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Every week, we pay tribute to the growing number of tech, media and creative companies sprouting in Singapore - the startup scene is alive and well! We visited GimmieWorld Pte Ltd on a Tuesday afternoon, as part of our continued initiative to visit different start-ups weekly. GimmieWorld, a Singapore-based provider of loyalty software for mobile and online publishers, focuses on creating customer loyalty. They have secured large players as anchor customers - for instance, Hungrygowhere.my, which provides restaurant guides, reviews and buffets to discover what and where to eat. According to Gimmie’s founder and CEO David Ng, he feels that GimmieWorld loyalty solutions can offer new revenue streams for their partners. In today’s commercial world , the importance of retaining existing customers and expanding business is paramount. Companies with more channels face difficulties in managing interactions with their customer base. GimmieWorld addresses this problem while creating delight through an enhanced user experience. User experience is important for any software solution, as the software is primarily an administrative working instrument. They understand that the success of their software critically depends on how motivated users feel to work with it. The entire loyalty solution was designed with user friendliness in mind, such as the ability to input their own rewards in only two minutes and choosing from customisable pre-built templates. How does GimmieWorld work? Publishers get an online dashboard to manage their programs. GimmieWorld requires users to register through Facebook, allowing brands to incentivise social sharing through additional offers. Rewards are given to the users for a variety of actions such as referrals, Facebook invites and unlocking badges. Once they are ready, users can visit a marketplace where they can redeem their points for free or towards discounted items such as Coffeebean and Breadtalk vouchers. Publishers can get revenue from all the reward redemptions provided by partners. Analytics and reports are auto-generated which enable companies to get insights of all reward members including their details, reward redemption statistics to track the events and rewards instantly. (refer to picture below) GimmieWorld also came up with a creative feature exclusively for retailers. The software can help to create virtual loyalty cards for users using their own Facebook account details. Each user will be given a unique ID number and barcode on their phone to show at the store. The barcode will be scanned using the modified barcode scanners which the company provides, allowing flexibility of plugging into laptops and tablets getting customer’s point of sale data easily. (refer to picture below) With GimmieWorld’s various ways to enhance CRM (customer relationship management) user experience, it is no doubt that their CRM software will soon be a hit in Singapore’s market. The company will be enabling others to resell the platform, and launch new product features for different types of mobile devices. If you are passionate about developing and building new software, do contact them as they are looking for interested interns to join their fun-loving team. Lastly, check out their cosy studio workplace environment they work in. Shelves are neatly packed with utensils, bottles and containers to categorise their items. There is also a microwave available for staff members to heat up their lunch. GimmieWorld office is located at Soho1 at central Clark Quay, which is five minutes away from the MRT station. For more details, visit: http://gimmieworld.com

After 18 months in the making, Microsoft’s next-gen Surface tablet is finally here. The Surface 2 is thinner, lighter, and faster than its predecessor, and comes with nifty new kickstands that open up in dual angles. In addition to its classic slatelike black body, the Surface 2 now sports a new silver magnesium body too, but still retains its sleek angular design. The tablet is also thinner at 8.9mm and weighs a little less at 676 grams. To address concerns around the original Surface RT’s slow performance and low screen resolution, Microsoft has bumped the specifications of Surface 2 to the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, upgraded the 1366x768 screen to the new 1920x1080 ClearType display, and extended the battery life. Not only has Microsoft made improvements to the hardware on the Surface 2, the tech giant has also given the tablet a revamp on the software front. Running on Windows 8.1 RT, Surface 2 is now pre-loaded with Outlook, one of the key software missing in the first generation. Outlook will be bundled in with the RT version of Microsoft Office. Another key addition to the Surface 2 is a tighter SkyDrive integration, giving users the ability to save their files directly to the cloud. For every purchase of the Surface 2, customers will get 200GB of SkyDrive storage for two years at no cost. This comes in really useful for power users who need a bigger space to house their documents or photos. What’s more, unlimited free Skype calls to landlines in 60 countries and free Skype WiFi at over two million hotspots for a year sweeten the deal. If you are looking for a pretty solid tablet for your daily personal usage, the Surface 2 is definitely a great deal. Microsoft labels the Surface as the “most productive tablet for personal use”, and this is especially so with the enhanced SkyDrive integration, as well as the addition of Outlook RT. And with the number of apps on the Windows Store recently crossing the 100,000 mark, it’s interesting to see that Windows is gaining some pretty steady momentum. Planning to get your hands to the Surface 2 tablet? Unfortunately, Singapore is not listed as one of the first 22 markets where the Surface 2 will be shipping to. The Surface 2 comes with a price tag of US$449 for the basic 32GB model.

