Preorders open in Singapore for new Microsoft Surface family members

Microsoft has made a number of products in its Surface family available for preorders.

Source: Challenger eDM. Preorder invitation for the Microsoft Surface Laptop.

The Surface Laptop will be available in Singapore starting 24 January, with preorders now available from the Microsoft Store as well as authorised retailers. The retailers include Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, LOL by Epicentre, Harvey Norman, and Newstead.

Starting from S$1,488, Surface Laptop balances performance and style. The Surface Laptop is engineered to start fast and stay fast with a 7th generation Intel Core processor and up to 14.5 hours of battery life*. At 1.25 kg** and under 14.5mm thick, the Surface Laptop is also engineered for portability.

“We are excited to be bringing Surface Laptop to Singapore for customers who are seeking a differentiated laptop experience,” said Veronica Chiu, Windows and Devices Group Lead, Microsoft Singapore earlier this month.

“Meticulously crafted to deliver a portable and performance packed experience, Surface Laptop empowers our customers to unleash their creative potential by bringing the best of Windows and Office together, while redefining its category.”

Available in Platinum, the signature keyboard on the Surface Laptop is covered in Alcantara material and features a quiet, responsive keyset, large precision trackpad, and soft palm rest for typing comfort.

The 13.5" PixelSense Display is optimised for touch and inking while the optically-bonded Corning Gorilla Glass 3 adds durability. The Surface Laptop will also support the new Surface Pen***.
Shipping with Windows 10 S, a new Windows experience streamlined for security and superior performance, Surface Laptop starts up and runs faster with InstantOn and an operating system optimised for sustained performance.

With Windows 10 S, applications that are downloaded from the Windows Store are first verified for security, and then locally run in a “container” that is isolated from other containers for safety. In addition, Surface Laptop is fully integrated with OneDrive to keep  content safe in the cloud.
Preorders for the Microsoft Surface Studio, along with Surface Dial are also available now.

Source: Microsoft. The Surface Studio.

The Surface Studio is an entirely new device designed for the creative process. With a 28" PixelSense Display that is adjustable, the Surface Studio provides a canvas for users to sketch, paint and edit photos, or even to lay things flat as with a drafting table.

It can be paired with the Surface Dial which provides easy access to shortcuts, controls and drawing tools.

In addition, the Surface Book 2 (13” and 15”) will be coming to Singapore in March 2018. Billed as Microsoft's most powerful Surface ever, the Surface Book 2 features the latest quad-core Intel processors and the best graphics performance yet with the latest NVIDIA GeForce GPUs.

It is also able to support varying work styles, including studio mode, laptop mode, view mode, and tablet mode by simply detaching the screen. Studio mode refers to using the Surface Book 2 as a tablet but with the keyboard still attached.

Microsoft also announced in a blog post that preorders for Surface Book 2 15” have begun in Australia, New and Zealand among other countries.

Source: Microsoft blog. The Surface Book 2, with the Surface Dial on the left and the Surface Pen third from left. The Surface Book 2 on the left is in laptop mode while the Surface Book 2 on the right is in view mode.

February through April will see Surface Book 2 13” and 15” roll out to Bahrain, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, KSA, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the UAE within Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions.

Details:

Pricing is as follows:

Item	Suggested retail price (including GST)
Surface Studio - 2TB / Intel Core i7	S$6,488
Surface Dial	S$159
Surface Book 2	Availability and pricing information for Singapore will be shared at a later date.

The Surface Studio and Surface Dial can now be preordered from the Microsoft Store and authorised retailers Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, LOL by Epicentre, Harvey Norman, and Newstead.

Surface Laptop and Surface Studio will also be available for preorders for commercial customers via authorised device resellers including AsiaPac Distribution, JK Technology, and UIC Asian Computer Services.

Explore:

Watch the video introducing the Surface 2
 
*Testing conducted by Microsoft in April 2017 using preproduction Intel Core processor, 256GB storage, 8GB RAM device. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except: Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage, and other factors.

