I wonder if it’s just me… the NS Portal is one of the worst and most badly designed website I have to access frequently. Do you have the same problems I have with this website? Is there any way we can make our opinions heard to effect changes? I have a feeling SAF don’t give a damn because NS is compulsory for Singapore male citizens and we have to keep using the lousy website regardless if it sucks to the core.
The loading time takes very very long for EVERY SINGLE PAGE (regardless if login is required); navigation is horrible with tabs that badly describe what the clicks lead to; the website is not compatible with quite a few internet browsers and is especially problematic if you happen to use a Mac (yes, the SAF still thinks Microsoft and PC rules the world); the list goes on.
Worse still, I remember there was a period when the NS Portal was migrated from their old URL at www.miw.com.sg to www.ns.sg, somehow, the database of reservists personnels like me were seemingly compromised (not sure about NSFs) to an unrelated company, called Green Dot Media who continued to operate the old URL as a “men’s lifestyle portal”. This new MIW is totally unrelated to NS, and continually sent me unwanted junk emails with no options to unsubscribe. It was only when I send an extremely harsh email to them that the spams stop. Can like that anyhow give out our national servicemen’s database one meh????? I didn’t CHOOSE to signed up for the NS Portal lei, I signed up because I HAD TO – out of an obligation to my nation – to book IPPT; check my ICT status, etc.
Do any of you have such similar experience? Or maybe I got my facts wrong? Care to comment? 🙂
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I agree. I only log on to it when I am at work, where I have access to a PC.
My biggest bugbear is that it takes lots of clicks to get where you are supposed to. You click on MyUnit, it takes you to a page that tells you more about the MyUnit section. (Then the link to get to the content is just the word ‘here’. As in Click here.)
What else could “MyUnit” be about?
After that, you are presented with some terms & conditions. Totally useless because:
(a) No one reads those terms and conditions of use.
(b) Errr… I need to do my admin stuff. Which is why I logged in. Obviously I have to agree, right?
And for some strange reason, you are presented with these every time you log in.
its normal. in my school TP. they ALSO believe microsoft is the bullcrap leader of the internet.
only IE6,7 works on http://www.tp.edu.sg try it on firefox/oprah you’ll be knocked out dead. i wonder what the fuck those tech guys are doing, don’t they surf they net themselves?
oh, by the way, IE is the slowest Browser in 2007.
I think I must be considered extremely “Internet un-savvy” in Singapore’s govt officials’ world of PC and Internet Explorer cos I am a Mac user who surf the web on Mozilla Firefox and Safari….
Designed by some army guy more used to sipping coffee and kenging; what did you expect?
I dislike the site ALOT. And I bet they paid crazy amounts for it.
Anyone know which is the lousy vendor who designed this pathetic-excuse-of-a-portal? The previous MIW portal was done by Green Dot Media which I am going to blacklist already as an untrustworthy vendor.
Heh… it does say PortalCity at the bottom of the page.
That is JSP for you.
What’s JSP?
PortalCity is run by NCS. I think NCS was handling the content development for the site? Anyone can confirm? If it really is, then the site is a monumental piece of display, that goes to show you the effects of cost cutting measures AND the absence of an independent and reliable vendor.
maybe u can try ie7pro add-on for Internet Explorer 7.
http://www.ie7pro.com/
it comes with AD Blocker, Flash Block + other cool stuff
to speed up yr surfing.
Hey, I’m a Firefox user on Windows, and I can’t stand the site either.
Yes, NS.SG is very slow and clumsy. The slowness is a telltale sign of a lack of caching on the server side. That means their servers are computing needlessly repeatedly to render the same webpage to multiple users. Think, if ten people asks you the same question, do you have to crack your brain ten times?
Very likely the work of junior programmers and engineers.
anony: The point I am trying to make here is that not everyone wants to use IE. I am more comfortable with Firefox; there may also be someone else out there more comfortable with Chrome, does this mean NS Portal can discriminate against the latter two groups of users? 🙂
sing chyun: Thanks for the insight! Care to elaborate more on how to improve the pathetic state of NS.SG?
The loading time of the pages for me is alright. Perhaps it might be your connection.
Hi Alvin,
You can’t improve the pathetic state of NS.SG. NCS took over the portal from MIW (GreenDot) after the latter had run it for five years. NCS has a 5 year contract, and it won’t end till 2011 probably. The contract is worth like 9mil a year. Oh and together with the MHA content, i suppose we have a clear idea of what to expect for years to come 🙂
One way to improve is to have another total revamp 😛 (but don’t think of it happening soon)
Davis
Davis: You saying they are paid 9mil a day to come up with a crap site like this??? Gosh….
i just middle clicked on the fucking thing to see how to prepare for shitty after check up interview i got some java error for trying to open a new window.
9 times. the times i had to RE SIGN IN because i clicked the wrong shit. fuck that website.
OH YEA. AND THE FUCKING SEARCH BAR SUCKS SHIT.
you guys really use the website often. I just pray that i don’t have to visit the site at all. Nothing good comes out of going to the site, e.g. recall manning, ict, etc. Normally i just go in and f off once things are done. 😛
totally agree, utterly CRAP website. the worst n most dysfunctional website award, no doubt..
takes eons to load a single page, and always get disconnected..
do u know any other pathetic websites like green dot media?
Takes a Long time to load when i have important documents to get done in 1 day,Hate the fact after calling them when they tell you this and than you realize theres not update or mail or something from them about what you need and you end up calling them on the last day where they TELL YOU WHAT TO DO THAN…..what were they thinking making this website…
Trust me, it’s not just you. I hate this portal, it’s fast at rejecting or processing disapproval of deferments, but it can’t even be properly designed to have a proper process for submitting supporting documents on it. Best part is, when I want to log on to it during a critical period, it gives a screen that says the login cannot be processed. WTF!!??? Good at rejecting deferments but having problems even with the fking login process??? What the fk is wrong with the logic of this pathetic website, or the people designing it?