Dr Dayah

11/11/2025

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web - but never sought money for it. His unusual upbringing could explain why...

"It was really important that the web should be free for anybody to use," says Tim of his invention.

He persuaded his employer, Cern - the European research centre based in Switzerland - never to charge for using the web. This means Tim is not as famous - and nowhere near as rich - as contemporaries like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who were, curiously, all born in the same year, 1955.

In fact, "being famous must be a total pain," says Tim.

So, what inspired him to create his invention - and never crave fame or money for it?

Part of the answer could lie in his upbringing.

His mum and dad met while building the UK's first commercial computer, Ferranti Mark 1, and brought their children up to understand logic and problem solving. Tim's dad even made a model computer at home using water jets.

"He did that because then you could see that computing was just logic. It's just, if this comes on, this comes on, then this comes on," says Tim.

His parents gave him freedom to experiment. And family camping holidays gave him a strong sense of self-sufficiency. Tim's mother was a churchgoer and a driving force in the family.

"[They were] rational, but yes, one was quite devout, and also very scientific. And very creative and very imaginative,” says Tim remembering his parents.

Tim himself was a shy boy.

"Growing up, I didn't, never had a girlfriend while I was in high school. I never really went to dances and things. So I guess the energy went into mathematics and physics and electronics."

When he began working for Cern, the only way he could find out what colleagues were doing was to go for coffee with them. He realised he needed a way to help different computer systems to talk to each other.

It was a leap of imagination on his part.

"The idea that you would click and go to somewhere - anywhere - in the world… people just could not imagine it."

When he launched the World Wide Web in 1990, no-one knew the success it would become. Inspired by his parents’ values, Tim was determined that it should be free – and a force for good.

But in the last few years, he's begun to worry about the way algorithms reward people for staying on their platforms - even if that means making them angry.

"If it's trained to polarise people, then that's not a neutral piece of technology. That's a piece of technology which is making the world a worse place," he says.

He’s now working on what he calls 'pro-human' technology, in which people have control over their data, and profit isn’t the end goal.

The world which Tim created has changed beyond even his imagination. But there are things he misses about the old world – like chance meetings over coffee.

"The fact that... if you have to meet somebody, you have to go around to a friend's house to see the friend."

There may be fewer chance meetings, but Tim does value walking in London parks without being recognised. He may not be a billionaire – but that's the way he likes it.

🎧 https://bbc.in/4968vE0

11/11/2025

[ Emceeing in Japanese ]
. for a grand total of four words 🤣

Got called up again for another emceeing gig, this time for an MoU signing ceremony between my uni and a Japanese-origin company, with a Japanese big boss in attendance.

I butchered my old English-based text from the MCF dinner and combined it with my previous Malay script from another MoU job, then peppered four(!) Japanese words in between and ta-da! Job's done.

Funnily enough, one of the visitors commended the tone of my voice, saying I must've been working on preserving my voice somehow. Little did he know that I was still battling the remnants of an ugly sore throat. I guess if I wanna be on my peak emceeing form, getting sick beforehand is the way to go 😂

03/11/2025

[ Trip Down Memory Lane ]

For our Memory chapter, I literally went down memory lane - geddit..? *badumtish*

I went on a treasure hunt shopping spree and bought all sorts of old school memory paraphernalia. I got the 5.25" and 3.5" floppies, and also a busted HDD - which I got one of our students to crack open - so everyone could see the magnetic disks and read/write heads up-close.

What was funny about the shopping spree was when I bought two of the 5.25" disks, for some reason I was given three(!) - the seller must've been in awe that somebody _actually_ wanted to buy two of their relics, and gave me an extra one for free 😂

My class also scored 100% on the Mentimeter quiz so as promised, the obligatory class photo is now up on my FB 😊

10/10/2025

Popquiz in session!
📹 matadey

10/10/2025

[ Computer Architecture Reloaded ]

Fourth time's the charm!

This is my fourth time taking on Computer Architecture and to be honest, it feels different this time around. I'm much more sure of myself and what I'm doing, so there's definitely some merit in the power of repetition.

