Are Smart Phones Taking Over The World?


The outside view at one of the flagship stores in London during the launch of the iPhone 5

iPhone 5 was launched in the USA, London, Japan and many other advanced countries sometime last week, driving enthusiasts to line up a week before to get their hands on the latest Apple product post-Steve-Jobs. It doesn’t matter how many iPhones you own; what matters is, you drool for the new one even though the differences are not that apparent. What is it about iPhones and smart phones that make people go ga-ga over them? Endless possibilities; so to speak. (Although it does end when you have no memory left on your phone, oh wait, they offer iCloud, so yes.. endless possibilities is the correct term)

My husband was in London when the iPhone 5 launched, the queue was very long and some had queued for 7 days.  

Not much difference, yet they are worlds apart 
Smart phones reinvented phones to not just be about calls and SMS anymore. Smart phones open up possibilities for people to reconnect with other people in the planet, to discharge time, to do work, to enjoy creative products, to learn new things, to snap photos of your food at all times, and the list goes on. The latest trend, which has been happening in much-advanced countries, is to turn your smart phones into your new wallet. Scan your phone and voila! You can pay for coffee, groceries, electrical items; you name it. Smartphones are not accessories anymore; they have become a part of us, attached to us at all times. We check on our children less than we check on our smartphones.

The trend is here to stay. While some claim they could live without their smartphones, majority of owners would be in a state of panic if their smartphones were not in sight.

Banking on the trend, FingerTec introduces TimeTec Mobile, an application that knows where you are, enables you to report attendance while online or offline, without you having to convince anybody of your whereabouts. The data then is processed in TimeTec Web at the main office for the human resource department as well as for payroll. How cool is that? All you need to do is to configure your phone and check-in through your phone whenever you are stationed to work outside of the office. The GPS coordinate and your time will be recorded accurately in the system.
Find out more about TimeTec Mobile, click here  
See, smartphones are about possibilities and TimeTec Mobile is just one of the apps that could better our lifestyle and businesses without having to invest much in it.

Now, I’m looking at my iPhone 4s and trying to convince myself that it’s enough that I have iOS 6 installed. The fact of the matter is, it is still not iPhone 5. Damn you, Apple!
  
by Norana Johar, COO, FingerTec HQ
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The outside view at one of the flagship stores in London during the launch of the iPhone 5 iPhone 5 was launched in the USA, London, J...

Proper Accountability With Time Clock Software

biometric scanners

Having your employees clock in is somewhat tricky.  But having a reliable way to do so is just as tricky.  Traditionally, this meant employees taking a piece of paper and using a hole puncher to clock in and out of work.  But this method is too unreliable and cumbersome for not only the employees that have to do it but also the accounting departments that make sure the payroll gets done properly and everyone gets their fair share of the wages.  But what can make it easier?  Time clock software that works in conjunction with a biometric scanner will do the trick.

Old systems employees use to clock in and out of work are archaic and are easily manipulated.  Anyone can take any other punch card and use it, either by accident or as a "favor" for fellow employee.  At the end of the day, there is no real guarantee that the employee whose name is on that punch card is the one that has been clocking in and out every day and at the appropriate times.  A biometric scanner removes all doubts because it requires the unique fingerprint of each person to clock in and out of work.  There is no way to get around it.



by FingerTec USA
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Having your employees clock in is somewhat tricky.  But having a reliable way to do so is just as tricky.  Traditionally, this meant emp...

Improving Security Through Fingerprint Scanners

fingerprint scanners

Whether you are a company on the up-and-up or large and well-established, security is of vital importance to your organization.  While heavy wood or steel doors and a closed-circuit security system are the industry standard for protecting the important people and assets contained within the walls of your office, you should also consider incorporating fingerprint scanners into your already existing security system.

Fingerprint scanners offer a number of advantages over the traditional lock-and-key doors.  For one thing, a person's fingerprints cannot be duplicated reliably and thus cannot be used to open a door protected by a scanner.  Typical keys can be copied and there are any number of ways to gain access to the key itself, either by stealing it or making a copy and then returning it.

As already mentioned keys can be lifted off a person or found and then copied by any thief; your finger cannot just fall off.  Also, there is no need to worry about someone removing your finger and using that because scanner technology is so advanced and sensitive that it can tell the difference between a "living" finger that is still attached and one that is not.

