Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Om Mani Padme Hum



- wong chee tat :)

Lotus Notes 8.5: Links & Hotspots

In Lotus Notes 8.5 client, we can create a link to point to another location.

It is simple but it took me some time to figure it out. A quick search bring us to the following:

Here are the steps to create the same.

1) Enter the text you want to appear as the hyperlink in the mail message (eg: Google)

2) Select the text and click on Create –>; Hotspot ->; Link hotspot

3) Enter the desired URL in the Value text box. (eg: www.google.com) and close it

4) It will add the hotspot and select ‘Show border around hotspot’ to display a background highlighting around the link. Otherwise apply underline (press Ctl + U)

5) Send the mail to the recipients

Note: The link will not be active until you send the mail. If you click on the hotspot before sending it, it may not work.

And another link:


One of the new user-friendly features of the IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.1 client is the new menu command of "Create >> Hyperlink"

New create hyperlink menu option in Lotus Notes 8.5.1


This should make things much easier for end users who want to create hyperlinks in a Notes mail message or in vanilla, frameless Notes client based applications.

But for users and developers who create web-based applications there is an important feature missing if you use this menu option.
What is missing? The ability to set a target frame like you can using "Create >> Hotspot >> Link Hotspot":

Create hotspot link menu


This is not to say the end user cannot fix this problem. They can just right click on the linked text and select "Hotspot Properties":

This does not bring them back to the dialog box that displayed when they created the hyperlink, but to the hotspot properties dialog box, where they can enter the target window ("_blank" for a new browser window):

hotspot link dialog box


The downside to this is that users may get confused by the different dialog boxes, and most probably do not know the syntax to set a target window. And it is not just the Notes client where you will see this. There are many instances of Web 2.0 editors where you cannot set the target when you create the hyperlink, including Google Blogger:

Google blogger link interface


In an ideal world, what should happen with this new "Create Hyperlink" dialog box? There should be a single checkbox with a label of "Open link in new browser window", along with an action pop-up message:

Google blogger link interface


There is something else to point out as well, something that will require additional user education. If you click on some text that has a hotspot created, the menu system ads a "Hotspot" entry, and the option to remove the hotspot:

hotspot link menu


But if you created the link using the "Create Hyperlink" menu, you do not get a "Hyperlink" menu item. You get the same "Hotspot" menu item:

hotspot link menu


So as you work with your users in setting up Lotus Notes 8.5.1, be sure to keep these differences in mind.




By the way, it worked in Lotus Notes 8.5.2 too.




 - wong chee tat :)













Outdoor activities can help prevent myopia in children: study

Outdoor activities can help prevent myopia in children: study
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 11 April 2011 0002 hrs

SINGAPORE : The National University Health System (NUHS) is urging children in Singapore to get out and play, in its latest myopia prevention study.

The year-long study aims to find out if spending more time outdoors can help prevent myopia in children who are between six and 10 years old.

Singapore has one of the highest rates of myopia in the world.

NUHS said this is worrying, as half of the children are myopic by the time they turn 10.

About eight in 10 will have myopia when they reach 18.

It added that the average age of the onset of myopia is eight years old.

Professor Saw Seang Mei, vice-dean for research at the National University Health System, said: "We want to target a group which is susceptible to the environmental factors, so if we increase the outdoor time, it may be able to prevent the development and progression of myopia in this age range."

NUHS said there has been a recent rise in myopia trends in recent years.

In the study, children will take part in weekly activities in the parks - organised by the National Parks Board - such as guided walks and scavenger hunts.

Tay Boon Sin, assistant director at the National Parks Board, said: "Kids nowadays do not spend enough time outdoors, so we really hope that by spending more time outdoors, not only do they get in touch with our parks, nature, they can actually have a more healthy lifestyle."

The study is expected to be completed by April 2012.

The findings will be used to develop a programme to reduce myopia, obesity and other chronic illnesses in Singapore children.

- CNA/ms

- wong chee tat :)

Asia dominates listings in global IPO update

Asia dominates listings in global IPO update
By Travis Teo | Posted: 11 April 2011 1530 hrs

SINGAPORE: US private equity-backed listings drove global IPO activity in the first quarter of this year, with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) taking the lead.

But Asia still dominates listings, with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange coming in second and the Singapore Exchange ranking three in terms of total capital raised globally.

That is according to Ernst & Young's first quarter Global IPO update.

The services firm added that the last few weeks of the quarter saw choppy stock markets spiked by the Japanese disaster and Middle East political unrest. This led to a slowdown in overall pace of global IPO activity.

But, in a statement, Ernst & Young said that there is still a healthy pipeline of companies waiting to tap in to the capital markets.

In the first three months of the year, global IPO activity saw 290 deals worth US$46.1 billion, down 14 per cent compared with the same period last year.

For the first time since 2008, the NYSE took the lead among world exchanges, raising US$13.8 billion of the total capital, followed by the US$11.2 billion capital raised on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and US$5.6 billion raised by the Singapore Exchange, largely due to the US$5.5 billion listing of Hutchison Port Holdings.

Ernst & Young said this reflects SGX's strength in sectors such as shipping and maritime, commodities, REITs and business trusts.

-CNA/ac

- wong chee tat :)

Banks eye 'young professional' market

Banks eye 'young professional' market
By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 11 April 2011 2230 hrs

SINGAPORE: More young professionals are climbing up the corporate ladder, and that emerging affluent market is a new consumer banking segment in Asia.

With as many as 500 million emerging affluent individuals in the region, banks are stepping up their efforts to capture this growing customer base.

Citibank is using customised banking to target the emerging affluent segment in Asia.

It has launched new services including a 24-hour online secure e-chat with customer service reps, free global fund transfers to other Citibank accounts, and dedicated personal bankers.

Catering to the needs of this segment is one way to retain customers in the long-run.

In the last three years, more than 50 per cent of customers from their Citigold banking segment, which comprises individuals with between S$200,000 to S$1 million in investible assets, have upgraded from the emerging affluent or the Personal Banking segment.

Citibank Singapore country marketing director Jacquelyn Tan said: "We've seen a lot of emerging trends where increasingly our customers within this segment are increasingly more mobile.

"Our customers as well in such a fast-paced environment demand.....a high responsiveness... accessibility as well as convenience and personalised services for their banking needs.

Citibank is targeting countries like China, India and Malaysia for their new emerging affluent services.

Other banks are also jumping in on this trend.

By targeting the emerging affluent segment, UOB for instance, expects profits from this segment as well as its high net worth individual market to reach 50 per cent from 35 per cent in four years.

Standard Chartered launched its preferred banking service for the region's emerging affluent individuals in August last year.

The bank is hiring 800 staff by early 2012 to cater to this growing customer base.

However, banks have differing standards and definitions for the mass affluent or the emerging affluent market.

Citibank considers individuals with a net worth of US$10,000 to US$100,000 to be "emerging affluent".

For Standard Chartered, emerging affluent individuals are required to have investible assets of US$100,000 and above.

For products and services, analysts said US and European banks currently dominate the Asian emerging affluent market.

Fitch Ratings director of Financial Institutions Alfred Chan said: "They have all kinds of sophisticated products; some risky, some are less risky as we have learned from this crisis, so asian banks really need to pick up".

Emerging affluent individuals make up one-third of Asia's consumer banking revenue,and banks forecast this figure to rise.

They project an eight to 15 per cent growth in revenue from Asia's emerging affluent segment annually for the next several years.

-CNA/wk

- wong chee tat :)

Tim Hughes - Happy Day



- wong chee tat :)