You Don't Say

It may be the deepest chamber in the world, for after 8 months the echo has finally bounced back.

This hollow chamber of mass hysteria is otherwise known as reality show.

Firefox Users Are Not Worthy of RM 1 Million

... or, to be precise, non-IE users are not worthy of TM's RM 1 Million reward.

I'm sure most of us have heard or seen TM's latest ad for the 1 million ringgit customer relations campaign, featuring Malaysia's favourite millionaire Jalalludin Hassan. Basically, you have to answer a series of questions regarding your personal and private information such as (Q.16C) whether you have STD, among others. Then you pray hard that you'll win the million dollars and that no spammers will get hold of your contact details and spending habits.

I actually first came across the ad when I was using the TMonline service on my Firefox. Eager to know what it was all about, I clicked through and Walla!

What do you know? Non compatible browser detected. Thinking that the questionnaires might be using some kind of fancy schmancy Java-ActiveX-XML-ASP-WTF embedded multimedia plugin, I switched over to IE7 for a try (gasp!). Here is the front page in all its glory, strangely titled Landing Page:

I gave IE7 a run but did not really find anything that otherwise wouldn't play well on Firefox. Just a series of questions with regular form controls divided into pages. Out of curiosity, and inherent dislike for IE, I was determined to find a way around the browser restriction.

I was quite sure that there must be a way to spoof the website via user-agent switching. A quick check at Firefox Central turned up at least three extensions for that purpose, out of which I settled with the User Agent Switcher. A few clicks, a few seconds and a restart later...

Look Ma, no IE!

So, here's the rundown on the million-dollar questionnaire. You can click on the thumbnails to enlarge. Bonus: Last question is timed, so prepare ahead.

As I mentioned, the last question is timed to 15 minutes. The slogan reads "With the RM1 MILLION Reward from TM, I can now..." (in 100 characters or less)


By the way, if you're concerned about privacy, here's TM's not-so-assuring assurance:

Will TM disclose my personal particulars to other Companies?
NO. TM Group assures that the Customer's personal particulars will not be disclosed to other Companies. The data obtained through this Programme is strictly for TM Group's use only.

FAQ No.9

Good Luck!

Cause of Sugar Shortage Identified

Terengganu MIC treasurer Dr Dayal Krishnan said: “My maid went to three shops and all limited sales to 1kg per customer.”

However, state Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry director Ahmad Dahuri Mahmud said there was no shortage of sugar in Terengganu because his maid could buy 50kg without problem.

In related news, the Government has identified the source of the shortage:

GIANT ANTS!!!

Stupid Analogy: Tariff Increase vs. Cigarettes

PUTRAJAYA 4 Mei - Menteri Tenaga, Air dan Komunikasi, Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik membayangkan kadar tarif baru elektrik akan bermula bulan depan dan kenaikan itu sama dengan `harga sebungkus rokok sahaja'.

Beliau berkata, cadangan kenaikan minimum tersebut dibuat kerana kerajaan tidak mahu tarif baru elektrik membebankan golongan berpendapatan rendah.

``Saya memberi jaminan kenaikan tarif baru hanya sama dengan harga sebungkus rokok sahaja (harga sebungkus rokok 20 batang RM7) sebab kerajaan tidak mahu kenaikan itu memberi kesan besar kepada rakyat khususnya golongan berpendapatan rendah.

Utusan

"I will guarantee that the new tariff increase will only be as much as a pack of cigarettes (a pack of 20 costs RM7) because the government does not want the increase to cause a big impact to the rakyat especially those with lower income." - Lim Keng Yaik

Does that mean those (lower income) who can afford to buy a pack of cigarette, can also afford another pack? Or does it mean you should quit buying cigarettes (and quit smoking in the process) and save up to pay for your electricity bills?

I can safely assume that this minister is a smoker, and he must have assumed that all low income earners are smokers as well.

I'll just sit back and wait for the I-was-quoted-out-of-context routine.