Yesterday I took a desktop into class and disassembled the side panel and showed the "naked" insides to the students. I had wanted everyone in class to come forward and take a peek at the motherboard and all its components, but that didn't really happen. Only a handful of people plucked up the courage to come forward, but when they did, it was fun to test their knowledge and see their faces light up when they learnt something new.

I even brought a Raspberry Pi 5 for them to pass around across the entire class so they could visualize things.

It's really fun to bring these "props" into class and make them see the devices first hand, instead of merely ploughing through diagram after diagram of abstract concepts.

I really can't wait for them to see what I've got in store for them when the Memory chapter comes around 🤣 It's like walking through computing memory lane for a dinosaur like myself.

This semester I've decided to revamp ALL the slides (again!) so that's 478 slides to do over the next 14 weeks - I don't know why I do this to myself 😂

It's gonna be a fun semester ✨

07/10/2025

[ Emceeing in DTC for AKEPT ]

The fifth series of AKEPT's Let's Talk About webinar series was a special one - it became a face-to-face panel session in conjuction with national-level Hari & Bulan Akademia celebrations at my uni.

It's my first time emceeing in the massive cavern of our incredibly beautiful main hall, Dewan Tuanku Canselor, in front of higher education big-wigs from all over the country. I was a nervous wreck beforehand, to say the least!

There were sooo many last-minute changes and mishaps, but we managed to sail through the troubled waters unscathed, and everybody was relatively happy with how the event went, so I'm beyond elated. My poker face is getting better and better each time 😂

Just one more LTA episode in December and that's it for me for this year's run. It's been an incredible ride, alhamdulillah ☺️

-- Watch --

Series 5 - Research and Innovation with (AI) : From Laboratory to Impact
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06BA8-qN7-k

-- Previous Episodes --

Series 4 - The Role of Leadership in Integrating Education, Social Innovation, and Sustainable Development for the Future of Higher Education
(No YT recording)

Series 3 - Leading Beyond Traditions : Disruptive Leadership for the Future of Higher Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIwsin9DZ4

-- Previous Write-up --

Series 2 - Cultivating Adaptive Leaders : Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Success
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HjPLspKAM/

03/10/2025

Live now! Emceeing 😄

Send a message to learn more

19/09/2025

[ SUKANUN SOJOURN ]

SUKANUN marked my maiden return to competitive chess since Mar 2023 ❗

As if battling chess sharks from across the country isn't hard enough, I was also lugging my 18-month-old toddler along with me ‼️

It was our first ever long trip away from home, and I was really anxious. In the weeks leading up to the event, I kept telling everyone that handling the baby was gonna be much scarier than the chess 🤣

After packing half the house (it still wasn't enough!), we managed to arrive in Perak relatively incident-free, and she quickly got along with my female teammates a.k.a. her new housemates/babysitters 💖

Our playing venue was in a library, so for every game, I left her to be watched over by either her dad, our team manager, or our Sports Centre rep. She'd run around the entire floor and sometimes I'd hear her squeal every so often while I'm playing. In between rounds, I'd take her to the female surau or the secluded cafe to feed her.

The real drama started halfway through the event. My husband's leave from work didn't get approved, so he had to immediately hurry back to Nilai, leaving me and the baby in Perak 🥲 When he left, it really felt like the wind had been knocked out of my sails. To make things worse, the morning right before our last game, my baby took a tumble onto the bathroom floor when I wasn't paying attention, and she got a massive red bruise on her temple 😭 That was when I couldn't contain it all and just went bursting into tears. My teammates quickly came to the rescue, helping me compress the swelling. Right before the final round started, my manager told me it was OK if I didn't feel like playing, and I immediately cried again, so I decided not to play and forfeit the game - I wasn't in the right state of mind, to say the least.

She later drove us to the clinic to get the baby checked out. Fortunately, the swelling had died down, and the doctor gave her the all clear.

Our team ended up losing to the eventual champions, and I felt really guilty for abandoning the team. But a miracle happened and we still managed to stay within the Top 8 despite the loss, thus maintaining our chess team's points contribution to our uni. I've always been extremely proud of how we've consistently contributed Top 8 points for three consecutive SUKANUN editions now.

One day we'll score that podium finish 😊

22/08/2025

I'm emceeing!