On 19 September, we had our bi-monthly BizSpark night with over 70 startup founders and investors. We’ve summarised the highlights below: The first speaker, Saemin Ahn from Rakuten Ventures, spoke on fundraising for startups. Rakuten Ventures is currently offering seed funding for aspiring entrepreneurs ranging from USD700, 000 – USD 1,000,000, and typically look for C2C based e-commerce companies. What do Rakuten Ventures look for in startups? Rakuten Ventures are interested in innovative startups passionate about their great ideas. Ideally, Saemin said he was looking for startups developing a new app or product in a competing marketplace. Startups with existing apps may also qualify if they were able to enhance their app and bring a meaningful purpose of technologies to consumers and enterprises. In addition, startups should have the drive and commitment to experiment and improve with the collation of user activity and feedback. Saemin also commented that he is particularly interested in companies developing technologies such as: ...

In this Developer Feature series, Spiffy speaks to up-and-coming developers to learn what makes them tick. We talk next with Lim Cheng Lei, the Singapore Lead of the Microsoft Student Partner Programme. What is your background and how did you get here? I studied Information Technology back in Singapore Polytechnic, where I joined the Microsoft Student Partner Programme (MSP). During my role as the Singapore Lead in MSP, I had been exposed to various Microsoft technologies. Windows Phone and Windows 8 were some of those which I spent my time learning from other developers out there. What motivated you to start building apps? Being a Windows Phone and Windows 8 user myself, there were times where I was unable to locate applications which fit my needs. Hence, I took up the chance to start working on applications to fill up the gaps I had, and to share them with others - I have to add that one application just led to another. What is your app about? StockFolio is an Windows 8 application which allows users to build up and track stocks that mean the most to them, and track them closely in multiple markets. Moreover, it allows the user to create various portfolios for individual markets. It also provides other key information such as news related to the stock or market and other key statistics. At the current stage, it only supports multiple markets in Asia. In time to come, StockFolio will bring support to other market regions such Europe and America. How did you come up with the idea? The idea came when there was a lack of a stock tracking application in the Windows 8 Store. At the same time, the built-in finance application powered by Bing has its own limitation, such as the unavailability to create customised, personal portfolios and carry personalised information. Hence, I thought that having a stock application on the Windows 8 Store to address this limitation would be good. Where did you get the inspiration from? I have gotten inspiration from consultation with my friends and family members who are into stock trading. They help in me in understanding the key concept of what they are looking for in a stock tracking application, such as what are the key information they would like to see at a glance. More importantly, what is the decisive factor to commit a spending on getting a stock tracking app. What’s your process for designing the user journey? In the designing of the UI, I have researched various stock-related applications out there in the market. These application come from both the mobile platform and tablet platform. All these apps out there allowed me to get more ideas and identify their pros and cons in their designs. These were extremely important, as I had to take into consideration how these controls would like good and meaningful in a touch-friendly and mouse-friendly environment. Feedback from close friends also allowed me to better alter my UI, to allow the mass audience to understand how to use the app at the initial launch. What’s next for you? I will be developing more applications for the Windows 8 and Windows Phone platforms. At the same time, I will continuously updating my existing applications to bring greater collaboration between those which are available on both the Windows Phone and Windows 8 platform. Check StockFolio out here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL-pn3hfFqw[/youtube]Microsoft’s bringing us home to Seattle!!!!! For the 12th year running, the Imagine Cup will be bringing the best of student innovators across the world together in the world’s most prestigious technology competition. Students are invited not only to dream big, but also to strive towards creating tangible and valuable solutions that could possibly change the world. (Remember vSoft Studio? Our 2013 champions earned a trip to Russia and USD $25,000) This year, the competition is getting bigger than ever. Not only is Microsoft bringing the Cup home to Seattle, they have also revamped the model adding several new challenges that will take place throughout the year. These challenges do not require programming so any student can participate as long as they are willing to learn about the Software Development Life Cycle. Bringing the ‘WOW’ factor up a notch – they will be giving out more than $750,000 in prizes and potentially even more in the coming months. ...

