Welcome to TiddlyWiki created by Jeremy Ruston, Copyright © 2007 UnaMesa Association
HONG KONG - Intel and Taiwan’s Asustek are bringing out a rock bottom $199 laptop to conquer the PC world’s next frontier: the next billion customers in the emerging markets.
By Shu-Ching Jean Chen, 06.07.07, 12:38 AM ET
http://www.forbes.com/2007/06/07/intel-asustek-laptop-markets-equity-cx_jc_0606markets3.html?
The move into the ultra-cheap commercial laptop market, announced in Taipei earlier this week at the Computex show, will put the duo in competition with MIT scientist Nicholas Negroponte’s nonprofit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, which is developing a $180 laptop for the developing world that it hopes to lower to a price of $100 if it can produce them in large numbers.
Shares in Asustek, the world’s largest motherboard maker and the largest PC brand in Taiwan, soared 5.6% on the news Wednesday, closing up 4.60 New Taiwan dollars (14 cents) at NT$86.60 ($2.6).
[img[The Asus Eee PC701|blog/eee2224s.jpg]]
Investors were also encouraged by the confirmation by Chairman Jonney Shih that Asustek would move by year end to separate its brand name and contract manufacturing businesses, which have created conflicts of interest between the company and its brand-name clients and long suppressed its share price. A solution would be to spin off the contract-manufacturing unit in an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Dubbed the Eee PC, the Intel-Asustek laptop will resemble OLPC’s low-cost XO model in price and size, with a tiny 7-inch screen. The three Es stand for “Easy to Learn, Easy to Work and Easy to Play.”
Asustek said the Eee would be marketed under the Asustek brand name, and would come to market in late summer with a conservative sales target of moving 200,000 units in 2007. XO is also produced by a Taiwanese computer vendor, Quanta, the world’s largest laptop PC maker, founded by Barry Lam.
While both the Eee and the XO are aimed primarily at the education market, it’s far from child’s play. Intel (nasdaq: INTC) was stung by OLPC’s decision to power its XO with computer chips from competitor Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD).
Anticipating competition from Intel, OLPC recently decided to launch its low-cost laptops in the U.S. to ramp up production volume, which it hopes will allow it to lower prices in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to children badly in need of access to computers.
OLPC is betting that Intel will keep the Eee out of the U.S. market to avoid cannibalizing sales of its higher-priced brand-name customers, such as Dell (nasdaq: DELL) or HP.
[Updated Aug. 23] -- Analysis -- According to DesktopLinux.com's just completed survey, the number of Desktop Linux users has more than doubled in the past year, and Ubuntu remains their Linux distribution of choice.
Since DesktopLinux.com's recently completed survey is a self-selected group, we can't claim scientific proof that the number of desktop Linux users has more than doubled in the past year. Still, this year's survey produced 38,500 votes versus 14,535 votes over the same number of days in a similar survey one year ago.
Part of the increase undoubtedly was because this year's survey received front page coverage on both Digg and the German news site, Heise Online. That said, we've also seen an increased interest in Desktop Linux, based on our own website statistics. We've seen significant increases during the last year both in terms of unique visitors and site page hits.
You don't need to believe our numbers or surveys, though. Dell and Lenovo didn't invest in pre-loading Linux desktops to win points with the cool Linux kids. Both companies did it because they want to make money with the Linux desktop. Dell, in fact, has expanded its Ubuntu Linux offerings both in the U.S. with its 1420 laptop line, in Europe, and in the Chinese office desktop market. Today, Linux desktops are a business, not just a hobby.
So, what are desktop Linux users of 2007 using?
Desktop distributions
The leading Linux distribution is the Ubuntu family -- 30 percent of our survey respondents are using Ubuntu or one of its sister distributions: Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu. While there are other distributions that owe a great deal to Ubuntu -- Linspire, Freespire, MEPIS, Linux Mint, and Pioneer all come quickly to mind -- we decided not to count them for Ubuntu this year, since some, like Freespire, have just made the switch, while others, such as MEPIS, are switching back to Debian, and Pioneer is going in its own direction.
Next in popularity, after the ever-popular Ubuntu family, comes the SUSE Linux family with 21 percent. In our survey, we found mostly openSUSE users (19.7 percent) with a scattering of SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) users (1.3 percent). This isn't too surprising, since our preliminary analysis of our survey data showed that the majority of our respondents were individual rather than corporate users.
It's also noteworthy that the SUSE Linuxes have taken a major step forward. In 2006's survey, the SUSE family came in a distant second place with only 13 percent of the user base. In terms of year-over-year growth, openSUSE and SLED were the real winners, in fact, with a jump of 8 percentage points. The Ubuntu family, by comparison, built on its lead by only 1.2 percent.
In third place this year we have "other Debian," which includes Debian and all of its relatives besides Ubuntu: Debian, Freespire, Linspire, Linux Mint, MEPIS, and Xandros. While this group, at 14.2 percent, may have dropped behind SUSE this year, if you add in Ubuntu -- the most popular Debian-based distribution of them all -- Debian once again dominates the desktop Linux landscape, accounting for near half -- 44.6 percent -- of this year's distribution votes.
The Red Hat/Fedora family -- which this year includes CentOS -- came in at the fourth spot with 9 percent. This represents a small loss from last year when Fedora had 7 percent, while Red Hat added in a mere 2.2 percent, for a total, including smaller Red Hat/Fedora-based distributions of less than 10 percent.
Finally, in our "top five," we have Gentoo, which also declined -- from 9.6 percent to 7 percent. After that we come to a group of smaller, independent distributions. Of these also-ran distributions Mandriva showed the best.
Perhaps the most surprising result of our survey was that PCLinuxOS showed so poorly. On DistroWatch, PCLinuxOS has been at the top of the site's page hit ranking for the last 30 days. Frankly, we're not sure why this popular, easy-to-use community distribution didn't do better. The site supporting it had recently had problems, but that problem's long been history. Perhaps, it's simply that unlike the other popular community distributions -- Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Fedora -- PCLinuxOS doesn't have corporate backing. Canonical, Novell, and Red Hat all provide support and hardware partnerships for their community distributions that PCLinuxOS can't match.
Desktop environments
The desktop environment results held little in the way of surprises. GNOME, in large part because it's Ubuntu's default desktop, came in first with 45 percent of the users. KDE took second place with 35 percent. Interestingly, this is the first time in DesktopLinux.com's surveys that GNOME has out-polled KDE. Signs of a looming upset in standings were apparent last year, when KDE scored 38 percent and GNOME was right behind it at 35 percent.
The only "shocker" this year was that Xfce took third with a substantial 8 percent of the vote. In fact, 20 percent of our survey's respondents indicated that they use desktop environments other than the big two. Given this, and the loss of KDE's desktop dominance, it strikes us that there's still a chance for some other Linux desktop environment to make a go of it.
The 2009 Nonprofit Software Development Summit will be the third annual convening of people and organizations developing software tools, web applications and other technology to support social justice causes.
Bringing together a diverse range of users, developers, technologists, managers, eRiders, integrators and other practitioners who self-identify under the umbrella of “developing nonprofit software”, the 2009 ~DevSummit will provide an opportunity both to gather as a community and to take stock of the field, while building connections and capacity.
Dates: 18 November, 2009 - 20 November, 2009
Location: Oakland, California
Goals of the Dev Summit
The Dev Summit will have as its primary goals the following:
*To convene and strengthen connections between the networks of stakeholders in the nonprofit software ecosystem, providing a fun and creative environment for celebrating successes and leadership in the field.
*To share skills and knowledge in a highly collaborative, peer-to-peer fashion.
*To map and discuss what is available and what is missing across the nonprofit software landscape in specific software “verticals”, and to posit solutions for addressing the gaps.
*To offer a point of entry for software developers interested in offering their skills to nonprofit sector.
The event will target a range of audiences, including users who know what they still need developed, developers writing code to support nonprofit needs, integrators deploying tools for nonprofit and social justice organizations, and individuals who just care about seeing better technology developed to address the broad range of issues we face as a global community.
Feel free to join the Event Mailing List to participate in discussions about this and the next Summit!
Send any outstanding questions or comments you have to info@aspirationtech.org.
[[Register Now!|http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/devsummit09]]
Center of the International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC) has held the Asia OSS Symposium eight times together with local Counterparts during March 2003 and February 2007, in order to exchange information and experience of each economy and to discuss the way of mutual collaboration in Asian region.
From this time, we renewed AOSS event with renaming 'Asia OSS Conference and Showcase' and expanded the event with two tracks, one is for Government/Education sector, and another is for Business sector. Concretely, in order for the government sector participants to understand the best practices to promote OSS in their economies, OSS implementation case study into e-government will be introduced.
Also in order for private sector participants to give some hint for OSS business, Case Study of System Integration in which OSS and commercial software utilized will be introduced. Moreover, Sponsorship as well as Exhibition booth will be prepared especially for business sector. In this regards, we would like you to participate this Asia OSS Conference & Showcase actively, mainly from government and private sector from Asian region.
For more details please click: http://www.aoss2007.org/
The popularity of Open Source Software (OSS) has grown at an astonishing rate such that government, business sector, academy, R&D related organizations, and community groups have been expecting its policy to promote the use of open source software. The major advantage of open source software includes operation/development cost reduction, computer security raise, and, ultimately, competitiveness gain in software business and industry.
However, in those economies which are slow in their economic development, the main focus concerns distribution of low-cost, rather than the most powerful PCs. Open source software can contribute greatly to this issues.
http://www.asia-oss.org/
Asia OSS Conference & Showcase (the 9th) will be held on November 5th-9th, 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Venue : Bangkok, Thailand
CodeFest and Essential course: Thailand Science Park Main Conference
Asia OSS Conference & Showcase : Sofitel Centara Grand Bangkok Hotel
(Formerly Sofitel Central Plaza Hotel)
Dates: November 5th-9th, 2007
- November 5th (Mon) - 6th (Tue) : CodeFest /Essential Course (Mainly for Local)
- November 7th (Wed) - 8th (Thu) :Asia OSS Conference & Showcase (Main Event)
- November 9th (Fri) : OSS Center Meeting (Closed)
Another issue involves the growing gap in the information society or the problem of digital divide, due to enormously varied degrees of technological advances, government policy, and knowledge and understanding of open source software among the participating economies. This leads to the need for Asian economies to cooperate in order to bridge the growing gap. This also involves promoting open source software.
At the same time, whereas various kinds of organizations and communities conduct development and promotion activities under different circumstances/levels in order for information sharing, regional and international cooperative network including organizations and communities, have not been fully connected to share their knowledge and experience.
Co-Hosts:
Open Source Software Network (OSSN), Thailand
Center of the International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC)
National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) - organized
by National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC)
Supporters:
Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand
Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Thailand
Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA), Thailand
Asia Source II is a “summer-camp style” gathering of information and communications technology professional that pools around 100 “geek” and “users” from Egypt to the Philippines and from Mongolia to East Timor. Advocating the use of Free/Libre Open Source Software (F/LOSS) is the main agenda of this source camp.
Credit: Ardita
Despite a number of representatives from Middle East (Egypt, Iran) and the southern and northern parts of Asia (Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Mongolia), the majority of “Asia Source II” participants came from the South East Asian countries. A bus load of people came from Philippines and Indonesia (the latter being the host country), a handful of Vietnamese and Cambodians, one person from Laos, not to mention a few from Thailand and Malaysia.
[img[Snacks sneak|blog/image046s.jpg]]
The Malaysians are somehow amazed at variety of snacks being offered during coffee breaks, while the Filipinos tend to be careful about spicy food as their diet is mostly less spicy. On the contrary, the Indians thought that the Indonesian menu is less spicy than their’s back home. The Cambodians were kinda stumped at the amount of oil in the Indonesian food that was served pretty much every day (we got some European and Chinese menu, although “beef piccata” and “rice” don’t really seem to mix).
Most of the people seemed to be happy when bread appeared on the dining table recently. Well, beef burger at 08:00 AM in the morning might be a challenge to some people, but after a week of rice, that was a happy change for most people.
I’d say the biggest buzz of all in this so-called “source camp” is the “salad bowl style” meet-up and one-on-one conversations with people of different nationalities and cultures. The picture of “one dollar a day” (in US Dollar) life comes alive when you hang out with the Cambodians. Talking to the Filipinos makes you feel the power of the people. The hunger for technology strikes when you talk to the Egyptians and the Bangladeshis.
[img[Many Mouths at Source Camp|blog/image016s.jpg]]
//I’d say hats off for the volunteers. They are students from vocational high school in tourism who are doing internship at big events like this. They worked damn hard, yet they are the ones with biggest smiles and hearts.//
This cultural mosaic is woven beautifully when you translate “open source” into diverse characters and languages of Asia. Have you ever realized that Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia have different characters, not to mention Mongolia and Iran? Read more »
http://bricolage.blogspot.com/2007/01/asia-source-ii-taste-of-asia.html
In "A Year Without 'Made in China,'" ... Sara Bongiorni discovers during a year of boycotting anything made in China ... how she and her family found that such formerly simple acts as finding new shoes, buying a birthday toy and fixing a drawer became ordeals without the Asian giant.
Bongiorni takes pains to say she does not have a protectionist agenda and, despite the occasional worry about the loss of U.S. jobs to overseas factories, she has nothing against China. Her goal was simply to make Americans aware of how deeply tied they are to the international trading system.
"I wanted our story to be a friendly, nonjudgmental look at the ways ordinary people are connected to the global economy," she said in an interview before the book appears in July.
http://www.trueblueliberal.com/2007/07/19/my-year-without-made-in-china/
One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy
All about China s relentless path to world manufacturing dominance as told through the frustrations of one American family In December 2005, author and journalist Sara Bongiorni wrote a short, humorous article chronicling how Chinese manufacturing had reached into every facet of her family s daily life. This obscure article soon became a global phenomenon.
It was reprinted from Canada to Dubai, with Bongiorni interviewed on CBS, NPR, Radio China, and other international outlets. Obviously the topic had struck a chord one that seized consumers attention across every cultural and economic border. A Year Without Made in China is the thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining account of the difficulties one American family faces when they attempt to live an entire year without Chinese-produced goods.
It does a remarkable job of taking a decidedly big-picture issue China s fast-changing status in the global economy and communicating its impact on the daily life of the average consumer. Drawing on her years as an award-winning journalist, Sara Bongiorni fills the book with fascinating stories and anecdotes, such as Wal-Mart s stubborn reluctance to admit just how much they rely on Chinese produced goods to stock their shelves.
Hard-hitting and humorous, A Year Without Made in China promises to generate plenty of buzz . Sara Bongiorni (Baton Rouge, LA) is an experienced journalist who has worked at daily newspapers and regional business publications in California and Louisiana for the past decade. She has won local, state, and national awards for her articles, including a 2002 Best in Businessaward from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for a series on the impact of out-migration on the Louisiana economy.
Bongiorni graduated from the University of California, San Diego, and holds a master s degree in journalism from the University of Indiana at Bloomington.
[[Wikipedia.com|http://wikipedia.com]] went live on Jan. 15, 2001, and the new model quickly eclipsed its older sibling. By the end of the first year, Wikipedia contained more than 20,000 articles in 18 languages. Since then, the site has grown rapidly, swelling to 250,000 articles by 2004 and a million by 2006.
[[A brief history of Wikipedia|http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1917002,00.html?xid=rss-business]]
By Dan Fletcher Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009
Even in its earliest days, Wikipedia had to reckon with a slew of problems. Among them were vandalism and the lack of a fixed formula for determining what should and shouldn't be included in an encyclopedia unconstrained by physical limitations.
The emerging community included a volunteer army of editors, who helped to keep the content aligned with Wikipedia's rules, the first version of which Sanger created in 2002. As the project grew, vandalization and dilution of the encyclopedia's content became more difficult to address. The site's software keeps a log of every modification to every page, and this tracking system has been used to bust some high-profile offenders. In May, Wikipedia banned IP addresses owned by the Church of Scientology on the grounds that Scientologists were making edits that didn't suggest a "neutral point of view" — the encyclopedia's golden rule.
But since its inception, the biggest issue dogging Wikipedia has been concerns about its accuracy. Sanger himself left Wikipedia in 2002 over questions about the legitimacy of the project's entries; he later established a competing encyclopedia, Citizendium, with more rigorous contribution criteria. While a 2005 study by Nature found that Wikipedia's science entries came close to matching the Encyclopaedia Britannica's in terms of accuracy — with 2.92 mistakes per article for Britannica and 3.86 for Wikipedia — no one argues that Wikipedia's content is flawless. Critics say the writing is clunky or prone to bias and that the authors focus on pet projects. Indeed, the site's list of Star Wars creatures totals more than 15,000 words, while the entire entry on World War II has just 10,000.
A few practical examples here demonstrates of what we can do on using older equipments including softwares to serve our everyday's needs.
[[OLPC|$199 Laptop Is No Child's Play]], [[Asus EEE PC|Asus finally launch the EEE PC]], or [[Intel Classmate PC|Intel Classmate PC in comparison]] are using the 900MHz class processor. However they cost more than a recycled and still usable Pentium III - 900MHz class processor notebook. Will you still use an old Pentium III notebook which has enough capacity to explore and connect to the web?
An old computer of Pentium I-233 series or even a 486 can still serve as a fax receiving machine using an 14.4kbps modem and Winfax. Fax or facsimile is using the 9600bps standard for sending and receiving so a 14400bps speed is more than sufficient. Winfax and other fax software are still available freely from the web. //Well perhaps in developed countries, older computers are still avail.//
On the contrary you still need additional scanner for scanning the images in sending the fax. You can print only whenever necessary to reduce paper cost. Paper usage is one of the most damaging to our forest. A typical daily paper usage will burn a bunch of trees.
Do you know how to download your emails effectively?
I have used for a long time Midpoint software from Midcore to pop about eight email accounts from one time internet connection. It will truly save up your internet cost if you receive hundreds of emails daily. Midcore Inc has now ceased, how will it be the right to use now?
There are many of the free type email applications to enable popping multiple email accounts (the so called ''N''etwork ''A''ddress ''T''ranslation programs) but not many people can sort it out for a better usage of downloading your emails. It means there are many to dig available software, learn and use it effectively.
What about using wifi equipments?
An older wifi equipment of 802.11b is still usable to connect even though there is a newer 802.11g standard avail. You can still connect using an 802.11b wifi client in an 802.11g environment and it will adjust to allowable transfer speed. //It will go through office walls when set on a lower speed.//
Even using your left hand for clicking and dragging the mouse is called effective for a right-handed person -:) Can you learn it?