**Weight is based on the i5 configuration.

***Sold separately.

Wacom launches Wacom MobileStudio Pro for high-powered creative use

Wacom introduces Wacom MobileStudio Pro, a new line of lightweight mobile computers with Wacom’s new pen technology for on-the-go professional creators of digital content. Featuring the newly-designed Wacom Pro Pen 2, with 4x higher pen accuracy and pressure sensitivity than the company’s previous professional pen, Wacom MobileStudio Pro is positioned as the ultimate creative tool for 2D, 3D and CAD artists and designers.

Wacom has developed a family of 13.3" and 15.6" Wacom MobileStudio Pro computers starting at US$1,499. There are six configurations to choose from. Four 13.3" models combine maximum mobility with high performance and color accuracy and two 15.6" models deliver a larger work area, 4K resolution, high colour performance as well as NVIDIA Quadro graphics.

Bundled with Windows 10, Wacom MobileStudio Pro can run applications such as Photoshop and Illustrator as well as demanding 3D creative software applications. "Unlike most general-purpose mobile tablets created for the mass market, Wacom’s MobileStudio Pro was designed specifically for the needs of the creative professional and how they work," says Ed Neumann, SVP of Marketing for Wacom’s Creative Branded Business. 

"Our long-standing relationship with the professional creative community enabled us to develop a game-changing solution for the creative market that exceeds customer expectations and provides the best, most natural and precise creative experience imaginable."

Wacom MobileStudio Pro is the first product to offer Wacom’s Pro Pen 2. "Wacom revolutionised pen input over 30 years ago when it introduced the first pressure-sensitive pen and we continue to provide the ultimate design and creative experience for our customers," said Neumann. "Whether doing straight 2D illustration or sculpting a 3D model, we are confident that Wacom MobileStudio Pro users will find the new digital pen to feel closer to traditional media as ever before."

Wacom MobileStudio Pro family members feature Intel processors, plus memory and storage configurations ranging from 64GB up to 512GB. NVIDIA Quadro graphics on the 15.6” model of Wacom MobileStudio Pro help speed computer-generated imagery and digital content creation and bring it to life. 

"The NVIDIA Quadro M1000M platform delivers great performance to tablets,” says Serge Palaric, Senior Director of Embedded & OEMs for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at NVIDIA. “Paired with the Wacom Pro Pen 2, the Wacom Mobile Studio Pro is the ideal platform for designers, engineers, artists and creatives who need desktop-level performance on the go."

Additionally, for users wanting to capture 3D scans as a start to their development process can select models of Wacom MobileStudio Pro which include the Intel 3D RealSense camera. RealSense 3D scans can be brought into software like ZBrush or Fusion 360 to jumpstart 3D modelling.

Interested?

Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13: four models come with an IPS high-brightness panel, 2.5K (WQHD) resolution and 96% Adobe RGB. Customer options are defined by solid state drive (SSD) size – 64GB (US$1,499), 128GB (US$1,799), 256GB (US$1,999) and 512GB (US$2,499). 

 
Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16: two models are fitted with an IPS high-brightness panel, 4K (UHD) resolution and 94% Adobe RGB. A 256GB model (US$2,399) comes with a NVIDIA Quadro M600M GPU with 2GB VRAM while the 512GB model (US$2,999) has NVIDIA Quadro M1000M with 4GB VRAM. The 3D camera is integrated into both models of the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 and on the 13 model’s 512GB version.

Wacom MobileStudio Pro is expected to be available online and at select retail locations in late November.

Creative positions rise in corporate pecking orders

The rise of design-led thinking and the incorporation of design approaches into business and strategic problem-solving is having a positive impact on the careers of creatives everywhere.

Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey of more than 1,700 creatives – including graphic designers, Web designers, artists, Web designers and more – discovered that respondents are creating a bigger impact within their organisations.

More than half (56%) of respondents in Asia Pacific (APAC) feel they are having more impact compared to two years ago, with 89% saying that their businesses are placing more importance on creativity and design thinking.