AKEPT Lets Talk About – Webinar Series 4
(A Collaboration between AKEPT, USIM and SEAMEO RIHED)

“THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN INTEGRATING EDUCATION, SOCIAL INNOVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION"

Event Details:
🗓 Date: 22 August 2025 (Friday)
🕓 Time: 4.00 PM (Malaysia Time)
🌐 LIVE on AKEPT’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akeptmohe

Pre-registration: https://tinyurl.com/preregistrationAKEPTLTAseries4

All are invited. Mark your calendars and join us live!

20/07/2025

[ Internet Multimedia A242 - Finale ]

This year I was back at the wheel after a one-year break, and it was just as magnificent as I imagined it would be.

I just love this subject so much ❤️

I trialled our AI in Multimedia chapter and got encouraging feedback. Pendakwah Teknologi's return as guest speaker was short(!) but undeniably sweet - the students love him and he's amazing as always. Prof Rosalina's stint as the lab instructor in her penultimate semester before retirement was incredible. It meant my students had the utmost privilege of gaining a treasure trove of life lessons in her signature loving motherly style. I also redesigned ALL THE SLIDES FOR THE ENTIRE SEMESTER which means I can coast from here on out 😂

The students were excellent - lively, jovial, intelligent, funny, resourceful. They were good sports throughout all my lessons and surprising lab tasks, including when they had to read out loud together, just like in school 🤣

Recently, I was informed that I have two more runs of this subject before it gets retired for good. It's bittersweet, but I'm actually excited - I have two more years to make the subject the best it can be, and there's plenty of room for improvement.

Especially since this cohort *failed* to score even a single 100% correct on Mentimeter 😝

Thank you boys and girls. The pleasure's all mine 🤗

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PT's visit: https://www.facebook.com/pendakwahteknologi/posts/pfbid0VyaTpvZhMpaqgyLGhRroH9FpT4aLnjov5jYsts8x1Vr2BfcyyZaJhn2MoG1AqaTLl

Previous recap: https://www.facebook.com/dr.dayah/posts/pfbid0TybXrTPwbBJn522cjKDoCfKNJwR8Wxb5Dxk5qvDM78Qomvyhy9UksQupmwcdvx4Dl

16/07/2025

Today's the first proper PhD supervision meeting with Indonesian student Aldo. Three supervisors for one student, he's in for an adventure 😆

May his progress be swift 😁

13/07/2025

[ Swiss Manager Resources List ]

If you're a rookie pairing arbiter, here's a handy list of FREE Swiss Manager resources for you to explore 👇🏼

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📑 Swiss Manager's Official References 📑

1️⃣ Manual
- Help (or F1 key) in the Swiss Manager software, or installer downloadable here: https://swiss-manager.at/unload/SwissManagerHelpENGSetup.exe

The Help files are massive, extensive, and probably beyond the comprehension of mere mortals 😂 but it has complete screenshots and essays of what things are and what to do.

2️⃣ User Guide
- English version:https://swiss-manager.at/unload/swiss_manager_user_guide.pdf
- Indonesian version:https://swiss-manager.at/unload/swiss_manager_user_guide_INA.pdf
- Other languages: https://swiss-manager.at/download.aspx?lan=1

More user-friendly and condensed than the Help files, and arguably the go-to manual for most Swiss Manager users. I've been told that my classes are exploiting and making money off of those who aren't bothered to read this free User Manual 😑 Clearly not my target market, but for the sake of transparency, here you all go, have at it 🤭 No Malay version yet, so Indonesian is closest.

3️⃣ FAQ
- Official FAQ: https://s3.chess-results.com/FAQ.aspx?SNode=S0

If there's a burning issue that's messing you up for no reason, it's probably in the FAQs 😆 Issues like the installer triggering anti-virus warnings, or why Swiss Manager isn't available on Macs and phone apps are all succinctly - and sometimes hilariously - covered in there. Also includes Chess-Results info in addition to Swiss Manager.

🎥 Malay Tutorial Videos 🎥

4️⃣ Cikgu Arif's Playlist
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcYWj7c7g1g4a31xRoFC9z_8l51QAr7vZ

Step-by-step demos all the way from installation to generating results, including customizing Chess-Results.

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Happy pairing 🤗