To repeat, [[adopt easily to adapt ICT facilities|Using easily to adapt ICT facilities]].
Recently [[facebook|http://www.facebook.com]] has tried to explain the privacy options for information shared which are (1) friends only in your network, (2) friends of friends, and (3) totally public.
Here I put several condition on my part if you want to use facebook as your way of communicating with your friends.
*On facebooking, how can you connect to your friends when they are in facebook but you are not?
*For me, friends are connected in FB only when the profiles are known. But in the mailing lists, we seldom see profiles from emails especially through the larger lists that contains thousands of members.
*I am using FB as a big organizer or your friends directory so you won't need to remember or enter their data one by one, instead they are making their own updates when they change their emails, data, or even their names.
*Status updates in FB are faster than replying an email. You can even see the 'emotion' of your friends through the updates though you won't need to update yourself. Email is more than serious to deal with.
*If you don't want your data getting around circulated in the web, then you do not need to put more data other than name and email.
*It is actually a closed network than the list when you communicate only to your 'approved' friends.
Maybe you can add some more on facebooking!
Happy Pi Day, everyone! I'm going to be eating some pie with my friends Sunday to commemorate the day. But Pi Day wasn't always so well-recognized.
From [[CNN's SciTech blog|http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/12/geek-out-my-life-with-pi/]] posted by: Elizabeth Landau
When I was 13, I thought I was different because several of my hobbies involved the number pi. For me, the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle held many exciting possibilities. Since no one had proven that the digits were random, yet there were infinitely many of them, I saw this as an amazing opportunity for creative expression, and perhaps some code-cracking too.
For instance, you can put pi to music: using a piano, make middle C=1, D=2, E=3, and so on, you have a song representing pi. At the first instance of "0" the melody breaks down a bit (I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the “0” anyway), but I think there's a natural musical ending ("53421") - ending back on middle C - with the number 1 at digit 95.
I also did a lot of pi-related creative writing back in my teenage years, including this song [[American Pi.|http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/13/pi-day-and-american-pi/]] Here’s a poetry technique you can try too: the number of letters in each word correspond to a digit, so a “pi poem” begins with a three-letter word, a one-letter word, a four-letter word, and so on. Here’s an example I wrote, representing (3.1415926535897932384626433832795).
Why, π? Stop, π! Weird anomalies do behave badly!
You, madly conjured, imperfect, strange, numerical,
Why do you maintain this facade?
In finite time you are barbaric.
You do wonders, mesmerize minds!
It was also fun to memorize digits from the poster in my math classroom. When that poster ran out around digit 50, I turned to books. To remember the digits of pi, I primarily relied on a rhythm in my head that grouped 2, 3, or 4 digits together at a time. To me it was three point one four one five nine two six and so on, although more ambitious pi memorizers may use other methods.
Today, it appears that pi become much more mainstream than when I first fell in love with it. Now, there are hundreds of pi-related Web resources, not to mention a great deal of enthusiasm on YouTube – you’ll find pi recitations far longer more than my personal record of 178, and pi songs that are more ambitious than my own.
It’s on "The Simpsons," in the movies, and a lot of other places you’d least expect. There’s even a Kate Bush song involving the digits of pi. Judging by how many pi-related t-shirts there are, I’d say it’s become a status symbol in this whole "geek is chic" movement.
Apparently it’s not so weird to like pi anymore. In fact, pi has actually brought me closer to other people. One of my good friends, also a pi fan, learned of my existence in 2002 when I published an opinion piece about pi in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A college classmate spent the morning of March 14, 2005, memorizing more than 200 digits so that he could beat me at Princeton’s annual math department Pi Day celebration (he took first place, I took second, we're still friends).
In recent years I’ve worn a pi-related outfit at Dragon Con, which is a great //ice-breaker// among thousands of self-proclaimed geeks.
The recent collapse of US subprime mortgage loans has created financial crisis around the globe affecting other continents of Australia and Europe. More and more financial institutions were forced to close down and therefore laying off workers.
However this recent turmoils has been predicted and indicated of its happening in the following article below. It 's like a //deja vu//, we ought the learn something from the past.
[[Five Reasons to Sell, Sell, Sell|http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20070720/bs_bw/jul2007pi20070719957191;_ylt=Ap22mJgN8rdQZo5puhFzPZ.1v0gC]]
By Ben Steverman Fri Jul 20, 8:08 AM ET
U.S. stocks are at record levels. Earnings season is under way, with many expecting a modest rise in corporate profits. Unemployment is very low. So far problems with housing haven't infected the rest of the economy, which seems poised to bounce back from slow growth in the first quarter.
So what is there to worry about? Plenty. No matter how wonderful things look, the good times won't last forever. Even as most market observers remain bullish, we asked them what could derail this bull market. Stocks could keep setting records for months or even years, but it pays for investors to know what dangers are lurking out there. This Five for the Money lists the five biggest threats to the stock market rally.
1. Earnings
Will any stocks and sectors step up to the plate to push the market even higher? Investors are closely watching corporate earnings for clues.
Earnings season began this month and so far it's not clear whether corporate profits will keep pace with expectations. Expect a lot of volatility in the market as big players surprise investors with good or bad news. David Scott, chief investment officer of the Chase Large Cap Growth Fund, expects less support for the rally from financial and health-care stocks. So he's watching tech stocks closely. "They're a large enough part of the market that they can provide solid leadership," Scott says. ''Disappointments from big tech firms'' or key players in other sectors could scare the bulls in a big way.
2. Consumer spending
Consumers drive the U.S. economy, and so far they've held up well despite housing problems and high gas prices. Perhaps that's because unemployment is low - at 4.5% in June.
What are the risks for consumer spending? Charles Dumas of Lombard Street Research believes the U.S. economy is growing much more slowly than many on Wall Street think. One reason is weakening consumer spending. "Gas prices are really knocking the stuffing out of people's buying power," he says.
Some think Americans, who save very little and borrow a lot, are about to be hit by the realization that they need to cut up the credit cards. "We've been ''addicted to spending and borrowing'', and we need to stop that," says Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital.
Watch closely for data later this summer on the back-to-school season, which is an important time for retailers. "If this back-to-school season is bad, it could really highlight some weakness in the consumer," says Neil Cataldi of Susquehanna Financial Group. High energy prices might also catch up to consumers later this year, if heating costs rise as the weather turns colder.
3. Inflation
"Inflation is still a concern out there," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's. Several factors could push inflation higher, including rapid global growth, the tightness in the job market, or higher commodity prices. For example, S&P forecasts oil, now about $75 per barrel, could be headed ''above $80.''
Why are rising prices such a big deal? "The Fed has said, 'We will stop at nothing to defeat inflation,'" says Richard Sparks of Schaeffer's Investment Research. The faster prices rise, the more likely that Federal Reserve policymakers could decide to hike interest rates later this year. That would cool off the economy. The biggest worry is that the ''Fed is forced to raise rates'' while the economy is still growing only slowly, forcing the economy into a recession.
4. ''Subprime and housing''
O.K., here's the really scary one. Many on Wall Street believe the problem with subprime mortgages is limited and under control. They may be right, but it's impossible for anyone to predict how many debtors will ultimately default on their obligations. Many home buyers used creative financing to buy expensive houses in the years of booming home prices. "It's a tough one to get a handle on because we're not really sure what's truly at risk," Scott says. "It could spring on us suddenly."
What other forms of risky credit threaten debt markets beyond subprime?
Bill Larkin, portfolio manager of fixed income at Cabot Money Management, believes he's already seeing signs that ''subprime worries are spreading'', rocking other areas of the credit market. He sees a "flight to quality," with many bond investors fleeing not just subprime but anything with a hint of risk.
If the trend accelerates, it becomes even tougher for home buyers to get mortgages, pushing home prices lower. It also becomes more expensive for companies and hedge funds to borrow. That could cut off the flow of money into stock buybacks, mergers, and acquisitions, especially the private equity buyouts that have fueled the bull market. "Just like raising rates, this acts as an economic brake," Larkin says.
"People are starting to get nervous," Larkin adds, but it takes a while for these trends to show up. "It doesn't just -- boom -- happen." Are there lots of other forms of bad debt out there? Are lenders -- as Larkin jokes, "using their garage door as collateral?" No one knows. "That's where the risk is," he says. "There's not a lot of transparency here."
Pimco bond guru Bill Gross has warned investors not to think subprime is only a problem for a few hedge funds or investment banks. The problem ''affects millions of home buyers'' who financed their houses with cheap money but are now seeing mortgage payments rise along with defaults. Gross wrote in his July investment outlook, "This problem -- aided and abetted by Wall Street -- ultimately resides in America's heartland, with millions and millions of overpriced homes and asset-backed collateral with a different address -- Main Street."
5. Shiny happy investors
As markets rise, the bulls' success may be their biggest weakness. Too much optimism can derail a rally as quickly as too much gloom and doom.
It's a cliche on Wall Street that markets like to climb a "wall of worry." The more doubts about a rally, the more headwinds it faces on the way up, the more likely a bull market has a firm foundation. "We like to see some pessimism in the market," Schaeffer's Sparks says. ''Concerns about interest rates, terrorism, gas prices, or inflation?'' "Those are the bricks in the wall of worry."
Despite the index's record-breaking pace recently, experts like Sparks still see signs of skepticism. To gauge this, investors can look at the amount of short-selling -- trades betting stock prices will fall -- or ratios between puts and calls.
Sparks also keeps an eye on the media, including articles like this. Be on the lookout for articles proclaiming "happy days are here again," Sparks says. If the media is sounding too positive about stocks, it may be a sign that retail investors are jumping into the market. And if the average investor is buying gain, you can bet the "smart money" is selling, and stock prices are near peak levels.
This is a film about Greek family in Istanbul around the 1960. The family was deported back to Athen because of the ~Greece-Turkey relation at that time. So this was about cooking the meal with ingredients rooted back to the Turks.
The difference was in the cooking, there will be a secret ingredient or spice to be put in the meal. The added spice was recognized but kept secret while in cooking. This is the way that the cook want to tell something with this secret ingredient.
One thing that I learned that you can make a meat ball soup and what will be the secret ingredient? It is cinnamon, do you think it is OK? It just smells good and tastes right also. Why don't you try your self at home and tell me your secret ingredients or spices.
However the movie made by a Greek director (2004) was not too good, it's kind of boring. Following were review by Margaret Pomeranz.
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1204057.htm
'A Touch of Spice' was a labour of love for Greek filmmaker Tassos Boulmetis because much of the film is a reflection of his own life.
His alter ego in the film is Fanis Iakovidis played by George Corraface. He’s a professor of astronomy at a Greek University, but an incident provokes memories of growing up in Constantinople with his grandfather who had a spice shop. There is more to each spice than you would think.
Fanis is a young Greek boy growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor, teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavour. When Fanis and his family are deported from Turkey because they are Greek citizens his grandfather and his young friend Saime are left behind.
In Greece he and his family are seen as foreigners, not Greek at all so Fanis turns to the preparation of food to connect him with the people he loved in his youth and he’s drawn to family members who are sympathetic.
This well-intentioned film is rather turgid unfortunately. It has little sense of dramatic rhythm and every little incident is given a significance that seems disproportionate. No wonder so many of the characters look soulful throughout.
It tries to capture that sense of displacement that director Boulmetis obviously felt, he himself was born in Constantinople but moved to Greece at a young age. Perhaps the material was too close to him because it certainly needed a more rigorous, less weighted approach.
The nominations for the prize will be collected until the end of March 2007
The APC Chris Nicol FOSS Prize recognises initiatives that are making it easy for people to start using free and open source software (FOSS). The prize will be awarded to a person or group doing extraordinary work to make FOSS accessible to ordinary computer users.
The APC FOSS Prize has been established to honor Chris Nicol, a long time FOSS advocate and activist who for many years worked with APC.
We are looking for initiatives that:
* improve the accessibility to, knowledge of and/or usability of FOSS
* are user-oriented
* are documented so that others can learn from and replicate the model
* have demonstrable impact and have increased the number of people using FOSS on a day-to-day basis
THE PRIZE IS OPEN TO: Any person or group anywhere in the world who supports or promotes user-oriented free and open source software. The application form must be completed in either English or Spanish however there are no language restrictions regarding the language of the project. Small-scale activities are encouraged to apply.
THE PRIZE: US$ 4,000.00 may be shared by up to two initiatives at the jury's discretion.
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: March 30, 2007
More about the APC Chris Nicol FOSS prize:
http://www.apc.org
http://www.apc.org/english/chrisnicol
http://www.apc.org/espanol/chrisnicol or write to fossprize@apc.org
The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals through the strategic use of information and communication technologies, especially internet-technologies.
The 10th Asia Pacific Next Generation (APNG) Camp is planned to be held on 11 - 15 August 2008 at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. Very first camp was held in Bangkok in year 2002 and even since its inception, we had successfully organized nine camps in the past whereas the recent one was the 9th organized in Xi’an, China in conjunction with 24th APAN Meeting. Celebrating the 10th APNG Camp is an important milestone in APNG history and achievements.
http://www.apng.org/10thfellowship.htm
The APNG Camp is:
*Where future Internet leaders in the AP Region meet together.
*Where AP Seniors and the Next Generation learn and work together.
*Where AP perspective of the Internet is shared and discussed.
Keeping the fact in our mind that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, APNG and its camp activities are not only empowering the Next Generation who has the power of developmental assets and an innovative and fresh point of view on Internet Technology but also bonding and strengthening relationship among senior leaders and the youth to share and discuss over perspectives of today’s Internet in Asia Pacific.
The APNG Camp Committee now cordially invites qualified applicants to apply for fellowship funding to participate in 10th APNG Camp in Thailand.
Who can participate?
The APNG Camp Fellowship Program targets personnel from developing countries who are actively involved in Internet development, in any of the following roles:
*Young network architects/developers/engineers.
*Young decision makers in government, educational, non-government, commercial, non-profit sectors related to Internet development.
*Young on-line activists in (and not limited to) social science, business, environment, gender equivalence, entertainment, etc.
Fellowship for International Applicants
Fellowship package will cover camp registration fees, local accommodation and local transportations and (full/part of) the roundtrip cheapest economy airfare. Lunch, Refreshments and Dinner will be provided during camp period.
Fellowship for Local Applicants
This is a special fellowship package to encourage participation from Thai youth who are interested/involved in Internet Technology Development. Local fellowship package will cover registration fees, local accommodation (fellows from outside greater Bangkok area only) and local transportation (train-fare/bus-fare). Lunch, Refreshments and Dinner will be provided during camp period.
The final grant size is determined according to final costs and available funding, of which successful applicants will be duly informed.
Eligibility:
The fellowship recipients will be selected based on:
- Residency in a developing country
- Full-time student of a university or college (public or private), or
- Employed by Internet-related company and in the age less than 35 years old
- Willingness to return to APNG Camp as a presenter or trainer in future
- Willingness to work with APNG Working Groups
- Willingness and capability to present your country's culture/heritage/traditions/costume
- Presentation materials and a 2-page paper submitted for APNG Camp “Call for Presentation”. The presentations/papers are expected to align with one of the following working groups (WG): *Internet Technologies WG
*Internet Culture & Blog WG
*Internet History Museum WG
*Live-E & DUMBO WG
*Natural Disaster Recovery Management and e- Health
Please refer CFP page for further details on working groups.
Applicants from any part of the world will be considered, however it is expected that the majority of fellows selected will be from Asia-Pacific region.
Applications will first be reviewed by APNG Camp Committee and APNG Fellowship Selection Committee will then select those who meet the above-mentioned selection criteria in their final decision. The 10th APNG Camp Fellowship Selection Committee is led by Mr. Tommy Matsumoto and constituted by APNG Steering Committee and APNG Camp Committee.
Schedule:
The following deadlines will apply to the APNG 10th Camp Fellowship Program:
Public Announcement: 2 January 2008
Applications Deadline: 29 March 2008
Selection Announcement: 15 April 2008
To apply, please submit your Application with full details to the APNG Camp Committee, by email to camp-fp@apng.org. Along with the application for fellowship, the applicant must also submit a 2-page paper as well as accompanying presentation material for speech opportunity in the APNG Camp. Refer to 'Call for Presentation' for details.
Any inquiries about the Fellowship, please contact apng-sec@apng.org .
It was the second anniversary of [[Asia Source II]] which happened last January 22-30, 2007 in Sukabumi, Indonesia.
[img[Asia Source II in Lembang near Bandung|blog/image120s.jpg]]
//I had a chance of meeting people from all over the world during the said event. This makes me feel as part of the world citizen.//
It is nice to notice that we still have contact through emails in the mailing list. I took this opportunity to update their most recent [[blog links|Some blog rolls]] here.
Actually I love to visit any of the blog while browsing since I know them in person :)
See ya.
I attended [[ASEAN OSS workshop|Workshop on Open Source Software in Indonesia]] held in Jakarta for two days with only 19 participants on the occasion of launching OSS from the government of Indonesia. The theme is "Strengthening Cooperation on Open Source Software among the ASEAN Countries".
[img[ASEAN OSS|blog/OSS_ristek.jpg]]
The links are http://www.ristek.go.id/index.php?mod=News&conf=v&id=2298 and
http://www.igos.web.id/
Further repository can be found here at http://www.igos-nusantara.or.id
The Linux OS called IGOS is derived from Fedora core 7 (now 8). Several questions were posed like localization, putting on a flash disk, etc.
I met few participants from overseas countries which are,
Reasmey Keo (CIStrain) and Volak Sao, both from Cambodia
Khamthaen and Khamla Phouminh, both from Laos
Mie Mie Thet Thwin, a software engineering professor from Myanmar
Tran Cong Yen - Deputy Director ICT ministry, Vietnam
and many from the Indonesia participants, and facilitators.
Should any of you need their respective contact emails, just drop me an email.
MySQL AB develops and supports a family of high-performance, affordable database products. The company's flagship offering is 'MySQL Enterprise', a comprehensive set of production-tested software, proactive monitoring tools, and premium support services.
[[MySQL|http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/press-release/release_2008_03.html]] is the world's most popular open source database software. Many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organizations use MySQL to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, business-critical systems and packaged software -- including industry leaders such as Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube and Booking.com. With headquarters in the United States and Sweden -- and operations around the world -- MySQL AB supports both open source values and corporate customers' needs.
MySQL's open source database is the "M" in LAMP - the software platform comprised of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl often viewed as the foundation of the Internet. Sun is committed to enhancing and optimizing the LAMP stack on GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows along with OpenSolaris and MAC OS X. The database from MySQL, OpenSolaris and GlassFish, together with Sun's Java platform and NetBeans communities, will create a powerful Web application platform across a wide range of customers shifting their applications to the Web.