While this is great news, creatives cannot rest on their laurels. The opportunity to drive greater business value means creatives need to learn new tools and techniques – a statement that 93% of APAC respondents agree to. In fact, creatives now need to be “full stack” in their skillset (Editor's note: to have a comprehensive set of skills). Over the next year, Asia Pacific (APAC) creatives believe the most important skills to acquire will be user experience/user interface (UX/UI) design (27%), app development (16%) and digital storytelling (11%). Looking at just these three alone, the creatives of the future will need to combine skills from the realms of design, user experience, programming and communications.

Despite their increasing importance to business, creatives in APAC still stay up at night with uncertainties, just like the rest of the workforce. One of their main worries is the fear they will lose inspiration and motivation (47%) while increasing their creative skills. Employers need to take note of this, especially since most creatives cited that they are very reliant on desktops (74%) for work. This suggests many creatives are still deskbound, despite the link between creativity and fresh experiences that typically come from mobility and change.

At the same time, the increased speed of business is putting pressure on creatives to deliver more ideas and content faster than ever (43%), but 42% of creatives simultaneously feel that they aren’t being sufficiently trained in all the new skills they need.

Results in Southeast Asia echoed the APAC findings – out of the 220 creatives surveyed, 94% felt that businesses are beginning to place more importance on creativity and design thinking.

	APAC	Southeast Asia
How creatives view the industry
Creativity and design thinking are more important to businesses	89%	94%
Creatives are increasingly working across multiple mediums and disciplines	94%	93%
Creatives are expected to learn new tools and techniques	93%	92%
Technology is enabling creatives to be more in control of their professional destiny	85%	85%
What keeps them up at night
Losing inspiration and motivation	47%	54%
Pressure to deliver more creative ideas and content faster than ever	43%	49%
Not being trained sufficiently in new skills	42%	38%
The top three driving forces behind the changing role of creatives
New technologies that change how creatives do work	63%	67%
The impact of social media on the creative industry	41%	45%
New platforms for reaching the audience	39%	36%
How have mobile devices changed the creative process
They can capture inspiration in the moment and on the go	52%	65%
Work is now accessible to a broader audience	53%	57%
They can create content anywhere	35%	40%
Main motivators at work
Desire to learn new things	72%	81%
Seeing their ideas brought to life in the real world	59%	70%
Doing great work	53%	66%

"We’re an organisation that started out with a mission of enabling creativity, so it is really encouraging for us to see the value of the creative profession really being strongly recognised,” said VR Srivatsan, Managing Director, Adobe Southeast Asia. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen businesses recognize the value of creativity in driving business results. The success of firms like IDEO, which take a design-led approach to problem solving, has shown that creatives deserve a seat in the boardroom. In the coming years, we could expect to see creative drivers taking an even stronger lead in the business conversations.”

“We’ve seen the role of design and creative professionals change rapidly in recent years, and Adobe is at the forefront of this changing creative environment. With the proliferation of mobile devices and new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), creatives are being challenged to create content more rapidly than ever before. Not only does this mean they need to adapt quickly to the new demands of creating for more platforms and a broader set of customers, it also means that they need to be able to create on-the-go, collaborate with team members across different devices and geographies, and measure the impact of their work on business results. It’s a challenging environment, but also one that empowers creatives of today to make a real difference to the business,” said Janie Lim, Marketing Director, Digital Media, Adobe Asia Pacific.

It seems the best days are yet to come for the creative industry in APAC. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) of respondents believe that there is a bright future for creatives, and equipped with the right tools and skillsets, along with the proliferation of technology, there has never been a better time to be a creative.

“Design used to be the icing on the cake, but today it is the bridge between business, technology and users. It has an essential role in the success of a product, and the world is starting to acknowledge that. Designers are in more demand today than ever before. At the same time, design tools are very accessible and powerful, and the Internet is full of free education. Today, there’s no excuse not to do what you want to do,” said Nina Georgieva, Design Lead, Grab.