The Windows UCrew Ambassador Programme is designed to help students embark on a journey to nurture their portfolio, as well as their leadership and communication skills. Being a UCrew Ambassador is more than just a programme for students, it is a journey that allows you to expand your social circle with other like-minded individuals in other Institutes of Higher Learning - as well as expanding your social connections towards the people in Microsoft. It is a journey filled with fun, friends and not to mention Technology in itself. [caption id=“attachment_15678” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Windows UCrew[/caption] Being a UCrew Ambassador, I had several responsibilities with regards to promoting Windows 8 and Office 2013 in my school, as well as during events. We were required to demo to the students a simple introduction to the features of Windows 8 and Office 2013, excite the student community on how they can use their touch-capable Windows 8 devices and collect feedback about how the student community feels about Windows 8 and Office 2013. We were trained to describe the new features in Windows 8 and how to present it to the students. All of us sat through a whole day of training understanding the concepts of marketing the latest interations of Windows and Office itself. Not to mention, after going through the training we had to socialise and get to know each other right? Almost everyone attended the UCrew Welcome Party which was organised by Microsoft and I’m pretty sure everyone had so much fun even though I did not get the chance to. [caption id=“attachment_15677” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Windows UCrew Training Kit[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15675” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Windows UCrew Training[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15675” align=“alignnone” width=“372”] Windows UCrew Welcome Party[/caption] My Journey as a UCrew Ambassador is slightly different from a normal UCrew Ambassador, as I felt that I had more opportunities to hone and improve myself due to my overlapping role as the Singapore Polytechnic Microsoft Student Partners Campus Lead. I was the point of contact for organising the roadshow that was to be held in my school, which required me to work together with different individuals from all the various divisions in the school. The planning took almost 4 months in advance with a lot of discussion about logistical issues and what not. Next time perhaps when you see a moderate-sized event, think about all the people in the background that helped contribute to the realisation of the event. [caption id=“attachment_15681” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Techfest @ Singapore Polytechnic[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15683” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] A Metal Hat for Me[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15684” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Windows 8 Photobooth[/caption] Other responsibilities instead of just organising a UCrew event, I am glad to say that I have attended a lot of the other UCrew related events along the way. Some events consist of the Surface Launch in Singapore that was held at Funan The IT Mall at Challenger, Japanese Pop Rock Band Scandal Live in Singapore at *SCAPE, and NBS Week. The photos below speak for themselves! [caption id=“attachment_15686” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Fellow UCrew Ambassadors[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15682” align=“alignnone” width=“406”] Jovan & Me[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15685” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Scandal Tour with Windows 8[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15694” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] NBS Week 2013[/caption] All in all, good things must come to an end, right? We had another UCrew Gathering Party to just keep each other upgraded on our progress and for us to sit around bond and hopefully getting to know more people around all the other IHL’s. Personally I really enjoyed my time and I definitely feel that this experience has contributed a significant amount of experience in the marketing of products as I was never a promoter to begin with. At the same time, making a lot of fun and wonderful friends along the way. We ended our journey at Seoul Garden with our UCrew Graduation Party and I used ‘We’ because this journey would not have mattered were it not for my fellow ambassadors. I look forward to the Second Iteration of the UCrew Ambassador Journey where much more exciting journeys will be sure to begin. [caption id=“attachment_15696” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] UCrew Gathering Party[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_15680” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] UCrew Graduation Party[/caption] ...