More than 100 million copies of MySQL's high-performance open source database software have been downloaded and distributed and an additional 50,000 copies are downloaded daily. This broad penetration coupled with MySQL's strength in Web 2.0, Software as a Service (SaaS), enterprise, telecom and the OEM embedded market make it an important fit for Sun. With MySQL, Sun will have the ability to deepen its existing customer relationships and create new opportunities with companies seeking the flexibility and ease-of-use of open source systems.
MySQL's open source database is widely deployed across all major operating systems, hardware vendors, geographies, industries and application types. The complementary product line-ups will extend MySQL's database reach and are expected to bring new markets for Sun's systems, virtualization, middleware and storage platforms.
Do you know where your coffee comes from?
* You need approximately 2,000 berries to make one pound of coffee.
* The average cup of coffee contains more than 1,000 different chemical components, none of which is tasted in isolation but only as part of the overall flavor.
* The world's costliest coffee, at more than $130 for 500 grams, is called Kopi Luwak. It is in the droppings of a type of marsupial that eats only the very best coffee beans. Plantation workers track them and scoop their precious poop.
* Carbonated water, with nothing else in it, can dissolve limestone, talc and many other low-Moh's hardness minerals. Carbonated water is the main ingredient in soda pop.
* Pepsi originally contained pepsin, thus the name.
* ~Coca-Cola contains neither coca nor cola.
* ~Coca-Cola was originally green.
* The ~Coca-Cola company is the biggest consumer of sugar in the world.
* Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world's almonds and 20 percent of the world's peanuts.
* Reindeer milk has more fat than cow milk.
* The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
More info see [[coffee wikia|http://coffee.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page]].
From [[Latreia|mailto:latreia@justice.com]]
Manila, 3 February 2007
Vista, Microsoft's newest operating system, could trigger a deluge of E-waste in developing countries, Greenpeace warned today. The group argues that with Vista, more companies and individuals may feel the need to replace their existing computers sooner as these become incompatible with the new operating system.
The result: massive volumes of computer scrap in dirty recycling yards and dumpsites in the Philippines, Thailand, and in other Asian countries where most of the world's E-waste dumps are located.
"With Vista, Microsoft could effectively hasten the obsolescence of half the world's PCs, especially in the absence of fully-functioning global take back systems for PCs," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner Beau Baconguis. "Companies will feel the need to upgrade more computers sooner and when they do, the world is unfortunately not prepared for the massive E-waste the upgrades will generate."
"As it is, the current environmental policies of computer companies are not enough to provide an effective solution to the growing mountains of toxic electronic waste from computer components. Microsoft should have factored in these consequences and should have laid out mitigating measures to minimize the problem of obsolescence, before they started introducing new innovations. Innovation should not translate to more pollution," she added.
A study conducted by SoftChoice Corporation stated that 50% of the current breed of personal computers are "below Windows Vista's basic system requirements" while 94% are not equipped to run on Windows Vista Premium edition.
The ability of PCs to be easily upgraded is also important if the massive volumes of E-waste is to be prevented. Greenpeace has been engaging manufacturers of PCs and mobile phones to phase out toxic substances in their products and institute take-back mechanisms for the same products at the end of their useful lives. The demand comes with a challenge to PC manufacturers to design their products so that these may be easily upgraded, disassembled, and recycled properly.
"We maintain that the useful lives of existing electronic and computer equipment should be prolonged as much as possible. In the end, this is about social responsibility. The idea that software innovation would result in more mountains of computer scrap ending up in the dumps of Asia and Africa, contaminating the environment, and affecting the health of communities, is both offensive and intolerable," said Baconguis.
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organization which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environment problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future.
Three major themes are are E-Infrastructure, E-Management, and E-Advocacy, which modules ranging from 'knowledge management and team collaboration using web tools' to 'how to setup and run a community radio'.
Every materials are designed on open and peer-to-peer principles, towards the use of free and open source softwares, as well as open-standard tools, for sustainability and efficiency.
Workshop modules are grouped in three tracks:
*e-Infrastructure: Informatics infrastructure for social development. Including mesh network, wifi, community telephony, mobile power generator. Ground the working environment.
*e-Management: Information management and online collaboration. Run the unit smoothly. Information literacy. Doing research online. Information policy. Security and privacy.
*e-Advocacy: Online advocacy and social media strategies. Information activism. Communicate the message and turn information into actions.
Every workshop modules will be based on open source, open participation, and peer-to-peer principles.
Suggestions on modules and workshop structure are very welcome. Please write to arthit (at) gmail.com.
Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A380 megaplane on Oct. 15, and the world's largest passenger jet enters service on Oct. 25 with a round-trip Singapore-to-Sydney flight. Most seats were sold at auction on eBay (EBAY), with proceeds going to charity. Regularly scheduled service between Singapore and Sydney will begin on Oct. 28.
[img[Airbus 380|blog/A380s.jpg]]
Airbus 380 finally delivered to Singapore Airlines
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/10/1015_singaporeA380/index_01.htm
//I would say that with about 500 passengers of 800 max on board the Airbus 380 means a whole 'kampong' will fly. Read more here//
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb20071015_622639.htm
Nearly two years behind schedule, the A380 finally will enter commercial service this month, flying between Singapore and Sydney. But its interior design was kept top secret until Oct. 15, when Singapore Airlines threw open the doors for visitors after formally taking delivery of the plane from Airbus in Toulouse, France.
Other, subtler differences could make flying on the A380 more pleasant than on older planes, though. The A380's engines are noticeably quieter. The cabin pressure will be higher, the air less dry, and the cabin lighting will automatically brighten and dim to mimic changing light outdoors—all of which should make travel less fatiguing. Boeing is promising similar interior improvements on its [[787 Dreamliner|http://www.freightdawg.com/2007/10/dreamliner-dela.html ]] so it is being delayed.
//I'm hoping that the Airbus 380 could be environmental friendly.//
Aloe vera as it is commonly known, is a succulent plant with amazing healing properties. In botanical Latin aloe vera is known as Aloe barbadensis. Aloe being the genus and barbadensis being the species. Aloe barbadensis is named after the place where the plant was first documented, Barbados.
Many people use prepared aloe vera juice in their companion’s diet (and for themselves too), but why use prepared aloe juice over homemade?
To begin with, there are a few advantages of using an aloe juice over the use of an actual aloe plant. The biggest reason is that once an aloe plant is opened and the gel exposed to oxygen, rapid oxidation begins. Within hours the gel goes rancid (even if refrigerated).
Aloe juice needs to be stabilized with preservatives. One of the preservatives used is vitamin C (citric acid). In many cases potassium sorbate is also used and so is benzoic acid (otherwise know as sodium benzoate).
However, it is important to note that benzoic acid is a known toxin to cats and should be avoided. So buy an aloe juice or gel without this ingredient.
Obviously another benefit of using a prepared aloe juice is we don’t have to do any work. Furthermore, if you have ever used an aloe leaf on your skin, you’ve probably noticed that your skin is sticky after applying the leaf. This is because the juice or the medicinal properties were not able to break free of the fibers of the plant, thus keeping the medicinal properties on the skin’s surface.
To separate fibers from the juice, high heat is needed for a few seconds. This does kill some of the natural enzymes in the juice; nonetheless, most of the enzymes remain, but more importantly the body can now use the medicinal properties quite easily both internally and externally.
A simple way to determine the quality of an aloe vera juice is to take a few drops and put it on the back of your hand. If you notice that within minutes it is completely absorbed and the area is now soft and smooth with no residue, then that means the quality is good and the aloe will be more likely absorbed by the body both internally and/or externally. The faster the absorption by your hand, the higher the grade.
When buying aloe juice, remember to avoid cold processed aloe juice and aloe juice preserved with benzoic acid (sodium benzoate).
But what exactly does aloe do for the body and why should it be used?
Well, as most people are aware, the processing of food removes many vital parts of the food and the delicate enzymes which are so important to good health are destroyed.
Enzymes essentially help the body break down the food and help with the chemical processes of food in the body’s system. An enzyme starved diet can be a chief cause of poor health and premature aging.
Cells and tissues require constant nourishment and aloe vera juice aids by assisting in the assimilation of foods, vitamins, and nutrients, thus giving you more health for your money.
Aloe vera juice is naturally rich in:
*Vitamin C which helps maintain tone of blood vessels and promotes good circulation.
*Vitamin C is essential to the health of the adrenal gland which supports our body in times of stress
*Amino acids which are chains of atoms constructing protein in our body.
*Enzymes which are the life-principle in every live, organic atom and molecule of natural raw food and in constitution of any living animal. Enzymes rejuvenate aged tissues and promote healthy skin.
*Germanium which is a mineral whose function is controversial; however, some health authorities claim therapeutic benefits for: immunodeficiency, pain, cardiac disorders, circulatory disturbances and eye problems.
Aloe vera juice is one of the finest body cleansers and brings most gratifying results. It cleans the morbid matter from the stomach, liver, kidneys, spleen, bladder, and it’s the finest colon cleanser known. In turn, this process purifies the blood.
It is healing and soothing in the relief of indigestion, stomach distress and ulcers. Others claim relief from arthritis, bladder and kidney infections; leg cramps, constipation, hemorrhoids, insomnia, and for vaginitis, it is an excellent vaginal douche.
An excellent internal tonic for energy and well being, you’ll find it convenient and beneficial to use aloe juice in your companion’s daily diet.
Aloe juice will add greatly to the strength of the food fed, digestive tract, skin, and overall good health and happiness of your companion. Aloe juice is a basic supplement that should always be used.
http://www.pet-grub.com/animaltales/aloe.pets
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), ~InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany, is organizing the [[1st Interdisciplinary Alumni Conference in Southeast Asia "Regional Integration in Southeast Asia: Leadership Challenges and Network Building"|http://gc21.inwent.org/alumni-hanoi]].
Dates: 30th of June to 2nd of July 2010
Venue: Melia Hano Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam
Registration deadline: 1st of May 2010
In the Southeast Asian region the challenge is to provide leadership in managing regional interdependence and its impact and in overcoming some inherent contradictions between being competitive and being part of a community. For an ASEAN community to evolve leadership is needed in state sector, private sector and civil society: More people-to-people interactions through common projects, networks, virtual networks, commerce and others to make the single countries, this region and their international cooperation more stable and prosperous.
The conference hosts representatives from governments, international organisations, ~NGOs businesses and business-driven organisations and academia. Among them, the largest group will be the ~InWEnt Alumni from South East Asia - ranging from high ranking executives to talented young professionals.
The overall audience should not exceed a maximum of 200 participants in order to allow for high levels of interaction. Invited participants of the conference are welcome to discuss and disseminate innovative approaches on how to enhance regional integration to respond to global challenges. By offering an interdisciplinary dialogue forum dealing with the challenges and opportunities arising, the conference will showcase the good practices and past achievements.
With the rich experience of our Alumni we hope to spot new ways for Southeast Asia to indicate possible elements for a more successful development of a worldwide globalization process of a world economy.
At the conference, various working groups are organized by the InWEnt divisions, to discuss sub-topics of the overall conference theme. At a net-working session all participants are invited to meet and interact with each other in view of enlarging the partnership network. The conference will be held in English.
//My comment, he is an excellent guitarist with clarity in every tunes because of his formal training. The play is too perfect but lack of emotion, suitable for teaching. You can download the midis and MP3s music and played on your own, and study the chords as well. //
He started to learn classical guitar seriously at age 12 under guitar instructors from Yayasan Musik Indonesia (under Yamaha Music Foundation license) and passed grade 3 (the highest grade) certificate in Yamaha Classical Guitar Examination. He also plays non-classical music and arranged popular songs for classical guitar.
http://www.geocities.com/jubing/index2.html
My name is [[Jubing Kristianto|http://www.geocities.com/jubing/about.html]] (b. 1966), he said in his blog. My formal education is not related with guitar. I was graduated from Faculty of Social & Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, majoring on Criminology. In 1990 I was working as reporter, editor, and managing editor at NOVA, a weekly tabloid for women in Indonesia.
From July 2003 I've resigned from my job as journalist to become a guitar player and guitar teacher. Some of the pieces I've arranged had helped me won the Yamaha Indonesia Guitar Festival in free section or non-classical section (1987, 1992, 1994, and 1995).
During the last five months, if we saw these words it might have meant the death of our pets, food borne illness or perhaps poisoning. [My favorite editorial cartoon on this subject showed two people holding the same product. One was saying “A great dessert topping!” The other saying “Cleans even the toughest stains”].
POSTED: Thursday, August 02, 2007
FROM BLOG: Scientific Blogging - 25 of the world's top scientists write on the latest developments in space, medicine, biology,earth science, physics and neuroscience.
The following blog post is from an independent writer and is not connected with Reuters News. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by Reuters.com.
http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/topNews?type=topNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B9KobpniDQffCOR77fHrDXw&src=blogBurst_topNews&bbPostId=Cz5Ev0JdU2gZtB5hCCYBscaP5BAQLiJDNErV8CzBiGGgwGVF40&bbParentWidgetId=B7qp5dlHYnIr2YRoUoOjnxK
Fifteen years ago, when Americans went shopping and came across the phrase “Made in China” it usually was on small, inexpensive trinkets, toys and souvenirs. Ten years ago we started to see these words on apparel. Five years ago we started to see these words seemingly everywhere.
The Chinese government of course has taken this issue very seriously as the avalanche of billions of dollars of exports is being put at risk. Doing what they have historically done, they executed the former government official who had been the head of the State Food and Drug Administration for taking bribes and looking the other way on issues of safety and product production.
In the last week they have also closed down the companies that have shipped poisonous products overseas. We certainly need to hold the Chinese accountable for any and all defective and life threatening products that make it to the U.S. The historical levels of government oversight in the production of goods, be it labor conditions or product quality is much lower in China, and many other developing countries for that matter, than in the U.S.
The larger context through which this issue must be viewed is that China is going through a process that has never occurred with any country in history, at least with any major international power. China is going from being a basically agricultural society to becoming both an industrial and information powerhouse. The agricultural age started 10,000 years ago. The industrial age started 300 years ago and the information started 30 years ago. China is collapsing a 300 year long cultural transition into 25 years. In 1975, China was an insular, agrarian society with a third world economy.
Now they are one of the most economically dominant countries in the world. They are dealing with issues and new situations in years that most other countries took decades to pass through. No wonder there is horrendous pollution and environmental degradation, slave labor, unhealthy products and an extreme difference between abject poverty and incredible wealth. It is going to take some years to bring a level of stability and government oversight to this exploding economy.
While doing research for a recent speech I was looking at the historical trends of trademarks and patents. I discovered a treasure trove of interesting numbers, which I will most likely comment on in future columns. However, three things jumped out at me regarding China.
First, in 1975 they were not even on the radar in terms of the number of patents issued within the country. In 2000 they issued some 13,000 but in 2005 they issued more that 53,000 [by comparison the U.S. numbers were 157,000 and 144,000]. This now puts them in fourth place after the U.S., Japan and South Korea, and moving up fast.
Second, in terms of trademarks, which are more related to business creation than intellectual property creation, the numbers are nothing less than amazing. In 1975, China was not even on the list of the top countries. By 2000 they were the number one country with 151,000 and in 2005 the number of trademarks had jumped to 260,000. By comparison the numbers for the U.S. were 109,000 and 132,000, in both cases second place.
Third, after the U.S., China is now the second largest country in the world in term of manufacturing. In 1975 they were fifth in the world. An interesting historical footnote that completely surprised me is that in 1750, and again in 1800, China was the number one manufacturing country in the world. In both cases India/Pakistan was second. Since this was before the industrial age took root, these numbers largely reflect agricultural production and trade.
In 1850 China was tied with the United Kingdom for first place. Of course, from 1900 through 2006, the U.S. is far and away number one, with a 45% share of all global manufacturing in 1950 and 29% in 2006. Predictions are that in 2015, China will surpass the U.S. when both countries will each have about 20% of the global manufacturing output. What was old is soon to be new.
It occurred to me that there is another way to compare the U.S. and China. In the U.S., it was basically the time from the Civil War to WW1 that the country fully moved from being an agricultural country to an industrial one. [After all it was the industrial North that defeated the agricultural South in the Civil War].
That was a span of 50 years. During that time all the oversight and legislation regarding production began to be put in place, thanks in large part to the muckrakers and their campaigns. China is going through this same process in less than 20 years. This means that the governmental oversight of this exploding production engine of a country is going to constantly have to struggle to keep up.
Yes, China is going to be one of the most dominant economic powers in the decades ahead. We all know that. It is how they manage this historically unparalleled speed and magnitude of growth that will determine if “Made in China” becomes a respected and valued brand.
"In an ironic twist, I now see Good to Great not as a sequel to Built to Last, but more of a prequel. Good to Great is about how to turn a good organization into one that produces sustained great results. Built to Last is about how you take a company with great results and turn it into an enduring great company of iconic stature." Jim Collins
By Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras
http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=20247&isbn13=9780060516406&displayType=readingGuide
An Introduction
What distinguishes a successful company from the kind of company whose very name becomes a cultural icon, whose place is fixed in the public consciousness? An innovative and inspiring study of the culture and longevity of some of America's most successful organizations, Built to Last is a blueprint for building organizations that will endure long into the twenty-first century.
In Built to Last, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras identify the unique characteristics of visionary companies and show how any business can cultivate them. From Merck to Philip Morris, from General Electric to Nordstrom, from Ford to Sony, visionary companies display an amazing resilience and an unshakable commitment to their core ideology that allows them to surpass even their more temporarily successful competitors and achieve a lasting place in the cultural landscape.
By examining the founding and history of these companies, the ways in which they have handled both adversity and success, and their continued commitment to their corporate identity, Collins and Porras reveal the unique characteristics of these visionary companies and show what actions other companies may take to achieve the same level of long-lasting performance.
Questions for Discussion of Built to Last
*Why do you think the authors chose to use the term "visionary" to describe the companies profiled in the book rather than "successful" or "great"?
*The authors state that "as extraordinary as they are, the visionary companies do not have perfect, unblemished records" and then cite specific examples: Walt Disney faced a serious cash flow crisis in 1939 which forced it to go public. Boeing had serious difficulties in the mid-1930s, the late 1940s, and again in the 1970s when it laid off over sixty thousand employees. What allowed these two and the other visionary companies to bounce back from severe adversity?
