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_i_CTLT 2016, the 5th International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology, will be held in Singapore from 28 - 31 March 2016. The biennial conference is a testimony to the commitment of the Ministry of Education, Singapore and Academy of Principals Singapore to the use of technology in advancing 21st Century teaching and learning. _i_CTLT 2016’s theme Future Ready: Inspire, Connect, Transform invites delegates to engage in sharing their insights, practices, experiences and research studies so as to envision and share emerging trends in the field of educational technology. As part of the theme, Microsoft was there to showcase the myriad of ways that Technology is powering our education in the 21st Century. From Windows 10 to Office 365, friendly Microsoft staff were on hand to answer queries. [caption id=“attachment_21662” align=“alignnone” width=“770”] Microsoft’s booth at iCTLT 2016[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_21661” align=“alignnone” width=“770”] Terence demonstrating the use of Office Mix and Sway[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_21663” align=“alignnone” width=“772”] Windows 10 - With Terence and Jason[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_21664” align=“alignnone” width=“772”] Microsoft Partners discussing solutions and ideas, fuelling innovation in classes![/caption]

Global Azure Boot camp 2016 Singapore, becomes BIGGER this year! 3 Tracks, 18 speakers and 19 sessions. Join us for a day of fun and intensive training with Azure, register at http://singapore.azurebootcamp.net/ !

Spiffy SG is recruiting! Using Spiffy as a platform, you can write articles that help establish you as a subject matter expert, expands your professional reach and gives you an opportunity to build a personal brand online. Why write for us? 1. Instant local techie audience with notable overseas impact · On social media, we’re popular among the 25-34 crowd with a potential social outreach of half a million eyeballs. We publicize our writers ‘articles to our active online communities with an engagement rate (calculated via shares, comments and likes) almost twice the ratio of the average social media site. 2. Write what you’re passionate about – and build your portfolio with us · Blogging – one of the best ways to share thought leadership. Take your time and build your personal brand on the value of your ideas alone. You can advance your professional reach by sharing your thoughts with the local tech audience base via Spiffy. 3. Access to exclusive tech events · We host regular events and networking activities, and would love for you to join us and write about what you learnt. You can expand your network and share your knowledge with the community. ...

For this month’s startup feature, we will be interviewing Meng Kuok, CEO of BandLab. BandLab is a cloud platform where musicians and fans create music, collaborate and engage with each other across the globe. Hi Meng, what’s your current role in BandLab, and how did your past experiences take you here? I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of BandLab. Apart from my other job running Swee Lee Music (www.sweelee.com.sg), I think the most relevant experience I had prior to BandLab was actually my own journey in music and understanding first-hand some of the challenges facing musicians and aspiring creators. How did you come up with the idea? And what problem is BandLab trying to solve? The seed was planted during my time working with my other Co-Founder, Steve Skillings, as Swee Lee began representing JamHub, a product he had invented. We connected deeply on his idea of the possibilities of new technology enabling a Cloud DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). The theme of collaboration and enabling the creative process subsequently began a wonderful conversation that has taken us here. We’re excited to see where it will take musicians in the future. In terms of the problem we were trying to solve, we wanted to make things easier for musicians and to simplify the very fragmented process of creating music. I think that’s what BandLab is genuinely capable of doing: breaking down those technological, creative and geographical barriers between musicians and making it easier to collaborate together. How long did Bandlab take to finish development? (before the product could meet the market) Like any software company, it’s very much an ongoing process. There’s always something new to add, improve or change, so hopefully we’ll never actually “finish” development! But it took us about 9 months from first assembling the team to going live with a product that we felt proud to launch and start to receive feedback on. What are your preferred platforms/tools? My weapon of choice is a Fender Stratocaster, but I don’t get to use it much these days. It’s mostly been replaced by Excel, Trello and Slack. Have you gotten any interesting feedback from users of the app? Some of the most meaningful feedback has been from users that