The Singapore Computer Society IT Youth Council organized a Yes! Youth Engagement Series on the 7th September 2013, where young IT Professionals like myself had the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with Ms. Jessica Tan, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore. Youths who attended the dialogue included students from tertiary education, start-up entrepreneurs and young IT professionals. [caption id=“dialogue” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] Ms. Jesicca Tan sharing her experiences during the dialogue[/caption] The session kick started with a brief introduction of Ms. Tan and her portfolio. The audience was in awe of her impressive and extensive portfolio and could not wait for her to start the session off. Unsurprisingly, the question of commitment surfaced when the floor was opened. She generously shared how she juggled her responsibilities on top of being a successful wife and mother of three. Ms. Tan’s candid and whimsical approach kept us engaged, especially with her personal anecdotes. She also took the opportunity to attribute her success to those she had worked with, as well as those who scaled her ideas. She highlighted her family, particularly her husband, for being her pillar of support. Ms. Tan also elaborated on what motivates her, particularly when her ideas had come to fruition. Career wise, she reminded us of the importance of recognizing and acknowledging our partners and benefactors. Ms. Tan brought up some interesting points when a student inquired as to how to stay relevant and successful in the industry. Firstly, drawing on a solid 24 years of experience in the industry, she predicts that the industry in the coming years will be different and more exciting. Despite the fact that success and relevance can be influenced by many external factors, she suggested that flexibility, relevant skills and building a track record would definitely give a clear advantage. In addition, we should be prepared to run with opportunities, learn & innovate, know the interest in the industry, and to be involved with the community. At the same time, she dissuaded us from choosing our career simply based on our perception of what makes the most money, and also from changing jobs too often. [caption id=“participants” align=“alignnone” width=“610”] The engaged audience during the dialogue[/caption] When another student asked about how she overcame inevitable challenges in her career, she candidly shared about how she took them in her stride. For instance, she mentioned that one of the challenges being a leader is to help people understand the goal and why they need contribute. This could be a challenge as team members may not agree with the leader’s way of thinking. She also emphasized that although achieving the objective is important, working together as a team is an integral part as well. Ms. Tan rounded off the 2-hour dialogue by leaving some valuable advice for the youths in audience. She emphasized the need to build professional networks and stressed the need to be genuine. She also stressed on the importance to have the right attitude, to be sincere about learning as well as sharing our knowledge and experiences, and also to be clear of what we want to do and remember our values. Without a doubt, Ms. Tan has illustrated an intriguing industry for us young IT professionals to look forward to, and her tips and advice will serve us useful. We were all treated to a feast of pizzas during a post-dialogue networking session. Participants also took the opportunity to speak with Ms. Tan, as well as feedback to the organizers. They remarked that the dialogue was very engaging and informative and looked forward to attending future similar events.

Whether you’re an absolute coding noob or an experienced developer, everyone benefits from free online resources. We’ve compiled what seems to be the most popular courses hosted on Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) in Singapore. #5. Windows Phone 8 development for absolute beginners Mobile app developers make their presence felt, as a Windows Phone 8 course comes in at number 5. What you’ll learn: Basics of installing and working with Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone and the Emulator XAML layout and events How to utilize many of the Phone’s built in features and additional open-source libraries Complete app walk-thoughs: The first app you’ll build is the SoundBoard app that allows you play pre-recorded sounds and record your own custom sounds. The second app you’ll build is the AroundMe app which integrates the Phone’s Map, GPS and Lock Screen capabilities with Flickr’s API. #4. Windows Server 2012 Training: Technical Overview What you’ll learn: ...