*Myth number one debunked in the book is that "it takes a great idea to start a great company." Do you agree that this is a myth? Cite some examples of visionary companies that did not start with a great idea. Discuss the other myths that the authors "shatter."
*The authors quote Bill Hewlett of Hewlett-Packard as saying, "When I talk to business schools occasionally, the professor of management is devastated when I say that we didn't have any plans when we started-we were just opportunistic. We did anything that would bring in a nickel." Why do you think this is a disconcerting notion to many people, in this particular case to management professors? What is that they want to hear?
*Which of the visionary companies do you think is the most successful, and why? How do its business practices differ from its "comparison" company?
*The authors believe their findings "will apply more in the twenty-first century than in the twentieth. In particular, the essential ideas to come from our work…will continue to be key concepts long into the future." Do you agree that their findings will endure well into the future? Are any of the "visionary" companies, in your opinion, not as successful today as they were when the authors first wrote about them in 1995?
Questions for Discussion about both Built to Last and Good to Great
*The catalyst for Good to Great came about in part because a McKinsey partner remarked to Jim Collins that the companies written about in Built to Last "were, for the most part, always great. They never had to turn themselves from good companies into great companies… But what about the vast majority of companies that wake up and part way through life and realize that they're good, but not great?" What do you think of this statement? What is there to be learned from each of the books?
*Jim Collins said that [[Good to Great|http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780066620992/Good_to_Great/index.aspx ]] is a prequel to Built to Last. Do you see it this way? Do the two books work in tandem with one another?
*In Good to Great, Wells Fargo is profiled as one of the "good-to-great" companies. In Built to Last, Wells Fargo is not one of the visionary companies but rather the comparison for visionary company American Express. Discuss the implications of this.
*Collins states, "We believe that almost any organization can substantially improve its stature and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of ideas we've uncovered." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? In what instances do you think the concepts set forth in Good to Great and Built to Last would work best? In what instance do you think they would not be successful? Do you think the theories laid out in each of the books can be applied to any industry?
*Which of the company success stories did you find the most surprising, and why?
I was again sponsored by [[InWEnt|http://www.inwent.org]] to attend a source camp in the Philippines. This time I had to be there before the actual camp had started. I had to leave my work and forgot everything else behind.
This [[Asia Source 3|http://www.asiasource3.net]] was my second source camp in three years, the first was [[Asia Source II]]. I was not only participating but also facilitating in one of the tracks.
Despite the rough moment when I arrived at [[Manila airport|http://www.moveandstay.com/manila/guide_introduction.asp]], I was able to endure a very long ten days of camp life. This was really a contained camp without being able to go out, no visitation, no medical help, less internet, less signal. It was good for people looking for seclusion and think this is the only place that they ever need. The ambience was so good in [[Silang|http://maps.google.com/maps?q=silang+cavite+map&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=ph&ei=MhSnSuzcOJqe6gOGjrCgBg&ll=14.219792,121.010284&spn=0.342787,0.617294&z=11&iwloc=A]] that I was cured in two days after my arrival. The site in [[IIRR|http://www.iirr.org/index.php/aboutus/yencenter]] was larger than Asia Source II in [[Yawitra|Yawitra resort ]] but I am quickly accustomed to big places.
<html><a href="http://www.asiasource3.net/">
<img src="blog/facilitators.jpg" width="400"
alt="Among the facilitors in Asia Source 3">
</a></html>
The actual camp life existed for six days with approximately 150 participants from 17 different countries. During that time we gathered all for free and open source software knowledge share-about.
Since I have been in both Asia Source camps, I can feel the difference between the two. This time we communicate via facebook which was not in Asia Source II. I met new facilitators with a few from Asia Source I (Bangalore). Many guest participants were encountered too like people from [[Kyrgystan|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan]] and from Eintopf, the [[German alumni club|http://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/apd-english-version.html]]. I felt this camp was rushed to accomodate all the participants but eventually all went well. The morning and afternoon sessions were scheduled in time although the evening programs were not properly scheduled in the [[agenda|http://www.iosnasean.net/as3/]].
There was no music to indicate time of gathering in the main hall which was provided during Asia Source II, I missed that.
It seemed that the food was rationed although everyone was well fed. I spotted this already in the first day of camp. The food was too much in meat with less vegetables (only two dishes in [>img[A modest lunch|blog/dish.jpg]]the menu) and people were going into the vegetarian table to get additional and for a balance of healthy food. This was not happening in my former source camps that I have attended. The caterer should learn of something about food combining, serving lots of people will not be that easy. I did //lost// my usual taste of Java coffee in the morning:(
This was an important meetup to explore the world of FOSS in the form of source camp and promote it as well. I also think that the organiser had been working just too hard to make this event went off succesfully. Kudos to them! Am feeling part of them.
[[Asia Source 3 Call for Participation]]
The eight Asia Open Source Software Symposium or AOSSS was a two days event held in Denpasar, Indonesia in February 2007 for development of OSS whether it's free or not. The event was attended by practitioners from Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and ASEAN member countries.
http://www.asia-oss.org/
The popularity of Open Source Software (OSS) has grown at an astonishing rate such that government, business sector, academy, R&D related organizations, and community groups have been expecting its policy to promote the use of open source software. The major advantage of open source software includes operation/development cost reduction, computer security raise, and, ultimately, competitiveness gain in software business and industry. However, in those economies which are slow in their economic development, the main focus concerns distribution of low-cost, rather than the most powerful PCs. open source software can contribute greatly to this issues.
Another issues involves the growing gap in the information society or the problem of digital divide, due to enormously varied degrees of technological advances, Government policy, and knowledge and understanding of open source software among the participating economies. This leads to the need for Asian economies to cooperate in order to bridge the growing gap. This also involves promoting open source software.
At the same time, whereas various kinds of organizations and communities conduct development and promotion activities under different circumstances/levels in order for information sharing, regional and international cooperative network including organizations and communities, have not been fully connected to share their knowledge and experience.
In the tradition of [[source camps|http://www.tacticaltech.org/node/476]], Asia Source 3 will bring in participants from various subregions of the Asian continent, who share common goals of pursuing the Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) advocacy and its promotion and use among non-profit organizations, small-to-medium enterprises and youth networks.
If you are a F/OSS advocate, an enthusiast or end-user, a developer or even a newbie who strongly believes in building capacities and empowering humanity with the use of Free/Open Source Software, we look forward to welcome you to Asia Source 3 event to connect, cooperate, and collaborate – the F/OSS way.
The third event of the Asia source camp series, two of which have been held so far – in Bangalore, India in 2005 [>img[Silang, Cavite |blog/silang.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silang,_Cavite]]and [[Sukabumi, Indonesia in 2007|Asia Source II]] – the 6-day learn-and-share event will be held from 7 to 12 November 2009 at the lush greens and quiet cool environs of the Yen Center – home to the Headquarters and Regional Center for Asia of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) – located in Silang, a landlocked municipality south of Metro Manila, within the historic [[Province of Cavite|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavite]], the Philippines.
Asia Source 3 offers applicants to choose one among four (4) F/~OSS-themed track sessions:
ONE: Managing Your Information
TWO: Migrating to F/OSS
THREE: Broadcasting Your Information
FOUR: Joining the F/OSS Community / Using F/OSS Tools
[[Call for participation|http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/final_call_asiasource3]]
If you would like to participate, you will need to attend the entire event, which means arriving in Manila on or before the 6th and leaving on or after the 13th of November 2009.
To be eligible to attend, you will need to send a completed [[application form|http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/as3_application_form_v7/view]] by the 21st of September 2009 by noon GMT.
Applications from women and those within and working with the youth sector are highly encouraged.
[[ASIA SOURCE 3|http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/asia-source-3-is-coming]] brought to you by The International Open Source Network (IOSN) ASEAN+3 with support from ~InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany, ASEAN Foundation, and Open Society Institute Information Program and co-organized by Tactical Technology Collective and Aspiration.
In January 2007, an event called Asia Source II has taken place in Sukabumi in western Java with over than 130 participants from 27 countries.
Asia Source II was a nine days camp style event to promote the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) instead of using proprietary software. This event was organised by UNDP APDIP via [[IOSN|http://wiki.asiasource2.iosn.net]], [[InWEnt|http://www.it-inwent.org/itfoss/content/e133/e500/e708/index_eng.html]], [[Tactical Technologies|http://www.tacticaltech.org/asiasource2]], [[Aspiration|http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/AsiaSourceII]], ICT watch and many others. I have the honour of participating in this event.
The goal of the source camp is to motivate and facilitate the adoption of Open Source Software as tools, and also as a mind-set and attitude that promotes the use of open source software for communities to minimize the digital divide.
[[Asia Source II|http://asiasource2.iosn.net]] is a community building event in the spirit of free and open source software. Asia Source II seeks to build the skills and networks of those in the region who are working within NGO and SME sector, and be aware of FOSS.
[img[Grouping togetherness|blog/image493s.jpg]]
It is obvious that free software licenses can minimize cost and the manufacturer can profit by maintaining or supporting the applications on subscriber basis.
To be free is not new to get lots of clients, I remember when Netscape and Hotmail had launched their applications for free and they have gained eversince. Imagine when they got millions of users, and some ten percent of them are subcribed for a few bucks per month. Getting clients is not easy than to go free in the first place.
The Google is another story, they have gained from ads because they've got already a lot of users.
[[Reminiscences in Retrospective from Asia Source II part 1]]
[[Reminiscences in Retrospective from Asia Source II part 2]]
[[Comments for track 2 sessions]]
[[Asia Source II does not end in Sukabumi]]
[[Track 4 Participants with animal names]]
[[Asiasource2, six months after ]]
Event info: http://www.tacticaltech.org/asiasource/
Wiki: http://wiki.asiasource.tacticaltech.org/
Asia Source 2 group on [[Facebook|http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7992631404]] and [[Linkedin|http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1039217]]
[[Asia Source II on Wikipedia|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Source_II]]
By [[Jamil Ahmed|mailto:itsjamil@gmail.com]] - Bangladesh
After 9 days of magic and community interaction, the Asia Source II camp has come to an end at Sukabumi, Indonesia. We made our last goodbyes at the airport and started going back home, most of us pretty sad because the camp made us all realize that we are pretty much brothers and sisters in the same continent.
[img[Track 3 members|blog/image297s.jpg]]
I've been to a lot of camps and conferences before, but Asia Source II is different. We had very meager facilities, the Internet access was flaky, power interruptions, the list goes on. Our favorite peeves were the availability of hot water and western toilets. But for some reason, the camp's aim of providing FOSS technology to NGOs and SMEs in the region was overshadowed when the participants themselves grouped together and face the challenges back home knowing that they can always rely on the advice of their Asian brothers and sisters from the camp. In the end, language and culture wasn't a barrier anymore. We all live in one place with similar issues and problems that we can fix if we do it together as one family.
[img[Track 1 members|blog/image00001s.jpg]]
The biggest fun of being in the source camp is meeting all these amazing people involved in FOSS one way or another, regardless of skill level. We all came together to Yawitra Asri to learn from each other and have fun as well.
We may have said our goodbyes at the airport, with the fact that some of us may not see each other physically for quite a long time or perhaps not at all. But I've always remembered a teaching by the Dalai Lama that there are billions of stars in the universe and yet their light travels billions of miles away so that we can see it from the Earth. We are just thousands of miles apart, so our light can easily shine on each other if we do it so.
Thanks for the memories. Asia Source II didn't end in Sukabumi. Our jouney has just begun.
Credit: Jamil (Bangladesh)
Indonesian Information Technology and Communications Director General Cahyana Ahmadijaya said the important thing in switching to OSS are efforts to change illegal software users into legal ones.
[[Asia Pulse Pte Ltd. 02/14/07 7:40 AM PT|http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/55751.html]]
"With a development in OSS, people can choose between expensive and free proprietary software, both of which are legal. So, the important thing is that OSS would be a smart choice," he said.
Asian countries have started switching from proprietary software such as Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) to open source software, it was reported Tuesday at the eight annual [[Asia Open Source Software Symposium]] (AOSSS) in Denpasar, Indonesia.
Experts and information technology practitioners from Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and ASEAN member countries are attending the conference.
Japan Leading the Way
Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Information Service Industry director Katsuhiko Kaji said Japan has long been using open source software (OSS), but its government officially declared the development of OSS in March last year. Japan has already taken a 20 percent advantage of OSS, he said.
It was reported that Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Taiwan have already switched to OSS.
Cambodian Human Resources Development Deputy Secretary General and Information Technology and Communications Development Body's Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Division Chief Noy Shoung said his country has already switched to open source beginning this year and will fully use the OSS in 2008.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Information Technology and Communications Director General Cahyana Ahmadijaya said the important thing in switching to OSS are efforts to change illegal software users into legal ones.
"With a development in OSS, people can choose between expensive and free proprietary software, both of which are legal. So, the important thing is that OSS would be a smart choice," he said.
Capable Replacement
Indonesian Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman, who was a keynote speaker at the symposium, said the government has already developed several OSS applications like IGOS Nusantara 2006, which is capable of replacing MS Windows, and Open Office, which can replace MS Office.
OSS, he said, is not only a product that can replace expensive software but also something that enabled people to innovate open codes for other applications like Linux, Apache and MySQL.
The two-day symposium, themed the Utilization of OSS to Close Digital Gap and Economic Impact, is aimed at developing the initiative of OSS products in Asian states.
The first symposium was held in Thailand in March 2003, the second in Singapore in November 2003, the third in Vietnam in March 2004, the fourth in Taiwan in September 2004, the fifth in China in March 2005, the sixth in Sri Lanka in September 2005 and the seventh in Malaysia in March 2006.
I found this book while flipping in a book store and read a glimpse of the book. I didn't bought the book for US$ 18 because it was the first edition. The author has come out with the second edition.
This book is about "The Dark Side of Business in Asia" as of 1998. It thus skips lightly over conditions in Hong Kong and Singapore - which are excellent - and dwells only occasionally on conditions in Malaysia - which are fairly good by Asian standards.
http://www.futurecasts.com/Book_review_9.htm
It does not relate any of the "success" stories of Western business in Asia. Of course, it might just be a little bit difficult to get most of the parties to candidly relate all the factors on which such success was built.
Instead, it is crony capitalism and mercantilist policies that [[Michael Backman|http://www.business-in-asia.com/books/mbackman.html ]] dwells on - in Thailand, Indonesia, and Korea - where such policies have caused devastating problems - and in China and Japan - where similar problems in these vast economic systems threaten to grow to devastating proportions. Problems with the commercial environment in the Philippines are also covered, and particular problems in some of the other Asian nations are touched upon.
The book sets forth the staggering and pervasive levels of corruption and influence peddling that comprise the heart and sole of "Asian values." It also includes accounts of efforts by Asian business interests to influence Western politicians and expand their corrupt practices into Western commerce. Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party - being the party in power at the time - was a primary target. Hundreds of thousands of dollars funneled into Clinton and Democratic coffers by Asian businessmen with extensive ties to Communist China coincided with an evolving Clinton Administration China policy that was far more friendly and accommodating at its end than at its beginning. Backman, however, properly offers no opinion as to whether this policy change was in fact in the best interest of the United States or whether it was in any way influenced by those substantial donations.
The limits of Asian Crisis reform efforts - the lack of enforcement of those reforms that were enacted - and the continuation of the corrupt and incestuous business practices of the past - as of the middle of 1998 - are also set forth.
The book emphasizes the complications and limitations of the family owned enterprise and conglomerate enterprise system that is the dominant form of business in much of Asia. Anyone contemplating an investment in - or a business relationship with - the typical Asian company must examine not just the company itself, but the family behind the company, and the many affiliates.
About the author
Michael Backman is an internationally renowned writer, columnist and speaker. He specialises in writing and speaking about Asia: its economies, politics, business groups and business practices. He has a well-earned reputation for thorough, independent and highly-detailed analysis. He divides his time between writing, speaking engagements and occasional consulting. He has lived in London, Paris, Jakarta, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra.
http://www.michaelbackman.com/about_Michael_Backman.html
Backman is also the co-author of Big in Asia, and author of The Asian Insider and Inside Knowledge, all published by Palgrave-Macmillan, an imprint of Macmillan.
The second 'Asiasource' Free and Open Source Software (F/OSS) camp was held from 21st to 30th of January, 2007 in Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia. Waag fellow Patrice Riemens took part as F/~OSSopher and in-charge of the 'bazaar', annex (Turkish) tea-house and 'slackers salon'. His report:
Asiasource2, for short, was the fifth large 'sourcecamp' and event since the summer of 2003. Previous sourcecamps were held in Croatia, Namibia, Bangalore (S.India), and Uganda. Smaller gatherings took also place in Tadjikistan and Morocco. Sourcecamps are broadly regional in character, and attract a wide array of participants from various countries and with very diverse backgrounds.
A sourcecamp is week-9 days long, very intensive ('24/7') training and knowledge-sharing get-together for a 80/100-some (mostly) ~ICT-people working with/for 'civil society organisations' (aka 'NGOs') in the Global South and Transition Countries. The goal of sourcecamps is to motivate and facilitate the adoption by these organisations of F/OSS - as tool, but also as a mind-set and attitude.
Collaboration and sharing of skills ranks very high on the agenda of sourecamps, both at the event itself, and afterwards. Hence, top down, hierarchical models of teaching are shunned in favor of active participation in formal and informal working groups.
[img[A ghastly participant|blog/image007s.jpg]]
In the mornings, parallel issue 'tracks' - typically including 'migration' (from proprietary software to F/OSS) and 'localisation' (making F/OSS available in local languages, sometimes fine-tuning it to local cultural habits), plus some other core issues (eg. content management systems, audio/video streaming, ~WiFi, etc.) - are treated in a more formal manner.
Afternoons, after a confy lunch and rest, are devoted to more informal - and numerous - 'skill share' sessions, where a variety of subjects - not necessarily technical - are discussed, mostly submitted and introduced by the participants themselves. And the 'facilitators' who are more or less formally in charge of the 'track' sessions become participants and learners again. Evenings are devoted to socialising, cultural performance, and ... partying. This is a young crowd after all!
[img[There is none like free lunch in Asiasource2|blog/image079s.jpg]]
Which is reflected in the format and daily routine of sourcecamps, which some might say is a cross between an active holidays village and a boot camp of sorts. The formula, with wake-up serenade, 'morning circle', communal meals (and Qs ;-), outings, and a lot of group activities generally, may not immediately appeal to all, but is intended - and succeeds - to forge a strong bond between the participants, lasting way beyond the event itself.
One can say that every sourcecamp creates its own larger community, besides many new circles of friends.