have shared what BandLab has done for them outside of music. I was chatting about the app with one of our users, who told me a lovely story about how BandLab has given her a way to reconnect more closely with her older sister. As children, they used to make music together all the time—she would play piano and her sister would sing—but they now live 3000 miles away from each other. The platform has given them a chance to re-engage musically, and was enriching their long-distance relationship dramatically. It’s feedback like this that really drives us on as a team (as well as fixing the bugs that any technology product comes across from time to time!). I think the rate of engagement of our users suggests that we are on to building a thriving and lively community of musicians and music lovers. How do you keep yourself motivated, especially during the low times? So far, the forward momentum has been extremely compelling, so the lows thankfully haven’t been that low or that frequent! But some of the best advice I’ve ever received has been: “Don’t be too happy when things are going well, and don’t be too sad when they’re not.” On a day-to-day basis, I’m particularly energized by being able to work with a team who are all highly motivated by what we’re doing—creating new opportunities and possibilities for music creators. If you could go back in time when you first started, what would you have done differently? While I want to learn from past mistakes, I’m not one to dwell on them too much or regret the decisions I’ve made. I’m a firm believer that every decision is made with the wisdom I have at the time. An important lesson I’ve definitely learnt is that—especially when you’re working with new user behaviour—it’s important to find the balance between what people already understand and know how to use, and how far forward you can go on innovating to solve a problem. What’s next for you? A flight to Hong Kong! What’s one advice you would give to budding entrepreneurs? Live and die by your vision, but never be afraid to question it. What’s it been like working with Musicians as an audience? Tremendously meaningful. It’s a cliche, but it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what background, what age you are—music is a wonderful shared language that brings people together.

PRESIDENT TONY TAN LAUNCHES 16th PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE AT MICROSOFT’S WE TECH CARE 2016 EVENT Held in support of President’s Challenge, We Tech Care rallied over 200 people from local startups, non-profits and partner organisations, and Microsoft to showcase the power of technology in creating a smarter and more inclusive Singapore Singapore, 12 March 2016 – President Tony Tan Keng Yam officially launched the 16th President’s Challenge today at Microsoft’s We Tech Care 2016 event with strong support from the technology community. Aligned with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more, We Tech Care 2016 goes beyond regular fund-raising to rally the local startup community, non-profit organisations, Microsoft partners and employees to collectively showcase the power of technology in creating a smarter and more inclusive Singapore. In addition to the over 200 volunteers from startups, non-profits and partner organisations, as well as Microsoft, the event saw close to 600 beneficiaries and members of the public participating in We Tech Care 2016. Held at JTC LaunchPad @ one-north, a vibrant and exciting co-working space for local startups, the half-day event created opportunities for people of all ages to learn coding and computing through IT workshops and talks; connect the current generation of innovators with the next through startup discovery tours; raise awareness of innovative technologies that can help solve societal issues; support digital inclusion programmes through partnerships with non-profit organisations; and foster Microsoft employees’ skill-based volunteering efforts. As part of the programme, President Tony Tan kicked off the 16th President’s Challenge this year in a launch ceremony. In his speech, he highlighted that since 2000, the President’s Challenge has evolved beyond financial support to address today’s social needs, which are more complex and social in nature. One example is bridging the digital gap of marginalised groups for them to keep up with the mainstream. By channeling more resources to address these gaps, the President’s Challenge hopes to provide them with the support, skills and confidence to lead dignified and meaningful lives. The President’s Challenge also promotes community interaction and integration. It looks to more public, private and people partnerships to help build a better support ecosystem in the community. Funds raised through this year’s President’s Challenge will be channeled to 57 beneficiaries across various sectors (See Annex B). Going beyond fund-raising, it rallies Singaporeans to not just pool together financial resources, but also time and skills. President’s Challenge also aims to boost senior volunteerism as a valuable