Interested?

Download survey report at http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/au/about-adobe/newsroom/2016/Adobe-Creativity-Survey-2016.pdf (PDF)

posted from Bloggeroid

LAVISH introduces new level of premium catering to Singapore

Premium catering extraordinaire LAVISH rebranded at its 18th Anniversary gala extravaganza in late January, where the company also unveiled the future of catering with a combination of food technology and science. The company is well-known for its experience in helming catering for MICE, corporate galas, private banquets, product launches, after-parties, as well as dinner and dance functions.

Source: LAVISH. The gala dinner was held
at Gardens by the Bay.

Jerry Sim, Director of Strategic Business at LAVISH said, “We recognised at the outset that as Singapore modernised to become an important MICE hub, so would the demand for world-class indoor and outdoor catering. As the average spend per head has more than tripled over the last 10 years from S$70 to S$250, we leveraged on food technology and invested in our long-serving team to develop their passion and skills. Our Service Ambassadors are trained to provide intuitive service before the guests even ask for it. We relooked each aspect of our business and even went on learning trips to enable the company to lead in the catering industry.” 

LAVISH’s Executive Chef Teo Yeow Siang (Chef Siang), a member of the internationally acclaimed Singapore National Culinary Team, presented a unique spread of food fashion that invited gastronomists to expect the unexpected. The menu included local favourites, all reinvented to showcase LAVISH's vision of 'dining 2.0'. 

Source: LAVISH. The team preparing for the gala dinner.

Chef Siang said, "Ten years ago, the catering brief was generally: give us good food and feed us till we are full. Today, we must help make the host look good as well.” Dragon’s Pearl, the chef’s adaption of frozen citrus foam, thrilled guests as they expelled vapours through their nostrils on consuming the mythical pearl - just like mythical dragons. Instead of live cooking or carving stations, LAVISH had a standing degustation menu of intricately created tasting portions inspired by sushi, served on a conveyor belt at a 3m x 3m live station. Dishes included the Reversed Chawanmushi, consisting of cold chawanmushi, scallop tartar, wasabi yuzu, and spring onion foam, as well as Earth, a sous vide egg, wild mushroom ragout, truffle crumble, and porcini foam.

Source: LAVISH. The LAVISH Culinary Theatre featured small bites on a conveyor belt.

Source: LAVISH. The LAVISH Culinary Theatre featured small bites on a conveyor belt.

Chef Siang also showcased some of the dishes that had won awards at international culinary competitions. The Taste of Chef's Award Winning Culinary Journey menu included lobster fritters, mentaiko aioli and seaweed dust, which won an award at the Culinary World Cup 2014; pan seared king crab in brick pastry, lemon puree, a winner at FHA 2012, and braised beef cheek, char leek, bush tomato, smoked onion & potato foam, which made waves at the Culinary World Cup 2010. 

Source: LAVISH. Canapes.

Source: LAVISH. Hainanese chicken rice, LAVISH style. This dish showcased local favourites in the earlier part of the dinner. 

Source: LAVISH. Charcoal Cones containing marinated Thai beef and coconut espuma (a culinary foam). LAVISH had in the past used spicy shredded duck as an alternative for those who do not take beef.

Source: LAVISH. A croquembouche adds interest as a centrepiece.

Source: LAVISH. Edible mahjong tiles.

Source: LAVISH. The exquisite dessert selection.

Sim observed, “We are taking the road less travelled by providing the overall dining experience. Our planning would take into consideration the décor to ambient lighting, the wow factor as well as minding cultural etiquette. Gone are the days when special diet means vegetarian or meat-free. Now, we have gluten-free, no shellfish, no flour, no mushrooms, no pepper…Jain and kosher are no longer the only special cultural dietary requirements.”

Source: LAVISH. From left: Teo and Sim.

"It’s my own level of wow. My team is very passionate about what we do. We try to surpass ourselves because to us, each event is a special event,” Chef Siang added.

Interested?

View LAVISH's curated menus