[img[Skill share|blog/image070s.jpg]]
In that Asiasource2 was not different from the previous sourcecamps, even though it was the first one not directly organised by the [[Tactical Technology Collective|http://www.tacticaltech.org/ ]] - 'TacTech' for short, - which introduced and fine-tuned the concept since 'SummerSource' on Vis Island (Croatia) in 2003 till 'Africasource2' on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, in january 2006. In true Open Knowledge fashion, TacTech does not claim 'intellectual property' on the format, but has set up a 'replication' apparatus and manual instead. Asiasource2 was the first test and succeeded brillantly, albeit with the support and presence of quite a few TacTech members and 'veterans' from previous source events - like me.
As 'F/OSSopher', my role at sourcecamps is to expound, well, the 'philosophy' behind Free and Open Source Software, especially since F/OSS has evolved into a full-fledged ('new') social movement, reaching much beyond the realm of technology applications alone. But doing this is something of an uphill task, since most nerds, given a choice, rather prefer to get their hands on a nifty piece of software than discuss elusive and contentious socio-political issues with some old blatterer ;-)
Nonetheless, together with Jaggadeesh from the Bangalore Alternative Law Forum, we succesfully participated in a serie of 'speedgeeking' sessions (5 minutes to make your point to 12 succesive groups of 7-8 people) which left us exhausted but happy. Apart from that I was glad to relax in the 'bazaar' (a row of canopied mini-pavilllions), serving Turkish Tea to various participants and co-facilitators, according to the hallowed 'Sl@ckers S@lon' formula...
[img[Yawitra Asri|blog/image001a.jpg]]
Relating all what happened at Asiasource2 would be an endless and potentially tedious exercise, but one can gather a lot of its atmosphere by viewing the event's site and its blog (see URL below). Suffice to enthuse about the wonderful venue [[Yawitra Asri|Yawitra resort ]], see pics) and surroundings, the spectacular excursions (to a vulcano, followed, for the more 'chresmatically' inclined, by a visit of a large so-called factory outlet in Bandung), and of course, the wonderful social atmosphere, enhanced and enabled by a classroom of volunteers from a hospitality college (courtesy of the local organiser who knew them well) for whom we functionned as training material - much to our delight and confort. (And yes, 'ArtDino! - one of my pet dinosaurs - even found the love of his life in their midst, and decided to stay behind in Jakarta!)
[img[Mist at the volcano|blog/image0114s.jpg]]
Six weeks after Asiasource2, the event's mailing list is full of life witnessing to what may be the most tangible and beneficial outcome of sourcecamps: the creation of a strong, regional but trans-border community of sociable techies, ready, willing and able to provide self-manageable and affordable (generallly free) ITC advice and services to civil society organisations who can put them to great use.
Courtesy of [[Patrice Riemens|mailto:patrice@xs4all.nl]] based on his email.
Asthma is an antique Greek statement meaning 'out of breath or short drawn breath'. It is an allergic situation resulting from the reaction of the body to one or additional allergens, and is the most upsetting of respiratory diseases. An asthma patient gets recurrent attacks of breathlessness, in between which he may even be totally normal.
http://www.squidoo.com/allergyasthmafood
Asthma is constant disease that affects the airways or the tubes that brings air in and out of the lungs. Asthmatics have inflamed airways or the inside walls of the airways are swollen with too much mucus creation making breathing hard. Signs include wheezing, chest pains, obscurity breathing and coughing. Asthma is a very uncomfortable and life-threatening disease if not treated properly.
Asthma attacks differs from person to person, but stern asthma attack is life threatening. The airways may shut due to too much swelling and mucus production; in this case your body vital organs will not receive sufficient oxygen and this may cause death. You have to know how to treat your asthma before it could get severe.
Patients suffering from asthma emerge to be gasping for breath. Really, they have more difficulty in inhalation out than breathing in, and this is caused by spasms or unexpected involuntary muscular contractions of the minor air passages in the lungs.
Asthma Causes
Allergic reaction caused by weather situations A range of factors causes asthma. It may be due to an sensitivity caused by weather conditions, food, drugs, perfumes, and other irritants. Allergies to dust are the most ordinary.
After you have determined the dietary issues that cause asthma, you'll need to modify your diet to avoid the foods that trigger wheezing and focus more on foods that can minimize asthma symptoms.
Some people report that eating very hot or very cold foods will trigger their asthma. Sometimes eating too much can trigger asthmatic symptoms. Finally, there are those who have attacks of asthma that are brought on by eating food preservatives like sulfites that you'll find in processed meats like bologna and other foods. If you find that these things trigger asthma, you can avoid them as well.
As it appears that dietary changes and changes in food can minimize asthma symptoms, it may be a good idea to consider using the above advice. You should do so, however, at the advice of your doctor or your child's doctor. It's vital that your doctor know about both medication changes and changes in your diet. This will help your physician be better able to manage your asthma treatment.
Asthma Triggers
Understand how to avoid asthma triggers and get rid of Asthma once and for all. Avoid all dairy products, wheat, egg, chocolate, fish, alcohol (wine and lager in particular because of additives) vinegar, caffeine (tea, coffee, colas, chocolate), refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, salt and anything containing chemical additives - MSG, sulfur dioxide, sodium benzoate, sodium sulfite, tartrazine, etc. Pale colored dried fruit is preserved in sulfur to keep its color.
Sulfating agents are commonly used in beer and to keep greens fresh in salad bars. Sulfur dioxide is found in most wines but, generally speaking, there is less of it in bottled wine than in boxed wine. Drugs or medication (remove only with medical supervision), onion, garlic, kale, cabbage, radish, watercress. Aspirin can precipitate an asthma attack.
Sodium sulfite as found on red meat (to keep it fresh looking), light colored dried fruit, dressings, beer and wine, often causes asthma. Sodium benzoate is a preservative found in margarine, sauces, cool drinks and some dried fruits. This particular preservative causes respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis.
Dust mite droppings in the air after vacuuming, which can take hours to settle. The Baxi Clean Air System claims to starve dust mites by reducing air humidity.
Constipation. Pressure from the tummy area affects breathing. That, together with the effect of toxic build-up in the colon, demands action. Poor digestion is common with asthma. Eat little and often so that the digestive tract does not get clogged up. Nuts can have an inflating effect on the system of an asthmatic.
Tartrazine (a food colorant banned in some countries) is openly accused of creating allergic reactions including asthma, migraine headaches, skin rashes and hyperactivity in children.
Chlorine is said to contribute to asthma attacks. Since all our drinking water has been chlorinated you may wish to use a water purifier. There are some excellent ones on the market. Personally, I am happy with the Brita jug which is relatively inexpensive with a proven record. There are more costly purifiers that screw on to your tap and, if asthma is in your family, that may be your better choice. Pet fur, feathers, cigarette smoke, household chemicals, fumes, etc., are best avoided.
I recently came across an excellent book called Cure You Asthma In Just One Week written by Karon Beattie - it's well worth reading. Take a look...
http://www.BeWellAgain.com
That's all this time on how to avoid asthma triggers.
Megan Richards is the online Wellness Editor for publisher Clyde Coast Direct Ltd. She enjoys reading and publishing topics almost exclusively with a leaning towards 'natural.'
Disclaimer: http://www.BeWellAgain.com is for people who are interested in taking responsibility for their own health. However, information in this article is provided only for educational or informational purposes and is not meant to substitute the advice of your own medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Megan_Richards
When a person has asthma, their symptoms can range from just being slightly annoying to dangerous to one's life. The plain truth is that many more adults and children receive the diagnosis of asthma each and every year. Asthma has become the most often diagnosed lung disorder in the United States.
Fortunately, researchers are paying more and more attention to the types of foods that can slow the progression and minimize asthma symptoms. Research scientists have turned to the fact that certain foods in the diet play a role in the treatment of and prevention of asthma and its symptoms. More studies are in the works that look at the interplay between diet and the symptoms of asthma.
Asthma and Whole Wheat
It appears that whole wheat such as found in whole wheat bread reduces wheezing and other asthma symptoms. In addition, eating these products, as long as they contain whole wheat, can be preventative against asthma in kids. They also looked at the consumption of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fruit juice and found that these foods, too, reduce the symptoms of asthma.
In spite of these hopeful research studies, researchers are still uncertain as to why asthma is caused in the first place. Several research studies indicate that certain food allergies may trigger asthma attacks in children and adults. For those asthma attacks triggered by food, parents and patients must determine which foods are causing the problem so as to minimize the symptoms of asthma.
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Asthma.html
Food That Help Reduce Asthma Allergies
1. Asthma treatment via Honey
Honey is one of the most common home cures for asthma. It is supposed that if a jug of honey is held beneath the nose of an asthma patient and he inhales the air that comes into contact by means of it, he starts breathing easier and deeper.
2. Asthma treatment with Figs
Amongst fruits, figs have proved very precious in asthma. They provide comfort to the patient by draining off the phlegm. Three or four dry figs must be cleaned thoroughly with warm water and soaked during the night.
3. Asthma treatment with Lemon
Lemon is one more fruit found useful in the treatment of asthma. The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water and taken with meals, will bring good quality results
4. Asthma treatment via Indian Gooseberry
Indian gooseberry has also proved precious in asthma. Five grams of gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey forms an useful medicinal tonic for the treatment of this ailment. It must be taken every morning
5. Asthma treatment by means of Bitter Gourd Roots
The roots of the bitter gourd plant have been used in folk medicine for asthma since earliest times. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an identical amount of honey or juice of the tulsi leaves, given once every night for a month, acts as an exceptional medicine for this disease.
6. Asthma treatment via Drumstick Leaves
A soup prepared from drumstick leaves, and taken once daily, has been found useful in the treatment of asthma. Adding a handful of leaves to 180ml of water and boiling it for five minutes prepare this soup. After being allowed to cool, a little salt, pepper, and lime juice might be added to this soup.
7. Asthma treatment with Ginger
A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, acts as a brilliant expectorant in cases of asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by addition of one tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. This remedy must be taken once in the morning and once in the evening.
8. Asthma treatment via Garlic
Garlic is an additional effective home remedy for asthma. Ten garlic cloves, boiled in 30 ml of milk, create an excellent medicine for the early stages of asthma. This mixture must he taken once each day by the patient. Steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it, can also help to keep the trouble under control, and must be taken in the morning and evening.
9. Asthma treatment via Bishop's Weed
The herb bishop's weed has been found precious in asthma. Half a teaspoon of bishop's weed must be mixed in a glass of buttermilk and taken two times each day. It is an effective medicine for relieving difficult expectoration caused by dried-up phlegm. A hot poultice of the seeds must be used for dry fomentation to the chest two times daily. The. patient can also breathe in steam twice a day from boiling water mixed with ajwain. It will widen the bronchial passages.
10. Asthma treatment with Safflower
Safflower seeds are helpful in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Half a teaspoon of powder of the dry seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, can be taken one or two times a day in treating this disease. This acts as an expectorant and decreases the spasms by liquefying the tenacious sputum. An infusion of five grams of flowers mixed with one tablespoon of honey, taken once every day, is also helpful in this disease.
For more information on home remedies for asthma, cure for asthma visit http://www.himalayahomeremedies.com - HERBAL HOME REMEDIES and Natural Treatments
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Rodrick
Six Ways To Relieve Asthma
Many people who suffer from asthma have a difficult time finding anything that cures or even helps their asthma. For many of these people, one or more than one of the many known asthma home remedies below would help.
Hot Black Coffee
Drinking hot black coffee actually solves two problems at the same time. The caffeine in the coffee helps open-up the airways in your lungs. This makes it easier for the air to pass in and out.
Then the heat of the coffee helps break-up the mucus in your lungs. Often the lungs form plugs that stop the flow of air. So when the heat of the coffee breaks up this mucus then it helps breathing and stops an asthma attack.
Steamy Bathroom
A steamy bathroom is one of the remedies that work for many types of coughs as well. When an asthma attack begins you should go into the bathroom and turn the shower on as hot as it will go. Then stay in the bathroom with the door closed while the steam rises from the shower and fills the entire bathroom. Breathing in the steam from the shower will help alleviate the asthma attack.
Sometimes it works even better if you close the shower curtain to help keep the steam in a more contained area. Then stick your head inside the shower (be careful not to get burned!) and breathe in the steamy air.
A Few Other Asthma Home Remedies
Here are a few other remedies that involve drinking or taking in different concoctions.
The first concoction is one teaspoon of honey with a half teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Mix these two ingredients together and then consume.
The second remedy is for people who are still in the early stages of developing asthma. Every night you should boil about ten cloves of garlic in half a cup of milk and then drink it just before bedtime.
Another possible remedy to be taken at night is to take a glass of very hot water and add a teaspoon of honey to it. Drink it slowly just before going to bed.
Finally, soak one teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds in a cup of water for about eight hours (overnight works great). Then strain the water and add one teaspoon of ginger juice and one teaspoon of honey to the water. Drink this in the morning and at night every single day.
The Benefits of These Remedies
If you are suffering from asthma, you want to try to treat your condition yourself as much as possible. Trying different strategies and methods is the best way you can find your own cure and relief from asthma.
Discover the asthma remedies that many asthma sufferers including Olympic athletes have used to cure their asthma and now live a fulfilling life at http://www.AsthmaCureGuide.com These little secrets compiled by Jonathan Hatton have helped hundreds of people to take full control of their asthma naturally without taking expansive drugs or medications. For more information, visit Asthma Cure Guide today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Hatton
With much hype and fanfare the new [[Asus EEE PC|http://sg.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=8680]] was launched in Taiwan last October 16th, 2007. The Eee PC’s response comes from great user expectation of the simple and portable device. It is focused on providing users with the most comprehensive Internet applications based on three Es: Easy to learn, work, play; Excellent Internet experience and Excellent on-the-Go.
Compact and highly portable at 7” and only 0.92kg in weight – providing an Internet experience with two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users.
Specifications
The Eee PC 701 comes with over 40 built-in applications to offer a dynamic computing experience to learn, work and play! There are four models avail for the 7" type dubbed as EEE PC 2G, 4G, 8G which are the solid state disk (SSD) storage capacities. The EEE PC models differ in memory which are 256MB DDR2 for 2G, 512MB DDR2 for 4G, and 1GB DDR2 for 8G. And different usage of battery, 4400 mAh-2.8hrs for the 2G and 4G surf, 5200 mAh-3.5hrs for the 4G and the 8G. All models avail with camera, built-in stereo speakers, microphone, 802.11g wifi, ethernet LAN.
Main operating system is Linux but Asus plan is to make it compatible with the Windows XP by end of this year. The Eee PC comes with a powerful selection of software to maximize personal productivity. The Dictionary is an especially handy reference while reading electronic books downloaded from the Internet; the Open Office suite of software enables the user to open, edit and create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and databases that are compatible with Microsoft Office.
http://eeepc.asus.com/en/news101712007.htm
Competition
The Asus EEE PC will directly compete the [[OLPC XO|OLPC at last started to produce]] which so far has been delayed until November 2007. And having the right timing and less time necessary to design and produce makes this product is well marketable in consideration with price and performance. Although it is targeted to the general audience with different models, I think the 4G model is best suited with 512MB DDR2, 4G SSD and 3.5 hours of battery time.
I don't know much about the mobile communication but Asus tells that it will directly compete with PDAs or other mobile mode.
Lot of comments are in unofficial user blog at http://www.eeeuser.com/ about the launch in other countries than Taiwan, about the BIOS and many others. I wonder if anyone read this post knows anything about availability of the Asus EEE PC in their locales.
Asus claims that the Eee PC boots in under 15 seconds. The device will be shipped with a heavily customized Xandros Linux distribution that uses a tab-based interface instead of a conventional desktop environment. Software bundled with the system includes OpenOffice.org, Firefox, and Skype.
By Ryan Paul | Published: September 06, 2007 - 01:02AM CT
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070906-asus-sets-ambitious-goals-for-eee-laptop.html
Asus is preparing to launch its new Linux-based Eee PC laptop later this month and plans to release another new model in April 2008. The Eee PC, which has a 7" display and a 900MHz Celeron M processor, is designed for budget-minded mobile consumers. The second-generation Eee PC will use Intel's Merom processor and offer longer battery life.
According to DigiTimes, Asus wants to become one of the top five laptop producers within the next three years. The company currently plans to ship over 200,000 Eee PCs by the end of the year and expects to sell between three and five million by 2009.
The Eee PC is included in Intel's "world ahead" initiative, and the chipmaker worked closely with Asus during the design phase of the product. Eee PC pricing is competitive with other budget mobile computers designed for the education market, including the OLPC Project's XO laptop, and Intel's Classmate PC. Eee PC models are expected to sell for between $199 and $349.
Although Asus will not be shipping Windows XP with the Eee PC, the company claims that Microsoft's operating system has been tested extensively with the device.
Although the Eee PC has a lot to like, the exact specifications and launch price aren't known yet. There are rumors that the final model will not include the 0.3MP video camera currently listed in the specifications and that the price of the low-end model has crept up from $199 to $249. We'll know for sure when it officially launches.
The strong support for Linux could make the Eee PC a compelling choice for some open-source software enthusiasts, and the low price makes it a strong contender in the education market. At $199, the Eee PC could compete directly with the OLPC in certain regions.
After the Live Earth concerts, hundreds of thousands of people are signing the Avaaz climate pledge, a commitment to 7 simple steps we can all take to help end the climate crisis - a growing global movement to save ourselves and our planet.
Please sign it at this link, then ask seven friends to add their names as well:
[[THE PLEDGE:|http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_climate_movement/tf.php]]
1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by
reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;"
3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new
generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to
safely trap and store the CO2;
4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of
transportation;
5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a
sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
if (window.location.protocol!="file:") showBackstage=false;
At the end of the workshop, the participants will form into groups and be assigned to develop demo projects to exercise their skills gained from the workshop in the form of [[BarCamp|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp]].
All the projects will be presented to the public on the last day at the [[BarCamp Mekong|http://mekongict.org/barcamp-mekong/]], June 12 (Saturday) in Chiang Mai city which is open to interested persons. About 10-20 projects from Mekong ICT Camp participants and additional topics from general public will be presented.
It is expected that this public presentation will gain the general public’s reflections and opinions, which will be useful to further project development. Moreover, the presenters will have a chance to practice their skills in public communication, expand their networks to include non-participants, and put across their ideas and learn from each other in such an open environment as the ~BarCamp event.
Every ~BarCamp participants are encouraged to presents their topics of interest and share ideas and comments with other barcampers.