community resource with the President’s Challenge Silver Volunteer Fund (SVF), which was announced last year. In 2016, for every S$10 donated to President’s Challenge, S$2 will be channeled to the SVF. The government will match dollar-for-dollar donations to the SVF, capped at S$20 million. We Tech Care 2016 marks the start of Microsoft’s fund-raising activities in support of the 16th President’s Challenge, which raised a total of S$268,963 from Microsoft and its employees, partners and members of the public. President Tan accepted the donation cheque from Microsoft on behalf of President’s Challenge and other charities supported by Microsoft. He also met with Microsoft employees, partners, startups, non-profit organisation volunteers, as well as beneficiaries as he toured the event’s premises and participated in the day’s activities. “At Microsoft, we believe technology can empower every person and organisation to achieve more. That is why, in addition to raising funds for the 16th President’s Challenge, we are focused on empowering people across all ages with technology, with a particular emphasis on equipping the elderly and disadvantaged groups with technology skills to help them make a real impact for a smarter and more inclusive Singapore. By contributing what Microsoft knows and does best, we are heartened to see that close to 2,200 people with disabilities and 22,461 seniors have been equipped with practical IT skills. In the last two years, 55 people with disabilities have also been trained with vocational IT skills and 19 of them have gone on to find job opportunities in IT-related fields as a result,” said Ms Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore. “As Singapore works towards building the world’s first Smart Nation, technology will no doubt have a greater role in the lives of everyone living here. We are grateful for Microsoft Singapore’s continued support through President’s Challenge in making technology accessible to people with disabilities so that they are not left behind,” said Mr Abhimanyau Pal, Executive Director, SPD. “As a Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship recipient, I am really thankful for the scholarship as it allows me to focus on my studies without worrying about my school expenses. With SPD and Microsoft’s support, I can now pursue a Diploma in Business Information Technology, with hopes of becoming a software developer in future to develop technological applications to help persons with disabilities,” said Mr Mohamed Najulah, Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship 2015 Recipient. “RSVP is proud to partner Microsoft in its We Tech Care initiative. We want to see more and more seniors use IT in their daily lives. This is in line with government’s drive to create a Smart Nation for all,” said Mr Koh Juay Meng, President, RSVP Singapore. “As a volunteer with RSVP, I enjoy being able to use my IT skills to assist and empower seniors, providing them with a doorway to the wider digital world that can improve their quality of life; from free information to easily available entertainment. This has given me an immense sense of fulfilment and purpose which has helped ease my transition from work to retirement,” said Mr Ong Han Min, RSVP Volunteer. “At Guide Dogs Association of the Blind, we work tirelessly to empower people who are visually impaired to live full and independent livee through the gift of mobility – the simple right to be able to get around. In support of our orientation and mobility training and the provision of guide dogs in Singapore, we value our strong partnership with Microsoft – a partnership that through the Cities Unlocked programme seeks to leverage technological advancements to further advance our cause,” said Mr Amos Miller, Chairman, Guide Dogs Association of the Blind Singapore. “Partnering Microsoft for the We Tech Care 2016 event is a terrific opportunity for a health- tech company like Jaga-Me, as we bring top-quality nursing to homes on-demand. Besides showcasing our latest solutions at the event, we are also delighted to be able to meet non-profit organisations such as SPD and RSVP, who are making a difference in our local communities by helping the elderly and people with disabilities,” said Mr Julian Koo, CEO, Jaga-Me. Since 2002, Microsoft has tirelessly rallied support from its extensive partner ecosystem and communities in support of President’s Challenge. The total value of cash raised and software donated by Microsoft, employees and partners for the President’s Challenge and its beneficiaries from 2006 is estimated at over S$4 million. This year’s We Tech Care was made possible through the generosity and support of Gold Sponsors - Accenture Technology Solutions Pte Ltd and Avanade Asia Pte Ltd; and Bronze Sponsors - Challenger Technologies Ltd, Datapulse Technology Limited, and Dimension Data (Singapore) Pte Ltd. In-kind corporate contribution was also provided by Embrya and JTC Corporation. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/singapore/WeTechCare and www.pc.org.sg.