We have recently visited Prototype Asia Pte Ltd on Tuesday morning, to kick start our visitation to different start-up companies under our program, Microsoft BizSpark. Prototype Asia Pte Ltd, a company on the forefront of 4D printing, started out as a firm providing software prototypes and solutions in 2010. With turnover estimated to hit $1.24 million inoperations, Prototype Asia’s business model is one of the first few to have succeeded in 3D printing industry. The company transform ideas in products through the latest prototyping technologies. As a newly start-up, Prototype Asia Pte Ltd’s success story did not come easy, they had financial difficulties in getting bank loans and funds to purchase their 3D printing machines which each cost more than hundreds of thousand dollars. Thankfully, Singapore Economic Development Board has announced this morning to set aside $500 million over the next five years to develop the three-dimensional (3D) printing sector which will definitely aid their start-up funding here in Singapore. (Refer to link) So you might be wondering how they managed to print their 3D models out of printers for their clients? They have a printer that reminiscent of Star trek Replicator, creating something magical out of thin air. It can “print” in plastic, nylon and other materials for manufacture prototypes, injection moulds and figurines. We had the opportunity to get first-hand experience to view the 3D printer, that creates a three dimensional object by building its layer by successive layer, until object is complete. Just imagine a multi-layer cake, with baker laying down each layer one at a time until the entire cake is formed. Each layer is thinly sliced, horizontal cross section of eventual object. A sample prototype of an engine part is shown in picture above. Prototype Asia Pte Ltd is currently working with local enterprises that deal with consumer electronics, advertising and marketing in effort to improve their Research & Development processes. Models of complex architectural drawing can now be created quickly instead of handcrafting model out of cardboard and customers are able to create new products, redesign and refine existing ones into functional prototype. We were given the opportunity to tour around their office workspaces. Prototype Asia Pte Ltd have a conducive office environment to work in which they create 3D prototypes and transform design and ideas into products from there. They also have a vast range of C#/Java/Engineering-related library books that is available for the staff to loan for research and development purposes. Books are classified according to subjects and expertises. We would like to extend our heartiest thanks to Prototype Asia Pte Ltd for hosting the visit and wished them all the best in their business. If you are looking for a career in mechanical and software engineering, contact them at http://prototype.asia/careers/ Read more at http://prototype.asia/

For many app developers – novice and experts alike – application frameworks are huge life and time savers. Using abstraction, they support OOP techniques providing both reliability and reusability of program codes crucial to the foundation structure of writing an application. Creating a framework, however, can be an extremely complex and exasperating process that can drive even the most experienced developer insane. Fortunately, the popularity and rise of application frameworks for the Windows Platform means that it is now possible for any ordinary Janes and Joes to easily pick up app-development and create something they can proudly call their own. 1. Xamarin Xamarin delivers high performance compiled code with full access to all native APIs so you can create native apps with device-specific experiences. Xamarin supports cross-platform development with Visual Studio integration (Windows, iOs, Android), allowing you to finish your app quicker yet still look awesome. 2. Appery.io Appery.io offers a cloud-based rapid development environment with integrated back-end services and a rich catalog of API plug-ins that dramatically simplify integration with cloud services and enterprise systems. It is 100% cloud-based and combines the simplicity of visual development with the power of JS to create cross platform enterprise apps rapidly. 3. GameSalad GameSalad makes game creation easy by empowering you with the tools and platform to rapidly design, publish and distribute original games. Its visual, drag & drop interface and complex behavior library provides almost limitless freedom to game designers shortening weeks and months of work into hours and days. 4. Construct 2 Construct 2 is another powerful game creator that support HTML5 and 2D game development. For the new and even non-programmers, it makes building games easy as no coding is required. The user can simply click to select his desired features and code will be auto-generated. For the professionals, Construct 2 can be used to create mockups and prototypes or as a faster alternative to coding from scratch. 5. touchdevelop TouchDevelop lets you create apps on any devices (yes, even your phones) and export them to the both Windows Stores or as HTML5 web apps. TouchDevelop also comes with tutorials and high-level APIs that support direct use of sensors and media. It stores your scripts on the cloud so you can install, run, edit and publish them cross-platforms anytime and anywhere. More resources: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps Bonus for the lazy beginner: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps