Coconut Fish Salad)

Fried Chicken with Devils sauce

Pulled Buffalo with Pepper sauce

The different sauces at the station

At the grill area outside

There’s the lamb spit as well

Catch the Hula-Hula performance every night until 8th December brought to you by Qudoz. Devon (center) with the performers last night

Click image to enter website

 

 

If you haven’t read the updates on Air Ionizer, then you can click here for the write up. I didn’t know my friend Aaron was there exhibiting his product at TechXpo 2012 at the ICC. His booth will be there until tomorrow (Tuesday) and you can drop by to check out the wonders the Air Vita can do even for a smoky room. I already have one in my room and one in my car.

There are some models brought it by Gadget Plus such as Air Vita Neo, S-Air Vita and Carvita and you check them out at Gadget Plus booth at TechXpo 2012.

Gadget Plus is also selling their Smart Pass, a keyless way to open your car door, which is very convenient for those who does a lot of “stop and go” moments while on the road. Best part is your engine can still be running while your car is being locked. So this is ideal when you go kedai runcit for a one minute pitstop.

HRH Princess Masna being briefed by Aaron on his other product – Smart PAss

With the Smart Key, you can unlock your car without the use of your key and activated through a sensor

Aaron introducing the Air Vita products

The results can be seen using this experiment on smoky environment. Thumbs up for Air Vita, a Korean award winning product.

The Air Vita Neo

S-Air Vita

 

TechXpo 2012 at ICC

HRH Princess Masna at the E-GNC Pavilion

HRH Princess Masna at the E-GNC Pavilion

Her Royal Highness being briefed on BAG Network’s latest Jawi app

Her Royal Highness group photo with BAG Network associates

SOS Brunei app is useful and it’s a joint venture between Alif Technology and 247 Roadside Assist

Her Royal Highness at The Brunei Times booth

Her Royal Highness at Business Oxford Group

Her Royal Highness being briefed by Zul Rahman of Concepts Computer

Her Royal Highness at the brightest booth of them all, Huawei

Huawei is also selling their dongles

Her Royal Highness at ITS booth

Her Royal Highness being briefed by Azizah Ali on Microsoft’s Windows 8

Her Royal Highness checking out the 3D TV from Sony

Her Royal Highness at Interhouse Company booth

OneTech Global training at TechXpo 2012

Her Royal Highness at NBT booth

Her Royal Highness at Netcom Computer House booth

Starra Company at TechXpo 2012

 

HRH Princess Masna in a group photo at BIBD pavilion

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) previewed its upcoming electronic mobile payment service at the TechXpo 2012 yesterday, at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Berakas.

A press release issued by BIBD stated that the electronic mobile payment service will soon be offered to BIBD customers. It will be the first cashless mobile payment solution and is one of the added services of the newly launched BIBD mobile application.

QR (Quirk Response code) will be available for visitors of the BIBD booth at the TechXpo to scan, so they can directly download the BIBD Mobile application to their smart phones.

The BIBD Mobile banking platform complements BIBD Online and provides customers with an easier way of accessing their accounts securely through their mobile devices.

Prominent features of BIBD Mobile include enquiry on all types of account balances, viewing account and credit card transaction history, simplifying bill payments to all major billers in Brunei, and ease of paying credit card bills and transferring money to any bank in Brunei or abroad with just a few taps.

Throughout the TechXpo 2012, BIBD will also be offering the public an array of products and services, such as the registration of BIBD Online with instant activation, along with the token. Visitors can also register for BIBD Debit Cards and apply for their BIBD Biometric ATM registration. Text by Nurhamiza Hj Roslan of The Brunei Times.

Hjh Nurul of BIBD explaining the new services offered by BIBD

There’s a phyiscal ATM where you can do your cash transaction at TechXpo 2012

Introducing the new system where you can pay on the spot through your mobile using QR

This is how it will look like

You will get this message once it’s successful

Details will be given as well on your purchase

 

In what will be a milestone towards developing solutions catered towards both domestic and global markets of the IT industry Brunei Darussalam looks set to introduce a new and enhanced locally-designed and developed scoring system to be standardised by judges in the assessment of participants’ presentations in the Asia-Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) 2012, which is being hosted by the country and begins today at The Empire Hotel & Country Club.

“This year we have decided to start from scratch to develop a scoring system based on the work flow of APICTA using all these letters, tools and features within the scoring system,” said Dr Yong Chee Tuan, Chief Judge of APICTA 2012, in an interview with the Borneo Bulletin.

The enhancement to the scoring system is driven by a process of work flow, which relates to the affordability of individual judges to make due adjustments in resolutions and feedbacks on the presentation of participants.

“One of the features that you can’t find in previous scoring systems is the function ‘Suspend’, which means if you score halfway or you want to have a break, you (the judges) can press the button so that the other judges would not be able to do anything. The judge can submit a point and at the same time, if they find out they have pressed wrongly, the head judge can overturn that. We have developed the user requirements,” he said.

The additional features of the scoring system also include allowing judges to provide feedbacks directly to the participants without compromising the change of scores from their colleagues. “Some judges may want to provide feedback to participants such as commenting on how nice if they can make the graphics larger in size, make their voice louder or to present clearer. These are things that you don’t want to say in front of the other judges because you may influence people scoring by directly saying it to the participants,” Dr Yong said.

“What we have also introduced is that the head judge can see the bias, can see the fluctuations because in judging, situations in certain spikes of scoring may exist. This information is made transparent to the chief judge and this year we allow the chief judge to have an overview of everything that is happening and provide some interventions. If we see some scores are not moving or not entering, we suspect something is happening,” he added.

Dr Yong Chee Tuan, Chief Judge of APICTA 2012, delivering his speech

Dr Yong Chee Tuan and Hj Abdul Rahim being interviewed by Fadil from Borneo Bulletin

“We had a trial period and we let the international judges try it out. We received comments for improvements and Alhamdulillah we have the final solution,” said Haji Abdul Rahim bin Derus, Director of ICT at the Ministry of Education, also a key figure of the initiative.

Haji Abdul Rahim also said that such an approach will significantly raise the standards in terms of software development, using our own system that will give Brunei an edge as a country to come up with solutions critical for the industry.

Dr Yong believed that Brunei’s advancement in recent years means that they could also be considered on par with other countries that could be considered as the early adopters, despite at one stage, being viewed, in previous models, as a “laggard” in the industry.

“We have a complete real-time judging system when the scoring and entering takes place. We’re making use of the latest technology in Cloud computing and real-time scoring system. From the many perspectives, it is the projection for Brunei to showcase we are among the players and we are in competition and although it is a small market, it is awry young country for IT technology. Advances such as these help garner the confidence of IT players and industry as they will feel that there is recognition, there is an avenue and there is a direction,” added Dr Yong.

It is a very fluctuating and new industry, he said, and with support from the government, it sets forth the direction for the IT players in the country

The 17 categories for the competition comprise e-Government, e-Learning, Secondary Student Project, Tertiary Student Project, Tourism and Hospitality, Media and Entertainment, Communication, Financial Services, Industry Application, Industrial Application, e-Logistic and Supply Chain Management, Security, Tools and Infrastructure Application, Research and Development, e- Health, Start Up Company, e-Inclusion, e-Community and Sustainability and Green IT. Text by Fadil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

 

 

Titan the Robot will be having a few more shows today and tomorrow and you can catch Titan walking, singing, poking fun delighting the crowd. The Titan was brought all the way from the UK.

The following show is Monday 3pm, 5:30pm and 8pm and Tuesday 3pm, 5:30pm and 8pm.. There’s also a photo session on Monday and Tuesday 1pm to 1:30pm and 4:20 to 4:35pm.

 

HRH Princess Masna visited AITI Pavilion yesterday at TechXpo 2012

Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) has a pavilion at the TechXpo 2012 which is launched today. As Brunei’s leading telecommunication regulator and ICT industry promoter, the AITI pavilion aims to promote public awareness regarding its roles, programmes and initiatives.

Public will be able to learn about AITI’s telecommunications regulatory role through its licensing, radio frequency planning and management and type approved exhibits. The regulatory function of AITI has helped to ensure that all telecommunication service providers operate within the assigned frequency to minimise interference. Meanwhile, licenced dealers and type approved equipments such as mobile phones are regulated by AITI to ensure consumers’ interest and safety are taken care of.

Companies and businesses can find out more about AITI Grant scheme, ICT Accredited Business (ICTAB) and ICT Competency Program at the AITI Pavilion.

On the international front, AITI will display information regarding Brunei ICT Award (BICTA), Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Award, ASEAN ICT Award and ASEAN CIO Forum, where AITI played a part in organising these prestigious events.

One key exhibit which will be showcase at the AITI Pavilion is the vast potential of the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) project. FTTH offers the high speed and large bandwidth which can cater to the media rich applications such as High Definition Interactive TV, Video-conferencing etc..

At the pavilion, public will be able to witness the high definition content on the Smart TV connected to the FTTH network.