Join us for a fun-filled day, pick up essential digital skills or discover the various starts-ups at JTC LaunchPad at We Tech Care 2016! For the 10th year running, Microsoft is participating in the President’s Challenge. The goal is to bring Microsoft employees, non-profit organisations and business partners together to raise funds to empower people and bridge the opportunity divide through what we know best – technology. For this purpose, We Tech Care is returning this year – bigger and better, on March 12th! This fun-filled and meaningful event will also highlight the work and solutions of incubators and startups at the JTC LaunchPad@one-north. To learn more about the communities and charities this event supports, click here.

Greetings! I’m Jason, the Program Lead for Microsoft Student Partners Singapore. It’s been a few months since the last summary of events, the last one being in October. I’d like to highlight a selection of events our fine MSPs have organized or contributed to in the months since. November saw the launch of one of the most anticipated products in 2015 – the Surface Pro 4. Our MSPs were given the chance to attend the very exclusive Media and Influencers Event, where one of us won the coveted Surface Pro 4 in a lucky draw contest! This win was reminiscent of the local Windows 10 Launch in July where two of our MSPs clinched the top prizes – a Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3. Next, our MSPs in Nanyang Polytechnic pushed our evangelism efforts to their campus and held a DreamSpark, Azure, and Office 365 workshop for their peers. This workshop spanned two lecture halls and saw students setting up an online resume for free. Our November monthly meet-up had us challenging ourselves through two Escape Room challenges in Clarke Quay. We formed teams and proceeded to overcome various puzzles – emerging triumphant… Mostly. December was a slower month being a school holiday for most of us. With many MSPs migrating for the winter or hibernating (in hot, tropical Singapore), we put our evangelism efforts on hold and held an amazing Christmas party at the Microsoft office. Our party had a treasure hunt, lavish Christmas buffet with a chocolate fondue, Star Wars, and various games – truly a day to remember. In January, our two ebullient MSPs from National University of Singapore took over a lecture hall to pitch DreamSpark and Azure. They distributed freebies such as t-shirts to the excited students. Temasek Polytechnic MSPs organized an event where staff from Microsoft could share about DreamSpark, Azure, Windows 10, Office 365, and their experiences on working in the tech industry. Finally, MSPs from Nanyang Technological University ran an Xbox booth during their School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering’s “EEE Week”, the allure of Kinect giving their schoolmates the impetus to unwind in the swank indulgence of dance and virtual sports. ...

In this Part II series of our January 2016 Awardees, we are shining spotlight on our Indonesia Map Masters! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– AUDE ILMAN | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry A Geography undergraduate at the University of Indonesia, Aude Ilman feels a great sense of ownership in the HERE Expert Community Program where he finds that he can put into practice what he has learnt from his studies. He likes the creativeness and fun part of the HERE Expert Community Program where he finds the activities are not only engaging, but also helps to create greater awareness around his neighborhood. Congratulations on your Map Master award! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– MUHAMMAD SYAHFIN LUBIS | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Muhammad Syahfin Lubis or Bang Syahfin hails from one of the largest in Sumatera Island, Medan. Touring on his motorbike is one of his passion and thus being awarded a Map Master in the HERE Expert Community Program has provided him with more opportunities to contribute tons of valuable information via HERE Map Creator, not to mention inviting his motorbike community to be part of this meaningful mission. ———————————————————————————————————————————————– ULIFATUS SA’DIYAH | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Ulifatus Sa’diyah (Ulif) is our new Map Master from Semarang, Indonesia. Semarang has been continuously the most active local chapter in Indonesia, and Ulif is one of the most active user from Local Chapter Semarang. Last year Ulif received a special appreciation from the Dean of Faculty of Technic, Diponegoro University for being one of the most outstanding student in his cohort due to his significant contribution to activities outside of his curriculum - which is his participation and involvement in the t HERE Indonesia Expert Community Program ———————————————————————————————————————————————– IRVAN NONGKA | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Irvan Nongka (Irvan) comes from Makassar, the biggest city in eastern part of Indonesia. He has heard about the HERE Expert Community from the social media campaign(s) that the HERE Indonesia community has rolled out last year, and eversince that time he has been very pro-active in contributing to HERE Map Creator. It was out of his passion that Irvan established the Local Chapter Makassar. As a Map Master, Irvan feels that the HERE Exper…t Community program is very good initiative as the whole strategy behind building a map involves getting the local people who are our eyes and help capture the many important changes in HERE Map Creator. Being a Map Master, he also wants to leverage on this opportunity to invite more people to join in the community program and be part of this meaningful mission in HERE. Congratulations Irvan! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– KEMALA MEDIKA PUTRI | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Kemala Medika Putri (Dika) is a second year Map Master and the live wire in the HERE Indonesia Expert Community program for Local Chapter Semarang. Also known as the “Queen of Map Master” because of her love and passion for travel mapping, Kemala has travel mapped more than 30 cities within 5 months. Kemala feels that the HERE Expert Community Program is a good platform to channelize her hobby in travel, help others and at the same time, improve the local economy by providing the most updated and high quality maps. Congratulations on your well-deserved renewal! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– FIFTRI PERMONO | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Fiftri Permono (Mas Fiftri) is a second year Map Master from Purwokerto, Indonesia. He has been part of the HERE Expert Community program since early 2014 and during that time, he has been very consistent in providing major contribution for Local Chapter Purwokerto. One of his 2015 masterpiece for HERE Indonesia Expert Community program was his trip to Jawa Island where he and other community members helped to collect railroad geometry for the entire Jawa Island! Congratulations again on your renewal! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– LUQMAN HAKIM (LUCKY) | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Second year Map Master Luqman Hakim (Lucky) is a student from the Geomatics, 10th November Institute of Technology. Lucky has been part of the HERE Map Expert Community Program since 2013 as the biggest motivation for him was that he got to learn about GIS. In 2015, Lucky contributed a significant amount of House Numbers/Point Address in Surabaya area and one of his mission in 2016 is to expand and scale the local chapter so as to gather more new and significant contribution for the HERE Expert Community Program. Congratulations on your renewal Lucky! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– MOCHAMAD YASIN | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry A second year Map Master, Mochammad Yasin joined the HERE Map Expert Community Program in early 2014 when he was still a student of Informatics, 10th November Institute of Technology. A mobile developer by profession where he participated in HERE’s First Map Creator API challenge, Yasin was also one of the pioneer who helped established the local chapter activity in Surabaya in 2015 and did his travel mapping to Madura Island, East Java. Congratulations on your renewal Yasin! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– RIZALDI DWI BAWANOYUDO | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Rizaldi Bawonoyudo is into his SECOND Year as a Map Master from Bandung, west Java. When he was still a Resource and Environmental Economics student in Bogor Agricultural Institute, Rizaldi was awarded a Map Master for Bogor City, West Java. Upon graduation, Rizaldi moved to Bandung. One of his mission as a Map Master for Bandung is to expand the Local Chapter over there since Bandung has many interesting POI especially those on tourism and restaurants where he believes this are important attributes which needs to be available in HERE.com. Congratulations on your renewal! ———————————————————————————————————————————————– NABIELA SARAH | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address, Road Geometry Nabiela Sarah is our new Map Master from Bandung, Indonesia and currently an undergraduate from the Bandung Polytechnic State University. Nabiela joined the HERE Indonesia Expert Community Program since 2014 and during that time, she has been actively building local chapter activities for Greater Bandung and conducted a few travel mapping activities in West Java region. Being a Map Master not only provides her the opportunity to travel for all her mapping activities, but it also widen her social circle of friends and helps to refresh her mind from the daily grind. ———————————————————————————————————————————————– Proudly brought to you by the HERE Expert Community Program