The Mekong ICT Camp and the ~BarCamp Mekong will be undertaken simultaneously, but in a co-event manner, whereby their schedules are successive and venues are adjacent.
Some more than 600 people will be meeting at Paññasastra University of Cambodia (PUC) for [[BarCamp Phnom Penh ‘09|http://barcampphnompenh.org/]].
Venue: Paññasastra University of Cambodia (PUC)
Map: http://barcampphnompenh.org/venue/
Date & Time: 3-4 October 2009 — 7:30AM – 5:00PM
Email: info@barcampphnompenh.org
Web: http://barcampphnompenh.org/
The two-day event, from 3-4 October 2009, will be only about learning, sharing and networking. It’s simply an exhibition of Cambodia’s technocrats; of course, there are no gadgets, computer laptops or smart phones to be on sale. There is only one thing: the participants themselves will have a chance to show off their initiative, progressing projects, and give presentation on topics matter to them for others to absorb.
Last year's success inspired this small, growing technology community in Cambodia to discuss openly issues important to them. ~BarCamp Phnom Penh has now become an annual technology conference in this nation's largest capital city, inviting some participants from across the country and the region, many are tech enthusiasts from Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.
[[BarCamp|http://www.barcamp.org]], an innovative “impromptu” gathering that began in 2005 in Palo Alto, California, helps “open source” enthusiasts share information about technology in an informal setting. The idea quickly spread from California to the rest of the world, arriving in Bangkok in 2007 and now in Phnom Penh.
[[BarCamp Phnom Penh 2009 news update]]
More than 800 tech-inclined people gathered at the second annual [[BarCamp Phnom Penh 2009|http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/10/07/cambodia-barcamp-phnom-penh-2009/]] on October 3-4, 2009 at Paññasastra University of Cambodia.
by Tharum Bun
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 @ 00:24 UTC
In a blog post on ~CNNGo, technologist and traveler Preetam Rai, who visited this year's participatory workshop-event, wrote about Cambodian women in technology that:
It should be said that women are very prominent at Cambodian Barcamp events, and seeing such large numbers of women at tech meetings still surprises their male attendees. But the women aren't just showing up — they're running the show.
How [[BarCamp Phnom Penh ‘09|BarCamp Phnom Penh 2009]] is run, organized and contributed is uniquely interesting. It does introduce Cambodians a new way, if not a breakthrough, in which learning, collaboration, sharing and networking can take place here in Cambodia.
A prolific Vietnamese blogger, Nguyen Anh Hung, who participated Cambodia's ~BarCamp last year, is traveling to the Cambodian capital with more of his fellow friends for this ~BarCamp Phnom Penh ‘09.
“It’s here again. We (the folks in Ho Chi Minh City) will be flocking to the capital of beautiful Cambodia once again to attend the largest technology unconference in the country to date. Last year it was a greatly successful event attended by some 300 people from around South East Asia.”
Not only this annual event plays a role to foster open communication in Cambodian society, but it helps build a strong foundation for Cambodia's future in the area of Information and Communication Technologies.
Going to conferences is about getting inspired. It’s about getting some new ideas swirl around in your head. During that event, we will see skilled speakers with a lot of experiences and confidence on stage giving a talk on a topic that they really want to share, wrote Samnang Chhun, a Phnom Penh-based Software Developer.
Like many other developing countries, debate on free/open source software as an alternative to propriety software will not end any time soon. Despite the two-day conference offered mixed results to every participant, online discussion has not finished yet.
[[BarCamp Phnom Penh|http://barcampphnompenh.org/about/]] is a two-day event and aimed to computer enthusiasts, internet users, technologists, entrepreneurs, digital journalists, web developers and netizens to share and learn all things technology in a very open and democratic environment.
Venue: University of Puthisastra (UP)
55, St.180, Sangkat Boeung Raing, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
Date & Time: 25-26 September 2010 – 8:30AM – 5:30PM
How to become a participant at ~BarCamp Phnom Penh 2010:
* Pre-register on our [[official website|http://barcampphnompenh.org/]]: On the site, you’ll find a link (Register now). Please add your name, topics you’d like to learn/present and any organization you represent on the form, to give coordinators an idea as to how many people are coming.
*Showing up at the announced starting time will be fine. Show up late, you’ll miss some social activity and your T-shirt, among other things/stuff.
*Bringing a laptop is not always necessary – It’s great for showing off that program you mentioned in your session. At the University of Puthisastra (UP), wireless Internet connection is provided and plenty of downtime to browse around and look into everything you’ve learned.
*When you arrive, go to the registration desk, where you can claim your name-tag and a nice T-shirt. We start by gathering together in the large conference hall. There, the Master of Ceremony will walk you through the entire event.
*After this, people who intend to lead a session will add their session info to an empty schedule grid (may be moved around early on). If you see a session you’re interested in, go for it.
*After a couple of sessions, you will have a significant amount of downtime for lunch. Feel free to wander around and socialize while or after you eat. More announcements will be made, and any newly proposed sessions will be announced.
*Once the sessions are finished, please stick around to clean up. It’s generally as simple as throwing trash away and taking down signs, but all the help is appreciated.
*Be ready/willing to participate – come with an idea for a presentation session. You don’t have to be an expert at your topic; as long as it’s not too specific, there will probably be someone else present who can help you out.
*You can also contribute to the conversation during a session. This is a great way to participate, since it spreads knowledge from everyone, instead of just the presenter/speaker.
[[BarCamp Phnom Penh 2009]]
Wireless services in airports, cafés, and hotels are often not encrypted. So user beware of Public Wi-Fi: Be Very Paranoid.
by Stephen H. Wildstrom
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_12/b4076000604104.htm?link_position=link1
If you are visiting an insecure site, and that includes such popular mail services as Hotmail, Gmail (GOOG), and Yahoo! (YHOO), an eavesdropper will have no trouble reading your messages. If the login page isn't secured—again, look for https or the gold bar—your password will also be there for the taking. So don't send or even read messages unless you are prepared to share them with the world, and don't use a password for a Web mail account that you also use for online banking or anything else where privacy matters.
The risks come in a few different flavors. While browsing for an available Wi-Fi connection, you may stumble on a hostile network set up specifically to attack unprotected computers. If, alternatively, you are the operator of an open private network, your system can be attacked by hackers—although AirTight's research didn't look at that.
The wireless service offered in airports, coffee shops, hotels, and other hotspots is almost always unencrypted. That means anyone else on the network who is equipped with readily available software can read your transmissions with little effort. And when there is protection, it's likely to be a form of encryption called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) that's easily broken.
A survey of 14 airports in the U.S. and three in Asia by AirTight Networks, a company that sells gear to make wireless connections more secure, found that 57% of the networks were wide open. These included both networks for public and private systems used for airport functions such as baggage handling and ticketing. An additional 28% of the networks were protected by WEP, while only 15% used a stronger form of security, called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
Preventive Steps for Greater Security
Obviously, companies running open or poorly secured networks should fix them for their own good. This goes for your home as well: You should use WPA, and if you have an old wireless router that doesn't support it, you should strongly consider an upgrade. But even when you are away from home and looking for a public wireless connection, there are some simple steps that will make you safer.
First, make sure your employer provides its business travelers with virtual private network (VPN) connections. At this point, all companies should require workers to use VPN whenever they hook up remotely to corporate systems or use company computers on public networks. A VPN provides end-to-end encryption of all traffic; anyone who intercepts data will see nothing more useful than the network address of the VPN gateway. If you don't have a VPN option, you'll have to seek out secure Web sites—locations that encrypt all traffic.
You can tell a secure site by an address that begins "https:". If you use the Firefox browser, a secure connection will turn the address bar gold. You can generally use these sites with confidence even on an open network.
Rogue Networks
You may be tempted to save the $10 or so that an airport or hotel charges for Wi-Fi by using an open connection in your list of available networks. Don't. If the network is legitimate, connecting without permission may be regarded as theft of service. Much worse is the risk that you will connect to a rogue network that will try to steal your data and infect your computer. To save a few bucks, it's just not worth it.
Be especially leery of "ad hoc" or "peer to peer" networks, which are indicated in the Windows network list by a tiny icon representing connected computers. These are highly likely to be rogue or infected systems that will damage your system without ever actually connecting you to the Internet. Nearly every time I scan for networks, I see one called "Free Public Wi-Fi." It sounds tempting but dont even consider it—this is almost certain to be either useless or evil.
Public wireless networks are immensely useful, and I'm not trying to scare you away from them. But the dangers are real, and simply understanding them will go a long way toward keeping you safe.
Wildstrom is Technology & You columnist for BusinessWeek. You can contact him at techandyou@businessweek.com .
Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy.
I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all.
Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200-250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?
Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up front about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.
PostingID: 432279810
THE ANSWER By a JP Morgan Investment Banker
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament. Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I see it.
Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity. in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!
So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!
So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold hence the rub marriage. It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease. In case you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It's as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.
Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful" as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.
By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.
With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way.
Classic "pump and dump."
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.
- the item appeared on Craiglist
The Wall Street Journal last week say something that's really scary: "In Beijing, investors talk of a one-way bet on the market until at least next year's Olympics."
China Bets on Olympic Stock Market Sprint
By Jim Jubak
MSN Money Markets Editor
5/30/2007 10:46 AM EDT
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscrss/newsanalysis/investing/10359428_2.html
In other words, even though the Shanghai stock market is up 52% this year, was up 130% in 2006 and is up 305% since this rally began back in June 2005, and even though everyone knows this speculative bubble isn't sustainable, it's smart to keep pouring money into Chinese stocks -- no matter their price -- because the government won't intervene and risk crashing the market until after the showcase Beijing Olympics are over.
So invest as much as you can in anything you can until Aug. 24, 2008, the day the Beijing games come to an end. Then run -- don't walk -- in an orderly fashion to the exit.
Yeah, like that will work.
Beware of Stampedes
The possibility of a stampede for the exits on the Shanghai exchange starting a wave of fear that spreads around the globe scares me. And the very real possibility that the Beijing government will make a mistake and crash the Chinese stock market scares me.
Any explanation starts with China's massive 40% savings rate. There simply aren't very many places where the average Chinese citizen can put that money.
Real estate has been a popular choice recently, but the government has cracked down on speculators in that sector. Most Chinese can't invest abroad. And banks don't pay much in interest.
The Chinese government recently raised the interest rate that a bank can pay on a one-year deposit to 3.06%, a jump of 0.27 percentage points from the prior rate. Inflation in China is running at about 3%, officially. And since bank interest is taxable, the return on a one-year bank deposit is actually negative.
Everybody's Doing It
There are now 100 million brokerage accounts in China. Sixteen million of those were opened in just the first four months of 2007.
Trading volumes have soared. In April, trading volume on the Shanghai exchange was twice as high as in January 2007, and in the first four months of this year, volume has been seven times higher than volume in the first four months of 2006. On May 16, trading volume in Shanghai exceeded the trading volume on all other Asian markets -- including Tokyo -- combined. There are no signs the Chinese stock market is slowing down.
What seemed astonishing when brokerage companies in China opened 300,000 accounts in a day seemed old hat when a few days later brokerages reported opening 550,000 accounts in a day. The press in China is full of stories of average citizens who have doubled their money. The Chongqing Morning Post recently featured a 60-year-old cleaning woman who had doubled her 20,000 yuan (or about $2,800) nest egg in two months. "At a time like this," the paper quoted her as saying, "who can lose money?"
The central government in Beijing isn't happy about this. Officials have tried talking the market down, without success. Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochu was quoted expressing "concern" in the People's Daily, and no one blinked. Interest rate increases haven't slowed the river of cash flooding into stocks. Leaks that say the government is studying raising the tax on capital gains haven't worked either.
In a surprising move, the Chinese government announced May 30 that it would raise taxes on stock trades, but many believe the change will have limited impact.
The stock market boom has made many Chinese investors richer, and that has led to a surge in buying: In effect, the recent acceleration of the Chinese economy to a better-than-11% growth rate has been fueled by the stock bubble. Taking away this stimulus will slow economic growth, though no one knows by how much.
The bigger danger, though, is the amount of debt racked up by individuals, companies and even government agencies in their frenzy to get a piece of the Shanghai action. It's hard to get any real figures on the use of debt to buy stocks, but what we do know is worrying.
Common are anecdotes like that of Xiao Feng, reported in the Nanjing newspapers, who borrowed against his three apartments and two cars to buy stocks. In Shenzhen, newspaper editor Qi Xiaotong put her family home up for collateral for a loan of 1.3 million yuan (about $175,000) that she then used to buy stocks. "I don't think there is any risk at all, because I have already doubled my money," she told The Guardian.
In mid-May, the Shanghai Municipal Housing Maintenance Funds Management agency, which cleans drains and repairs elevators in city apartment buildings, was revealed to have put about $103 million into the Shanghai stock market -- in spite of a ban on such investments. Estimates put the total stock market investment by army and police units, local governments and state-owned companies at $125 billion.
Party Leery of Ending Party
The government could bring the Shanghai market to its knees by raising interest rates on bank accounts -- thus diminishing that cash flow -- and increasing capital gains taxes at any time of its choosing. So why hasn't the government moved to snuff out at least some of this speculation?
Because moving in anything other than baby steps could unleash a storm of social unrest in China. The kind of wealth created by the stock market boom is pretty much all that legitimizes Communist Party rule these days. The social contract in China now runs along these lines: Give us rising incomes, more things like those people have in the developed economies and a reasonable degree of stability, and we'll let you run the country. If the Communist Party can't deliver its part of the bargain, however, no one knows how much force it would have to apply to ensure its continued hold on power.
The cynics trading on the reluctance of the Beijing government to rock the boat before the Olympics in August 2008 are absolutely correct. The games are a huge prestige event for China's rulers, and they very much want to avoid anything that might increase the odds of embarrassing demonstrations in front of an international television audience numbering in the billions.
But after that? All bets are off. I'd expect to see further increases in interest rates and further loosening of limits on overseas investment by Chinese citizens. The model is the [[Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualified_Domestic_Institutional_Investor]] plan launched in Hong Kong last June. It hasn't been very popular, because the returns from investing in China have so far outstripped returns from overseas markets that most Chinese investors don't see the point.
At best, the effect of all of this will be a gradual slowing of the gains on the Shanghai exchange early in 2008 as investors move to the sidelines in an orderly fashion in anticipation of the post-Olympics changes. At worst, we'll see a mad rush for an exit at a completely unpredictable point in time ahead of the games as some rumor panics investors into selling all at once. Remember, Chinese investors expect Beijing to act. They're already trying to time their exit.
A 1987-style crash in the Shanghai stock market would be a disaster for individual Chinese investors. Some would see their entire stock market wealth disappear overnight. Some would see their entire stock wealth and their homes vanish in a single rush. The Chinese economy would be knocked for a loop.
The Chinese government has the financial reserves to restore confidence in the stock market and the economy in quick order, just as the U.S. Federal Reserve did after the October 1987 crash in the U.S. I'd expect economic growth in China to rebound relatively quickly. Still, I worry that such an event would produce a surge in social unrest as the losers in the crash demand redress. The level of domestic protest -- and the amount of routine violence employed to quash it -- has been steadily on the rise in China in the past few years.
The World Won't End
And the effect on other markets? Limited, I think, after an initial empathetic panic. Because China's financial markets remain relatively closed to most foreign investors, only a relatively few big overseas financial institutions would take much of a hit.
If the Chinese government indeed doesn't act until September 2008, the bubble will be even more overinflated when it does. If the crash doesn't come until late in 2008, that's another 15 months for U.S. financial institutions to deepen their involvement in the Chinese financial markets.
In short, I don't believe a Shanghai stock-market crash, as bad as it would be, is the kind of end-of-the-financial-world-as-we-know-it event that the doomsayers are calling for.
But I'm sure keeping my eye on China and its bubble.
Let's start with a bit of generic advice: Be careful about what you hear at free workshops. Are they all suspect? Of course not. You may pick up some great motivation, business tips, or life lessons.
By Karen E. Klein Tue Aug 21, 8:08 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20070821/bs_bw/aug2007sb20070820962786;_ylt=Al3iog5VXeW3s3Kd.blcalwE1vAI
"I attended a free workshop sponsored by a company that teaches people how to open real estate investment companies. They're asking for $7,500 in exchange for mentoring me in this business. I checked with the real estate commission and they were unfamiliar with the company, but the Better Business Bureau listed no complaints against them. Is this a legitimate business opportunity? " - T.G.M., Warminster, Pa.
Unfortunately, however, the free workshop - often held at a large hotel near an airport - is the venue of choice for far too many hucksters, scam artists, and fraudulent individuals who target would-be entrepreneurs with dreams in their hearts and a bit of cash in their bank accounts.
Think about it: The workshop leader has gone to considerable expense to book space, prepare materials, provide refreshments, and market the event. Why? Out of the goodness of his heart? Possibly, but not very likely. More often, the seminar is a way for the leader to ensure a captive audience will listen to a hard-charging, high-pressure sales pitch for an "exciting business opportunity." Typically, the message is enticing but gives away no details: For that, you must purchase the expensive DVD set, book series, or consulting services that you don't really need or could get cheaper elsewhere.
Randall Hoth, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau, has often seen people persuaded to make unwise decisions after attending seminars that overpromise and underdeliver. "It is the BBB's experience that many consumers feel that the income potential described in these free seminars is often overstated," he says.
Get It in Writing
Do some independent research about real estate investment, and consider the timing. With the real estate market in serious upheaval at the moment, many seasoned professionals are hunkering down and hoping to ride out the storm. This may not be a good time for a novice to jump into the market! There are many good books and Web sites devoted to real estate and investment, so get lots of different opinions. After you learn more, if you're still interested in being mentored by the company that put on the seminar, go back and ask to have validated any income promises that were made to you. If the company told you that its previous clients are making a certain amount annually, get at least a dozen names and numbers and talk to them about their experiences and whether they think the mentoring they received was worth the money.
"Do not succumb to any high-pressure sales tactics, especially to give your credit-card number," Hoth says. "A reputable company would allow you to think it over before asking you to spend such a large amount of money." Also, he says, ask for a contract in advance and take it home for review by yourself and your attorney. "The contract should describe in detail what is meant by mentoring and also include information about refund or cancellation policies," Hoth notes.
You were right to check with the [[Better Business Bureau|http://www.bbb.org ]], for any past experience on the company, he says. But if there is no information available on a company through the BBB, you should keep checking other regulatory agencies until you can verify that the company is in good standing in some community, somewhere. For more information about avoiding scams, and practical business tips, check the BBB Web site.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Bloggers were up in arms on Wednesday over China's decision at the Olympic opening ceremony to have a pretty little girl lip-synching for the real singer who had crooked teeth.