As a forward looking organisation, AITI knows that its most valuable asset is the AITI staff. Testimonies from AITI staff will also be displayed where the public can learn more about the people and culture of AITI. AITI will also be listing job opportunities as it sets to expand next year.

Members of the public can look forward to a quiz cum lucky draw “AITI GUESS” and stand to win attractive prizes. The first prize will be iPad Mini, the second prize is a PS3 Slim 250GB and the third prize is a Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos.

HRH Princess Masna visited AITI Pavilion yesterday at TechXpo 2012

Group photo of HRH Princess Masna with AITI associates

AITI quiz competition with awesome prizes. Only at TechXpo 2012

Once you finished answering the questions, insert your paper in the box

 

A first look on the new Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 Shooting Brake may create a puzzled thought amongst Mercedes aficionados and enthusiasts: is it a four-door coupe or an estate?

Unveiled ‘to the general public at the Jati Transport Gadong Showroom on Saturday, the glistening CLS 350 can be categorised as a defining and eclectic synthesis that blends the pragmatic comfort with a high performance of both motoring genres.

Roomy for five normal-sized adults, the CLS Shooting Brake has an imposing stance of a large sports car, with its long bonnet and roof sloping towards the rear end of the vehicle, this is one high-end car you would love parked in your garage.

One must remember that this is a Mercedes, and the brand is synonymous with luxury and fine performance-the CLS Shooting Brake is no exception.

The entry-level is the CLS 350 BlueEFFICIENCY that generates 306hp from its V6 3.5 litre engine, whilst its more powerful sibling engine the CLS 500 BlueEFFICIENCY produces a 408hp courtesy of its V8 biturbo 4.7 litre engine.

Or you can opt for the chest-pumping CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake that produces 525hp, with an equally powerful torque of 700Nm that is significant in fast overtaking with its tremendous accelerative thrusting power.

But why the name Shooting Brake? Daniel Loo, Marketing Executive of Jati Transport says the term comes from in the days of horse-driven carriages of the wealthy where the animal was strapped to keep it under control, hence the name Shooting Brake.

For more details on the CLS, make a visit to the Gadong Showroom today. This model is expected to be launched early next year.

 

Over 100 people attended the Movember Tweet Up at KFC Gadong Central on Wednesday, an event co-organised by Movember BN, BruneiTweet and KFC Brunei.

The symbol for “Movember” is the moustache, but the campaign goes much deeper than the presence of facial hair. It was meant to raise awareness about men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, depression and so on affecting millions of men across the globe.

The gathering was supported by B:Read, Muzikaliti, BT Youth Speak, SCOT Brunei, UBDFM, Instagram B.I.G Series, Counter Attack, Brunei Cosplayers and Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council among others.

Open to the public, those who attended received a free Krusher drink, sponsored by KFC Brunei.

“Movember”, derived from the combination of the words ‘Moustache’ and ‘November’, is a growing worldwide campaign involving the growing of moustaches throughout the month of November.

Delwin Keasberry as known as “BruneiTweet” on Twitter said, “In February 2012, I was involved in organising the first official tweet-up at the Airport Mall which saw over a hundred people from the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram online communities in Brunei gathered for a casual catch up.”

“The general feedback received was that it was great meeting people who we connect with online for the first time in person. Similarly, the idea behind the Movember Tweet Up was to engage the local community in a fun and social way to raise awareness about men’s health.”

Participants who attended the Movember Tweet Up were given a moustache-on-a-stick with “Man Up. Get Checked.” written on as a reminder to take matters of health seriously.

“Publicity for the event was broadcasted primarily via social media. It was heartening to see this exercise create discussions about men’s health online in the lead up to Movember Tweet Up,” Delwin added.

Zul-Fadly Osman, Founder, Movember BN shared that “Movember BN was founded last year with the hope of promoting men’s issues in general and it created quite a hype with the help of social media”.

“The idea of Movember is using the moustache for men, like for example the pink ribbon for breast cancer, which originated from Adelaide and is now an international worldwide movement.”

“More often than not, men are not known for sharing about their health issues. We cannot change that mind-set overnight but it is events like this that will slowly get our men in Brunei to be more open about their health,” Zul-Fadly shared.

Del Goh, General Manager, KFC Brunei highlighted that “KFC supports this campaign because of the awareness it brings”.

“I strongly believe in a balanced lifestyle one that enables us to indulge in the things that we love but also to be aware of the importance of healthy living,” he added.

“It’s the same reason why we keep running our 3-on-3 Street Basketball competition. The last one for this year is already underway, with the finals happening this weekend at Airport Mall once again.” Mei Fung Lee of The Brunei Times.