On January 1st, 2016, 27 exemplary community leaders (12 renewed and 15 new) around Southeast Asia were notified that they have received the Map Master title. The HERE Expert Community Program was established in June 2014 and recognizes exceptional HERE Map advocates who actively play a vital role in the map-making process, adoption and advancement of the map creation technology—and in helping HERE Map to creating a truly global map so that you will feel like a local, wherever you are. Not only do we have 18 brand new additions, we also have 10 re-rewarded Map Masters who will hold the Map Master title for another year. Congratulations on being inducted into the HERE Expert Community Program for the 2016 January award cycle. The caliber of your mapping contribution work is exceptional, and will have a major impact in scaling HERE to greater heights in the year ahead. Your achievements are a source of pride and inspiration to all of us. In this first series of Map Master Spotlights, we are featuring the Philippines Map Masters! —————————————————————————————————————————— ELISEO MORALES | Contributions: Point Address Eliseo is on his SECOND year as a HERE Map Master and advocate! Awesome!! Elliseo is an ambulance navigator under the Bacoor Family Care Development Center for the City Government of Bacoor. He was able to contribute over 50,000 of point addresses to HERE Map Creator. A well deserved on your renewal Eliseo! We salute you!! —————————————————————————————————————————— XYLDON NOEL JACOB | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address Xyldon is a Software Engineer at EQELA. The Philippines HERE Team has worked with Xyldon on EQELA’s training program in different regions in the Philippines where he leads the training programs for Android, Web Development, and gathering of map advocates and volunteers for HERE Map Creator. In their spare times during weekends, Xyldon and his officemates map their hometowns by gathering points of interests and point addresses. Congratulations on your Map Master award Xyldon! —————————————————————————————————————————— WALDEN MENDIOLA | Contributions: Point of Interest, Point Address Walden enjoys the outdoors and is part of the East Wind Outdoors Club (EWOC). He is a mountaineer and he loves mapping their journeys whether it’s going to the mountain peak or going to scenic tourist spots. Walden was able to contribute mountain trails in HERE Map Creator where our cars cannot go through with an amazing feat of more than 2,000 point addresses collected! Congratulations on your Map Master award Walden!! —————————————————————————————————————————— Help me welcome and congratulate the HERE Map Master Inaugural class for the January 2016 award cycle. This class embodies the spirit of the mapping community. They go above and beyond the data, for the data. Way to go! Stay tuned for more spotlights on our January 2016 Map Masters coming your way soon!!! Enjoy your award, have fun and happy mapping! Brought to you by The SEA HERE Expert Community Program Team

DTU: Database Transaction Unit DTU is an important keyword to understand, especially for those who have been thinking about migrating databases from on-premise MS SQL Server to Azure SQL. Before the migration, there is normally a question to ask, “which service tier and performance level should I use and how much do I need to pay?” Hence, if you read the Azure SQL pricing page, you will be presented with tables similar to what is shown below. [caption id=“attachment_21526” align=“aligncenter” width=“1058”] Azure SQL Pricing (Southeast Asia)[/caption] As shown in the table above, there are four performance levels for Standard Single Database Model, i.e. S0, S1, S2, and S3. Four of them having the same maximum storage for each database, however, they are charged differently because the DTUs they offer are different. So, what is DTU, or the Database Transaction Unit? When the new Azure SQL database service tiers are introduced, DTU is used as a way to describe the relative capacity of a performance level based on a blended measure of CPU, memory and IO rates. DTU is the unit of measure representing the relative power of databases based on the database transaction. S0 offers 10 DTUs, which means S0 can complete only 10 transactions per second. For me, the concept of DTU is a bit vague. When I look at the old chart in Azure SQL Pricing, there was actually an additional row called “Transactions per Second” which had value about the same as or lower than the corresponding DTU. Thus, S0, for example, can in fact only complete 8.7 transactions (instead of 10) per second. So, is there any method to help us making changes in our queries so that we can utilize the given resources in a good manner? Or, how do we know where our DTUs are spent? ...