By Paul Majendie
Wed Aug 13, 9:50 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080813/wr_nm/olympics_ceremony_criticism_dc_1
Many said they felt cheated because one of the most touching moments of the critically acclaimed ceremony was not the real deal. "Frankly, I think that's disgusting. Honestly, they're seven and nine years old! So young!" one New York teenage girl wrote angrily in her blog.
Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke was praised for her cute performance but organizers admitted on Wednesday that she was a photogenic stand-in for the real singer, Yang Peiyi, who was rejected because of her appearance. "I find it sad that they ruined an otherwise pretty awesome ceremony with those fakes," another blog argued.
"So forget Beijing 2008. Best opening ceremony so far is still SYDNEY 2000! They didn't see it necessary to use computer generated images to impress the world."
"Apparently, the little girl whose voice was used, Yang Peiyi, wasn't cute enough. It was deemed bad for China's image to show a little girl with crooked teeth," one complained. According to Chinese news [[reports|http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7556058.stm]], Yang said she did not regret the decision, saying she was satisfied to have had her voice featured in the opening ceremony.
Bloggers accepted that practice but one commented "Something about passing over a child for crooked teeth just seems, well, wrong." They accused the Chinese authorities of being control freaks.
"China wants the Olympics as a stage to present a picture-perfect image to the outside world and perfection was clearly the goal for the dazzling opening ceremonies," one wrote.
Accusations of hypocrisy were also leveled at Beijing. "Eager to put on a perfect Olympics, Beijing has swept its streets of fake designer handbags, pirated DVDs and phony corporate logos. That dedication to authenticity apparently does not extend to Olympics ceremonies," said another blogger.
But the organizers were unrepentant. Beijing Games spokesman Wang Wei said: "The song was pre-recorded ... The artistic directors just picked the best voice and the best performer."
Brooks only spends two hours at most each day on [[MidtownLunch.com|http://www.midtownlunch.com]]. But the blog affects his life in other ways.
Casual Blogging Not Just Lunch Money Now
By Candice Choi, Associated Press Writer Tuesday December 25, 1:17 pm ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071225/business_of_life.html?.v=1
Little technical skill is needed to publish a well-read blog, meaning just about anyone with something worthwhile to say can find an audience, said Kim Malone Scott, director of online sales and operations for Google's [[AdSense|http://www.google.com/adsense]]. That's attracted greater readership and advertising dollars, she said.
Brooks pocketed $1,000 this month blogging about the cheap lunches he discovers around midtown Manhattan ($10 or less, preferably greasy, and if he's lucky, served from a truck).
That doesn't mean bloggers are suddenly flush with money. For every blogger earning a decent side income like Brooks, countless others will never earn a cent. But with the right mix of compelling content and exposure, a blog can draw a dedicated following, making advertising a low-hanging fruit.
"This is really a continuation of how the Web in general has enabled smaller businesses and individuals to compete if not at a level playing field, at least a more equitable level," said David Hallerman, a senior analyst with the research group eMarketer.
Google's AdSense is an automated program that places targeted advertising on sites big and small. Other programs such as PayPerPost are just as user friendly; bloggers sign up and advertisers cherry pick where they want to place ads based on categories and the number of impressions a site captures.
Following were books recently read or printed from the web. Most of my books were in english, I am trying to provide reviews and links for these books. This is not a solicitation for buying any of these books.
[[Who Owns the Moon? ]]
[[Understanding Fibonacci Numbers]]
[[An essay on Built to Last]]
[[Jim Collins on Way from good to great Company]]
[[The three musketeers]]
[[Asian Eclipse book review]]
[[A Year Without "Made in China"]]
[[Philip Kotler's influence in Asia]]
[[Just Say No to Microsoft]]
[[Who moved my cheese]]
[[The Software Conspiracy]]
[[Linux for Windows Administrators]]
[[Understanding Stocks]]
[[How would you move mount Fuji?]]
[[One Up on Wall Street]]
Being wealthy is the top answer when we ask people about their future life goals. Many people believe that money isn't everything, but it sure does make life easier.
By Johnny Djohari - financial services practitioner
Jakarta Post Supplement - August 07, 2006
The problem is, however, that become a wealthy person is not always easy. But the good news is, as many experts often say, being wealthy is not a mystery. It can be planned and created. It's all about personal creativity.
Most people define wealthy people as those who have a lot of money. These opinions are imprecise. Truly wealthy people are wealthy in all areas of life. They do not attempt to gain wealth by only obtaining a lot of money. This includes having excellent relationships, a career or a venture that you love, and knowing how to manage your finances or being financially literate.
The basic concept
There are many different reasons why people fail miserably when it comes to creating wealth. According to some personal finance experts, there are basic steps that you can follow to start on the road to wealth. First, you need to develop and maintain the right mind set about life. This includes always thinking positively about life and especially about the obtainment of success. You need to think positive thoughts every time that are geared toward success and not failure.
Second, you need to plan for your future. Spend the time to write down your goals and the activities necessary to achieve your goals. Then act on your planning. Third, you must develop excellent money habits. This means that you pay yourself first, and you learn to control your spending. If you want to retire comfortably then you need to develop excellent money habits that you follow every day.
Finally, you need to communicate with others. Let people know about your goals in life. Communicating with your spouse about your finances and personal life goals are very important. This will lead to a sense of collaboration by all people involved in your life. This will also keep your life goals alive in your heart and mind. By consistently following the four principles above you can start down the road to creating a truly wealthy lifestyle.
We all want to attain wealth. And we can all attain wealth. But not all of us will. Because it requires that you think outside the box. It needs creativity in money management. It requires that you treat your money differently than the way people typically do. How do people typically treat money? They spend the entirety of their paycheck on nothing that will make them more money. In order to get more money, they have to wait on the next paycheck. It's a never-ending cycle.
After comprehending the four basic concepts of wealth building above, another important thing is that we have to have wealth knowledge. That is how wealth is created, how wealth is accumulated, how wealth is protected and how wealth is distributed. It then takes us to developing good habits in building personal wealth. Wealth is the experience of having significantly more assets than liabilities. And the formula for building wealth is to build more assets than liabilities. Developing good habits and wealth knowledge is the key to successful personal wealth building.
I used to stroll down the streets in Singapore when common dish served for around S$ 2.5-3.0 compared to the same meal sold in Indonesia.
Burgernomics is the term devised by [[The Economist|http://www.economist.com/markets/Bigmac/]] to describe difference prices of Big Mac across several regions compared to the exchange rates of respective countries. For example how much is the price of Big Mac is the US compared to the same in Mexico?
Well, assume the price of a Big Mac in the U.S. is $3, and the price of a Big Mac in Mexico is 60 pesos. So using the currency conversion of the Big Mac price in US, then the price of Big Mac should be pesos 45 instead of selling of pesos 60 each in Mexico. And we say that the peso is overvalued against the US dollar by 33% (or the dollar is undervalued against the peso by 25%).
Here comes the term [[Purchasing power parity|http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/ppp.asp]] (PPP) that states, the price of one good in a country is equal to its price in another country, after adjusting for the exchange rate between the two countries. Comparing actual exchange rates with ~PPPs indicates whether a currency is under- or overvalued.
This relationship often does not hold in reality because of several confounding factors. However, over a period of years, when prices are adjusted for inflation, relative PPP has been seen to hold for some currencies.
For instance, the [[Big Mac index|http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/apr/burgernomics/]] (2002) shows that an Argentine Big Mac costs a mere 78 cents, compared to a Swiss Big Mac at $3.81. Comparing these price differences with exchange rates, The burgernomics derives that Argentina's struggling peso is the world's most undervalued currency, while the Swiss franc ranks as the most overvalued.
[[In Asia|http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14036918&mode=comment&intent=readBottom]], a Big Mac costs 12.5 yuan in China, which is $1.83 at today’s exchange rate, around half its price in America. Other Asian currencies, such as the Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht, look similarly undervalued. Businesses based in continental Europe have most to be cheesed off about. The Swiss franc remains one of the world’s dearest currencies. The euro is almost 30% overvalued on the burger gauge. Denmark and Sweden look even less competitive.
Care is needed when drawing quick conclusions from fast-food prices. The cost of a burger depends heavily on local inputs, such as rent and wages, which are not easily arbitraged across borders and tend to be lower in poorer countries. So PPP gauges are better guides to misalignments between countries with similar incomes.
The Economist seeks to make exchange-rate theory more //digestible// by maintaining what it calls the Big Mac Index. That index uses the price of a Big Mac hamburger, a fast-food staple available in about 120 countries, to measure and compare purchasing power around the globe.
Editor Woodall acknowledges that Big Mac index is vulnerable to criticism from traditional economists for ignoring price distortions caused by variables such as taxes, profit margins or the cost of non-tradable goods and services. Noting that in Argentina, the price of a hamburger can be affected by low wages and a plentiful supply of beef.
"The Big Mac index is actually a good predictor over time," she says, "If more investors believed in our index, they'd be a lot richer today."
//Would you compare the same price of durian in Malaysian ringgit or in Thailand Baht?//
Further reference,
http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande247s/bigmac.html
http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml
Google stock closes at $707 amid growing enthusiasm about the company's foray into new markets. Google Inc.'s stock price barreled through $700 for the first time Wednesday Oct 31st, propelled by a belief that the Internet search leader will become even more profitable as it plants its products and services in new markets.
The Mountain View-based company's shares gained $12.23 to finish at a new peak of $707. It took less than a month for the stock to leap from $600 to $700, building upon a fervor that has lifted Google's market value by 34 percent since mid-September.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/01/technology/google_stock.ap/index.htm?
During that 6-1/2 week stretch, Google has created an additional $55 billion in shareholder wealth. That dwarfs the total $42 billion market value of another Internet icon, Yahoo Inc. which had a 4-year head start on Google.
Through the first 10 months of this year, Google's stock has risen by 54 percent from 2006's closing price of $460.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, which includes Google, has gained 9 percent during the same period.
The latest surge came after Google confirmed plans to become a bigger player in the Internet's social networking scene, which could morph into an advertising hotbed. Investors also seem enthused about reports that the company is about to unveil a long-rumored operating system designed for mobile phones so it can make more money by distributing ads to people on the go.
The recent rally has made Google Silicon Valley's most valuable publicly held company, supplanting Internet networking supplier Cisco Systems Inc. With a market value of nearly $220 billion, Google also is now worth more a long list of more-established businesses, including Warren Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. whose steadfast refusal to split its stock during the past four decades has left its Class A shares at $132,500.
The philosophy has generated impressive returns so far. A $10,000 investment in Google's stock at its August 2004 initial public offering price of $85 would now be worth about $83,000.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who regard Buffett as an inspiration, have resisted requests to split their company's stock so more people could afford to buy a few shares. Their theory: a high stock price tends to attract more patient and knowledgeable investors who pay closer attention to a company's long-term strategy than its ability to hit short-term earnings targets.
Brin and Page, both 34, have been the biggest winners by far, with estimated fortunes exceeding $20 billion apiece. At least two other Google executives, Chairman Eric Schmidt and sales chief Omid Kordestani, are billionaires while hundreds of other employees have become millionaires because of their stock holdings in the 9-year-old company.
Wall Street is betting Google is still in its financial infancy, even though it's already on track for a profit of about $5 billion this year on more than $15 billion in revenue. Analysts are now trying to figure out just high Google's stock might rise in 2008. The average 12-month price target for the shares had stood at $739.23 among analysts polled by Thomson Financial, but that figure seems likely to rise in the next few days. Dinosaur Securities analyst David Garrity on Wednesday issued a bullish report predicting Google's stock will climb to $985 during the next year.
Google has made virtually all of its money so far by displaying text-based advertising links alongside search results and other Web content that includes topics related to the commercial message. During the past year, Google has introduced new online advertising channels featuring video, graphics and other more compelling features while also extending its marketing machine into television, radio and print.
Now, Google appears intent on shaking up the telecommunications industry by introducing inexpensive cell phones that will make it easier for people to use Google's search engine, maps, e-mail and other applications even when they don't have access to a personal computer. If it pans out, the new Google phone presumably will give the company a chance to sell more mobile advertising and further boost its profits.
Google's relentless expansion beyond its core search engine underscores management's determination to reshape the business landscape, according to author Stephen Arnold, who has just released a 266-page study analyzing the company's patents and what they may portend for the future.
"I use the term 'Googzilla' to describe the current incarnation of Google," Arnold said. "This idea is that Googzilla is big, powerful, and indifferent to the insects and ants crushed by its massive paws."
[[Comments on Google share at $700]]
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In the month of December, we are bringing out a special issue to coincide with our 2nd i4d film festival being held at the GK3 event at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme will focus on "New Media for Development" .
For those who are unfamiliar with the magazine, it started as a bimonthly and became a monthly print magazine from January 2004. We have brought out thematic issues at http://www.i4donline.net/archive/archive.htm of the magazine focusing on Microfinance, Education, Health, Poverty, Gender, FOSS, e-Culture, e-Governance etc. SDC, UNDP India, HIVOS and UNESCO are some of the key partners in this initiative.
We are calling for articles which look at key issues such as community media, use of new media in development, web2.0 technologies in development, participatory culture etc.
Please restrict the articles to 1500-2000 words. Attach a passport size photograph of the author. Also send relevant images along with the articles in jpeg or tiff format in 300dpi or mail them to our postal address at CSDMS, G4, Sector 39, NOIDA, UP, INDIA.
New Media for Development Deadline - 15th October 2007
Email all articles to Sulakshana Bhattacharya at sulakshana@csdms. in
Virak Hor from Cambodia will be organizing a "Cambodian Bloggers Summit" at the end of August 30-31 2007 in Phnom Penh as new media and technology discussion forum for more than 100 bloggers, students, journalists and NGOs, as expected.
<html><a href="http://cloggersummit.wikispaces.com/">
<img src="http://cloggersummit.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/blogger_summit.gif" alt="blogger_summit.gif" /></a></html>
http://cloggersummit.wikispaces.com/
Background
Cloggers Team, is a group of young Cambodian bloggers who inspired by technologies in their everyday life. They have been working together on voluntary basis to conduct 14 workshops call “Personal Information Technology Workshop” at 14 different universities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap with total amount of participant more than 1700 students.
Each workshop has been conducted voluntary by the Cambodia Blogger Team aimed to share experiences between bloggers and participants (students), and make use of the technologies available over the Internet for their study, work and even their every life.
Especially, the workshop have also included an introduction to the new personal publishing platform – Blog or Web log, which has become a very popular and important tool on the Internet for individual sharing information.
The event
Build upon the success of the 14 Workshops, the Cloggers Team is organizing a summit called "Cambodian Blogger Summit (aka Cloggers Summit)" on this coming 30-31 August 2007, to bring together students that has been well adopting lessons from the workshop, professional Bloggers, writers, NGO workers, media, and tech gurus from within and outside Cambodia to be together to share and learn more from each others on various topics regarding to the Internet and new technologies including Open Source Softwares and Web2.0 that would make their study, work, digital life more easier.
And to celebrate the software freedom day, we finally agreed to add FOSS to the event and consider it as one of the event we could have for the SFD. We expect to have a great support on FOSS, since we so far have prepared only stuffs related to new media and communication technologies, esp more advance topics regarding to personal publishing – blogging. Please help us to add FOSS to our event.
http://cambodiabloggingsummit.wikispaces.com/
Every day en route to Surabaya's Chaos Central I'm accosted by a weird collection of highway hustlers ambushing motorists at traffic lights.
Can newspapers survive cathode rays and the net?
Features - August 20, 2006 by Duncan Graham
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060820.@02
Included in the lineup of windscreen dusters, furry toy sellers (and sellers of furry toys), bare-breasted beggars suckling gooey infants and ghouls in ape masks (just the thing for the office boss) are paperboys. Some go to extremes in a bid to flog the news. During the World Cup a few painted their torsos in what seemed to be an attempt to replicate national flags.
Even veteran drivers in the East Java capital, hardened to bizarre sights at intersections, were moved to double-check their door locks. But apart from shock and awe these garish gents sweating rainbows didn't seem to be scoring any extra sales.
No wonder. Who wants to read results when we've heard them already on the radio and seen the action on breakfast TV? No need to stay up all night -- highlights were replayed while the coffee was brewing and the rice steaming. Moving pictures beat static photos almost every time.
This is the challenge facing papers around the world: How can we compete against the instant news reports of the 21st century electronic media? Who didn't know Nadine wasn't Miss Universe long before dawn?
Despite on-screen layouts and high-speed presses, papers still have to be distributed using wheels and wings. The result seems foregone: TV and Internet 1, Newspapers 0. Yet any newspaper obituary is likely to be like the first reports of Mark Twain's passing - greatly exaggerated.
The long predicted birth of the paper-free office is still in gestation. Many believe it has yet to be conceived. We're still culturally wedded to A4 and don't trust the screen sirens.
On a flat sheet of paper it's real. On a flat screen it's not. Computers crash. Power failures send data into some gigabyte graveyard. Viruses duplicate and devour. If the Dead Sea scrolls had been stored on a hard drive there'd be one less world religion.
Newspapers feel comfortable and useful. Try lining the kitty-litter tray or wrapping the rubbish with a CD. For an outsider, seeking to make sense of the Indonesian newspaper industry is like trying to understand the Javanese: Difficult beyond reason.
When Soeharto controlled the media there were less than 300 licensed newspapers and magazines. When liberated by his successors the number jumped to more than 2,000. It has now slumped to around 830.
Yet investors still lust to be tycoons of type. Clearly many will go belly-up, so the motive must be ego enhancement. Who doesn't want a name card with the title Publisher?
There are even rumors of a rival to this publication. This assumes someone either has pockets deeper than a Lapindo bore or has detected a reserve of credible companies desperate to advertise but who haven't found anyone wanting to take their money.
When I started journalism in Australia, afternoon papers were an essential take-home commodity. Now almost all have gone, alleged victims of TV. Like exotic creatures they still exist in isolated pockets in Indonesia, but looking at the arid contents and an environment clear-felled of ads they'll soon be extinct.
Elsewhere newspaper circulations are audited. Seldom here, so any figure on copies sold has to be treated with much skepticism. Although seeing someone actually buy a paper is a rare event in Surabaya the custom of pinning pages of a daily on a wall on Jl. Basuki Rachmat draws serious crowds.