As you can see, the innate safety features in a fingerprint scanner puts it well above normal doors.


 by FingerTec USA
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Whether you are a company on the up-and-up or large and well-established, security is of vital importance to your organization.  While h...

Corporate Social Responsibility


“As long that you have a decent job, work hard, law-abide, you can consider yourself fulfilling a role as a good citizen,” there was this CEO trying his best to cajole newbies with his over-simplified motto when I first joined the IT company right after my graduation.

That moment my conscience shot back, “Yeah? How about those who work hard at licensed casinos or at tobacco companies? How about your cars that spit carbon monoxides and contribute to pollution everyday? How about …….?” We all have sinned; the simple mantra for life won’t get you near to any role model example.

Corporate Social Responsibility 
We often heard of the listing regulatory authority emphasizes on the importance of corporate governance and social responsibility. But, when you have the chance to look at the courses constantly offered to the directors, you would realize on how pale the contents really are.  The real purpose of these courses is to urge the directors to protect the minority shareholders’ interests, not the real public’s interests. Indeed, a lot of public listed companies have very little concern of the public, even those who made corporate governance the ‘bible’ in their daily operations. 

The reason is simple. They’re driven by profit, by the greed of ROI. Even when the public companies have tens of thousands of shareholders, the number is still considered minority to the real public. And we have no short of examples where the interests of public companies conflict with the publics.

Take for an example the increase in electricity tariff; the share price rises for the electric power provider, the investors are happy, and they would tend to ignore the inflation and the increase in the cost of living as the after-effects. And the minority shareholders might think, “What can I do about it? Since I couldn’t beat them, it’s better that I suffer less from the side effects and join them.” And believe me, these vultures are well aware of every tactic to lobby the government to work towards their interests, to add bigger profit to their already lucrative monopoly business.

Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia
You may criticize these companies, but would your virtue be strong enough to avoid investing in their stocks that guarantee dividends? We saw the shameless shareholders posted their comments on the Facebook page of Lynas after the company been awarded the temporary license to operate their rare-earth plant that may harm the environment by emitting radioactive Thorium as by-product, despite hundreds of thousands Malaysian demonstrated and staged numerous strong protests against the operation. Where are those social responsibilities at the time of need and when the law permits (not to have one)? And we all know that laws are so easily bent in developing countries.

That is why quite some pharmaceutical companies have their clinical trials on new drugs in developing countries like Kenya, Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Mongolia, because it is much easier to find human guinea pigs, and the loosely regulatory environment in these countries avoid them from the threat of litigation if things went wrong.  

Federal Court dismisses Bukit Koman residents' appeal

When Bukit Koman Anti-Cyanide Committee in Malaysia called for a donation after they lost their legal battle against a gold mining company early this month and the Federal Court ordered them to pay RM15,000 (USD5,000) as legal cost, we donated RM10,000 to inspire more corporations to support civil society movements and underprivileged groups.

To me, charitable activities shouldn’t bejust an icing on the cake.

by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
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“As long that you have a decent job, work hard, law-abide, you can consider yourself fulfilling a role as a good citizen,” there was...

Looking Into Fingerprinting's Ancient Past

fingerprint scannersNowadays, fingerprints and fingerprinting is a common form of identification; we have to be fingerprinted for various official purposes and many companies use fingerprint scanners to identify, verify, and authorize personnel access.  But how was fingerprinting used in the distant past?  Let us find out.

Pottery found in the ancient civilizations of Babylon, China, Egypt, Greece, Minoa, and Rome have had fingerprints found on them.  Fingerprints have also been found on bricks and tiles.  In certain cases, prints were deeply embedded into the clay as a sort of maker's mark.  Ancient Babylon used fingerprints in conjunction with written signatures on contracts.  Around 246 BCE, Chinese officials would impress their fingerprints onto seals for official documents, much like signet rings were used to seal wax-sealed letters.  When paper became prevalent in China, they would impress their hand print onto documents alongside their signatures.

In law enforcement, the first time fingerprints were used as evidence was as in China around 300 CE; it was used to identify a thief.  Over 300 years later in 650, Chinese historian Kia Kung-Yen would proclaim the usefulness of fingerprints as a means of identifying individuals.  Persian physician Rashid-al-Din Hamadani would reiterate this point when he said "Experience shows that no two individuals have fingers exactly alike."


by FingerTec USA
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Nowadays, fingerprints and fingerprinting is a common form of identification; we have to be fingerprinted for various official purposes and ...

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