A Farewell to Astrid

Tue, 18 Jun 2013
2 min read
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Yahoo Acquires Astrid, Hints at Shutdown (But We've Got Alternatives)

I’ve been using Astrid, a to-do list manager, for a while but it’s gonna be shut down in a bit, no thanks to Yahoo!’s acquisition of the app.

I’ve been searching for a new task management app to use but I haven’t found anything as user-friendly and as intuitive as Astrid.

Seriously, Astrid is one of the best apps I’ve ever used, which is why I’m pretty pissed with Yahoo! for making such a stupid decision to take-over the app.

Why it was a stupid decision:

  • Bad PR for Yahoo!.
    Astrid users are pissed that Yahoo! has gone and killed a good thing (check out Astrid’s Facebook Page).

    There’s quite a bit of unhappy murmuring going on, so the bad press means no one’s gonna be inclined to use Yahoo! products now.
     
  • No one’s using Yahoo!.
    Furthermore – and I’m calling this right here and now – Yahoo! is going and will go the way of the dinosaur.

    Even if Yahoo! develops its own task-management app based on Astrid, no one’s going to use it because there isn’t any faith in Yahoo’s continuity and longevity.
     
  • Customers won’t return.
    Even if Yahoo! reverses its decision i.e. it keeps Astrid alive, no one is going to use it!

    Everyone has migrated to other platforms in droves; even I’ve moved to Todoist, after a long and lengthy search for an Astrid replacement.

    So users will need damn good reason to return – either that, or a miracle.

Anyway, if I had the skills, I’d build an app to manage my tasks the way Astrid has been doing so, and as a bonus, design it such that it can be synced with Google Calendar to help me organise my schedule.

The ongoing motorcycle insurance saga!

Mon, 3 Sep 2012
1 min read
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So this is the third year of the ongoing motorcycle insurance saga, which I’m sure all 25 of you – my long-time, loyal readers and fans – are following very closely.

If you need to get up to speed, please read:

  1. Dear NTUC Income; and
  2. Human beings are like currents…

This year, I’m proud to announce that the ‘Renew’ button has reappeared on the NTUC Income website:

Also, my premium has gone down to $230.03 (from $322.58 the previous year and $295.21 the year before), after a $10 rebate which NTUC Income is supposed to mail to me within a fortnight.

BTW I did scout around for another insurer this year. DirectAsia had my attention for a while; it was cheaper (by approximately $5) but I realised I’d have to pay $600 in excess if I were to make a claim.

I’ve been accident-free since ’05 (and I’m hoping to stay that way for the rest of my years!) but NTUC Income still offers the best option in the worst-case scenario.

So well done, NTUC Income – you get to keep my business for another year.

Dear NTUC Income.

Mon, 29 Aug 2011
2 min read
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Last year, I wrote about how convenient your service was when it came to renewing my motorcycle insurance.

NOW LOOK AT THE MONSTER YOU HAVE BECOME:

Motorcycle insurance renewal letter: no, I'm not interested in calling my agent or your 24-hour customer service hotline! I just want to click a button and give you my money!

AND ON YOUR WEBSITE:

NTUC Income Online: where is the renew button for me to renew my motorcycle insurance?

What is – I don’t even – which hamster told you that customers are desirous of this heinous pigletry???

I don’t want to “call [my] agent or [your] 24-hour hotline” because I don’t need to talk to a human being to do this.

I just want to click a button and give you my money so that you can insure Le Poots and I – that is all.

Like what you see in this picture here, just in case you’ve forgotten what convenience and customer service is all about:

Customer service and convenience, circa 2010.

At the same time, it seems my premium has increased to $322.58. Why?

If you think this is an uneducated grouse, don’t worry – I know what the basic principles of insurance entail.

Nevertheless, my question centres on a logical Key Performance Indicator that all efficient insurers should adopt (or should have at least adopted), and that is: insurers must aim to maintain or reduce the year-on-year premiums that a customer has to pay.

But why can’t insurers meet that aim in Singapore?

Is it because of:

I have no ready answers.

But if anything, ladies and gentlemen, this is yet another reason why we need honest and customer-oriented people in charge of the organisations and institutions in our country.