So maybe it's not true that Indonesians are indifferent readers - they're just not prepared to pay Rp 3,000 (33 US cents) for stale news when that money will buy a bowl of fresh meatballs. Publishers serious about helping raise education levels and expand knowledge should consider giving away their papers. Most profit comes from selling space. Retailing costs make margins minuscule.
In Perth, Western Australia, local newspapers have become phenomenally successful by distributing copies free. The journalism is credible and pages are thick with ads. If tried in Surabaya we'd all be winding down the car windows and getting a copy. The paperboys could retain their shirts and dignity. Literacy might flourish -- and more forests would fall to feed the pulp mills.
Indonesia is a vast country with many islands and population of about 224 millions people with diverse ethnicities along the country.
In major and minor cities of Indonesia there are 56kbps analog modems from wired telephone lines. The least is using dial-up connection from main telecom operator covering tens of millions existing wired telephone lines.
Indonesia has also wireless access in main islands and major cities. Wireless operators have grown very fast in our countries. Those are indeed cellular operators that provide also internet access. There are as much as 120 millions cellular subscribes in our country.
There are also other type of connections like ADSL, and GPRS, 3G, HSDPA from cellular companies, also still dial-up access from telco (wired and wireless). There must also be some dedicated lines like VSAT avail in Indonesia. We have at least seven telecom operators in Indonesia: Telkom, Indosat, Exelcom, Hutchison, Maxis, Bakrie Telecom and Mobile-8 are the main brands.
[img[Competing cellular operators|blog/cell_11942.jpg]]
For prices of internet access, the situation in Indonesia is most likely the same as is in Cambodia. Internet access prices range from 20 to 400 US$ monthly for personal usage or corporate offices, the latter is for internet cafés with up to 30 PCs. Offices usually get their own dedicated lines.
Personal usage can be as high as 20 US$, however we still have lack of supports and downtimes that tends to corrupt the services, it means actually we pay more than we ought to get. I was just being offered 280 US$ for 384/64kBPS down- and up- ADSL link per month and another 90 US$ for installation cost.
On the user side, mostly believe that internet cost in Indonesia is higher in comparison with own incomes or if to compare to other countries that could provide a 24hours internet access such as ADSL for as low as 20 US$ monthly.
On the business side, a lot of wifi connection is nowadays being offered free, especially in hotels, malls and cafés. So wifi companies can not offer for much to personal or private users and offices as they have to compete with major telecom operators. I would presume they would cease anyway because they have to depreciate their investments too quick, of higher operating cost and due to the higher cost of bandwidth. //I just have to figure out how bandwidth could be the culprit of high internet cost in Indonesia.//
In April 2008, the ministry of communication and information issued a new regulation to lower the interconnection tariff between those telecom operators and therefore will result in a lower charge for the end-users. In anticipation of this regulation, telecom operators have begun aggressive marketing in order to compete to each other by lowering tariff as much as 40% in gradual steps.
My opinion, the regulation was issued to create a base of lowest possible tariff or the so-called the rock bottom price that operators can still survive. This regulation will push telecom operators to lower tariff for internet access as the result of lower communication tariff. //My hope, lowering tariff does not mean to lower their services.//
Bill Gates, the world's richest man met Warren Buffet for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with him, so he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
On June 26, 2006, U.S. investor Warren Buffett announced he would start giving his Berkshire Hathaway fortune to philanthropic causes. The links below provide more information about his pledge and the hope and resources it will bring for improving the lives of people around the world.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/AnnualReports/annualreport06/AR2006WBintro.html
Either in response to that call or through his own initiative, Microsoft's Bill Gates established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999 with an initial endowment of $16 billion. It represents a significant up-scaling of the William Gates Foundation established in 1994 with an endowment of only $94 million. In 2005, the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was valued at $29.2 billion.
From 1995 to 2005, it cumulatively provided grants focusing on global health, including research into HiV/AIDS vaccine, valued at $10.2 billion. Bill Gates has announced that he has been phasing out from his responsibilities at Microsoft so that by 2008 he would be devoting full time attention to his foundation. Indeed, the richest person on earth is transitioning from the biggest earner to a full time spender.
[[History but history that counts]]
Chien Tan Overseas Youth Activity Center is a comprehensive convention center in a large and quiet landscape garden by Keelung River and Chien Tan Peak in a scenic and busy area of central north Taipei. There are three connected buildings: a 10-story residential building facing the large lawn with views of Keelung River and Chien Tan Peak, an education center by Chien Tan Pond, and a convention building in between housing the Grand Hall.
CTOYAC is ~400 meters (~5 minutes of walking) from the Jiantan subway/metro station. It is also easily reached from Sun Yat-sen Freeway, which leads straightly to Taipei CKS International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
The renowned Shilin Market, where numerous delicious Taiwanese food is prepared in the traditional way, is right outside of the Jiantan metro station. The Grand Hotel, built in a Chinese palace style on Chien Tan Peak and a major landmark of Taipei, faces CTOYAC from the other side of the avenue. Radio Taiwan International, American Club in China, and Martyr's Shrine are also in close vicinity to CTOYAC.
It is true the current policy-speak focuses on the approaches in cutting carbon emissions (known as mitigation) and in adjusting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change (known as adaptation).
[[Climate engineering: Cheap solutions not necessarily the best|http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/01/climate-engineering-cheap-solutions-not-necessarily-best.html]]
Fika Fawzia , Jakarta | Thu, 10/01/2009 11:31 AM | Opinion
However, reintroduced lately is another option, climate engineering or geo-engineering, which means "deliberately manipulating physical, chemical, or biological aspects of the Earth's system" as explained by the American Meteorological Society.
In other words, climate engineering means humans will try to tweak the Earth's reflectivity (known as the albedo) by reflecting the Earth's heat from the sun back into space.
If we manage to increase the Earth's albedo, it offers the most promising method of rapidly cooling the planet. However, climate engineering is not without flaws.
There are risks associated with climate engineering. According to the New Scientist, if we try stratospheric aerosol insertion, which is essentially launching material like sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to reflect the sun's rays, there is a risk of ozone depletion.
If we try to command "cloud ships", which spray seawater mist into the air to thicken the earth's clouds, there are only patchy chances of success, and both cloud ships and aerosol insertion will not prevent ocean acidification, which is caused by the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
For an archipelagic country like Indonesia, whose people depend on coral reefs and the marine ecosystem and food web for their livelihood, ocean acidification would be a catastrophe.
This brings us to the next argument: Climate engineering might distract the public and policy makers from the carbon emission reduction goal.
It was true the effects of sulfur dioxide from the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 led to a decrease in global temperatures by about 0.5 degrees C until 1993, but it was only temporary (USGS, 2005).
Altering the earth's albedo would also cause negative effects, such an increasing the risk of major droughts in some regions, and have a major impact on agriculture and the supply of fresh water, due to its effects on atmospheric circulation, rainfall, and other aspects of the hydrologic cycle.
Therefore, conventional approaches of climate change adaptation and mitigation should continue, especially efforts to balance the trade-off between the need for development and minimizing the impacts of climate change.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for example, is in the process of formulating a regional multi-sectoral strategy on climate change adaptation and mitigation with food security.
Southeast Asia contributes 12 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions, 75 percent of which originates from the land use and forestry sector (FAO, 2005). Agriculture and forestry in the ASEAN region, therefore, offer options to link both adaptation and mitigation measures.
If a country decides to pursue unilateral acts of climate engineering, which triggers drought somewhere else, it could create international conflicts.
If we are seriously considering the climate engineering option, we would indeed need an international regulation governing mankind's quest to manipulate the Earth's system.
It is not that we should abandon the climate engineering option right away, but it is to examine it further and provide better research on what would be the benefits and consequences of climate engineering, and to elaborate on what would be its boundaries since no international norms and rules govern it as yet.
The writer is the REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) program officer for the ~ASEAN-German Regional Forest Program. The views expressed here are her own.
You my have heard of Grid Computing, but have you heard of Cloud Computing? Unless you have been too busy tracking the ups and downs of your stock prices, you must have read about it.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/17/cloud-computing-next-wave-application-use.html
Grid Computing is certainly different from [[Cloud Computing|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Computing]]. Like the utility grid that brings electricity to our houses, the computers in a Grid make contributions to a joint computing effort by providing their unused computing resources, especially when they are idle. The result is an aggregate of computing power that can be used to work on extremely complex mathematical computations, for example.
The term Cloud Computing is derived from the way people usually depict the Internet in a diagram: The cloud picture is used to hide the complexity of the Internet. We generally have no control over how the cloud operates, much like we have no control over the clouds that hang over Jakarta.
Cloud Computing signifies the next step in how we use applications. In the early days, all the software resided on our individual PCs. It might have been stored on a floppy diskette, a hard disk, or a CD-ROM.
The next wave was the client-server configuration. While some of the software still resided on client computers, the rest was stored on a server somewhere in a Local Area Network (LAN) that was installed in our companies.
Then we had the Software as a Service (SaaS) model of computing. This was made possible by the huge improvements in network infrastructure -- especially the Internet -- and the security of connection.
In the SaaS model, software is accessed only when needed. So, unlike the old model that required us to pay for a piece of software, whether we used it or not, we just had to pay for the software usage (like taking a taxi; you only pay based on how many miles the cab takes you). Because no or very little upfront investment is needed, the cost savings the SaaS model offered was very attractive to small- and medium-sized businesses.
Later on, we began to use resources that existed somewhere on the Internet. For example, files in our hard disks could be backed up to a place on the Web. So, we were then able to upload all our work onto the Internet and when traveling overseas, for example, we could access it via a different computer. In next to no time, other applications have emerged.
Today, the buzzword is Cloud Computing. International Data Corporation (IDC) defines it as "an emerging IT development, deployment, and delivery model, enabling real-time delivery of products, services, and solutions over the Internet".
IDC believes that Cloud Computing is gaining momentum. According to their press release dated Oct. 20, 2008; "in the next five years, *we expect* spending on IT cloud services to grow almost threefold, reaching US$42 billion by 2012."
Does Cloud Computing need a special operating system? Clearly, Microsoft thinks so. At the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference late last month, chief software architect Ray Ozzie unveiled Windows Azure, an extension of the Windows Vista and Windows Mobile for the Cloud.
Does this mean that Redmond is aiming to dominate Cloud Computing like it does with our desktops and notebook PCs? Most likely. However, other big players such as IBM, Amazon and Google are also competing for a space in the cloud.
At any rate, Cloud Computing is the next tier of computing where new opportunities present themselves. Everything is still a bit fuzzy, and the borders between Cloud Computing and SaaS are bound to remain blurry. However, an interesting aspect is the legal framework for offering services, products and solutions from the Cloud.
Perhaps this is another example of how slow-changing regulatory framework proves to be an obstacle as the industry moves to the next wave. -- Zatni Arbi
[[Cloud computing is a marketing trap]]
[[Cloud computing|Cloud Computing, the next wave in application use]] – where IT power is delivered over the internet as you need it, rather than drawn from a desktop computer – has gained currency in recent years. Large internet and technology companies including Google, Microsoft and Amazon are pushing forward their plans to deliver information and software over the net.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/sep/29/cloud.computing.richard.stallman
But Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the computer operating system GNU, said that cloud computing was simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that would cost them more and more over time.
"The concept of using web-based programs like Google's Gmail is worse than stupidity, it's a marketing hype campaign," he told The Guardian.
The 55-year-old New Yorker said that computer users should be keen to keep their information in their own hands, rather than hand it over to a third party.
"One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control," he said. "It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software."
Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, said "the interesting thing about cloud computing is that we've redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do."
"The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It's complete gibberish. It's insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?"
The growing number of people storing information on internet-accessible servers rather than on their own machines, has become a core part of the rise of Web 2.0 applications. Millions of people now upload personal data such as emails, photographs and, increasingly, their work, to sites owned by companies such as Google.
Computer manufacturer Dell recently even tried to trademark the term "cloud computing", although its application was refused.
But there has been growing concern that mainstream adoption of cloud computing could present a mixture of privacy and ownership issues, with users potentially being locked out of their own files.
//Open source software should be well documented in the first place. I found really well documented OSS and value the software based on whether it is well documented or not.//
[[Open source coexisting with proprietary software|http://www.zdnetasia.com/insight/specialreports/open-source/0,3800018440,62050910,00.htm]]
By Victoria Ho, ZDNet Asia
Thursday, February 12, 2009 04:19 PM
Daniel Ng, Red Hat's director of marketing, Asia-Pacific and Japan, said: //Companies can be 100 percent open source.// Ng cited JP Morgan Chase as an example of a company that has embraced open source technology-the financial services firm opened its internally-developed messaging technology to the open source community.
"Gain more by letting go so the community as a whole can benefit as the program will further evolve into a much better program than it was before," Ng said, referring to developers sharing code with the open source community.
Another benefit is cost savings, said Ng. Moving an enterprise's infrastructure to open source will reap savings of three to four times more than only moving the OS from Unix to the Linux platform, he said.
But Ridhi Sawhney, market analyst, ~Asia-Pacific software research, IDC ~Asia-Pacific, sees value in both types of software licenses. He said, "Proprietary software products are much better documented than open source because of the volunteer nature of open source software development", while the open source community imparts benefits to open source software (OSS) such as lower total cost of ownership and that bugs are discovered and patched in a shorter time, it is the "volunteer" nature of the community which also lends weakness to OSS.
"Open source lacks reliable source of assistance when problems are encountered in an open source product. Proprietary software products are also much better documented than open source because of the volunteer nature of open source software development," said Sawhney.
Compatibility with existing proprietary infrastructure may also pose a barrier for enterprises. Sawhney said: "Some proprietary software is not compatible with open source. The competitiveness of OSS depends on its compatibility with existing proprietary solutions-a crucial strength or weakness."
But Martin Schneider, director of product marketing for SugarCRM does not see compatibility as a technology issue. "The only issues that can arise from hybrid environments [of proprietary and open source software] concerns license compatibility. After all, code is code regardless of it being open source or not.
"IT managers need to know what projects and products they have in place, and insure they are interoperable from a license perspective."
Schneider said the [[General Public License version 3|http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62018520,00.htm]] is helping to address non-interoperability barriers that come about from multiple licenses being written for one product, known as license proliferation.
Regardless of licensing, companies should focus on ensuring standards exist, said Grant Smith, business unit lead for open platform solutions, Novell ~Asia-Pacific.This allows enterprises to switch between proprietary and OSS, depending on which product is more mature at a given time of deployment.
He said IT managers should ask questions such as: "Will it plug into the relevant directory services? Will it authenticate? Will the management console manage various flavors of software? Can data be transmitted across the relevant protocols? Do industry standard connectors and collectors exist? Is the vendor willing to put development effort into integrating with competing and complementing product lines?"
"For ~CIOs, cost [of a deployment] is a one-time value. But risk mitigation and reduction of complexity will effect the entire project cycle, and ~CIOs are all very sensitive to these areas," he said.
I'd like to comment about our track sessions that we have had on [[AS2]] camp, I'm putting here for reporting before it is too late and forgotten.
//Track2 is about "Alternative hardware and access".//
Track sessions run from 9.30 until 13.00 which is about three hours and a half with coffee break in between. My comment (from my own experience in training), it is best to divide each session into theory and practical parts. So it will be like this,
09.30 Opening intro or review previous day (15 minutes)
09.45 Theory part (90 minutes)
11.15 Coffee break (15 minutes)
11.30 Practical part (90 minutes)
13.00 End - lunch time
Opening intro is for the first day only describing the agenda for seven-or-eight days to go (without the outing day). Reviewing previous day learning is helpful to recover yesterday's memories and starts a new intro for today's session.
First part of the session should be devoted only for theory. It should be noted that the participants came from different background. It is best to put them in class to get them engaged with the same knowledge (at this phase, do not ask for personal introduction since they need to get acquainted for some time, please do this in the second part of the session whenever necessary).
[img[Track 2 members|blog/outing1.jpg]]
I also notice they have pre-requisite in linux or FOSS. I don't know if this is a requirement for participants to know this beforehand. A bit intro on GNU/Linux and differences on linux distros are best if explained as reminders. I have used Mandrake (now Mandriva) in my office, not Fedora/Red Hat or Ubuntu. And how many distro CDs are required or avail for distribution.
When we have finished the theory part then we can go for practical or hands-on part after the break. Learning theory is like reading a book but not alone.
In the practical part, we can put them in sub-groups on case studies about the theory part just learned, also to allow them to present in front of the class. There will be 90 minutes, so we can have five-to-six cases of 15 minutes each.
It is good to have each participant got the chance to do presentation of what they know or have learned from their own experience and for testing before going for the so-called afternoon sessions. Is this the camp really wanted?
The practical part is also for hands-on or outdoor training such as mounting antenna, gps measuring, but only when they have finished the theory part; not the whole session for practice. The question, will 90 minutes be enough for this part? Well we can do it in the after lunch, the labs is open anyway when time is not enough.
Most participants are not workers, some are decision makers. More information on 'how to' theory is better than to have practical hands on. I don't need to climb a tower even I use to climb up to the roof, or soldering, or crimping, or making an FM transmitter which take time (I remember that I built an AM radio using vacuum tube back in my early days, for days).
[img[On soldering|blog/image004s.jpg]]
Showing the tools is OK but I don't think that we spent our precious time on soldering or crimping. Best to show how-to make a UTP connection, cable coloring, tips-tricks, or making the POE. For my opinion, the FM transmitter should be taken off the list and the radio theory can go with the wireless. In practice it is strongly suggested that we will do it by the book and not by guessing or just plug and pray, so theory matters.
Questionnaire for specific track should be prepared in advance and given at the end (on the last day), giving them sometime to fill-in, I assume putting this on the white board and action plans.
I come to the last part. From the beginning, we need to have some goals from this track sessions which is to put something on CD. So there will be daily assignments such as wiki, blogging, reporting and at the end-of-day for each session to discuss what will be the products on CD (as companion supporting resource). Some materials on track 2 CD were not mentioned in the class.
I hope this is good for improving the track sessions for replication in the future.
It's true about taking the whole kampung on the flight:)
One of the concerns about flights becoming a mode of transportation that's getting affordable means that more and more fuel is being burnt for our travel. A whole debate is ongoing with the manufacturers and the governments about what can be done to reduce the adverse impact of the burning of fuel by planes. I guess we'll just take the ferry across Malaysia-Indonesia to visit each other:)
Gayathry, Malaysia
//I only concern about environmental effects because more fuel will be burnt. However as a modern aircraft it should be designed with better fuel consumption than its predecessor (how could it be). For example a later car models are more ecological. We have to ground the old ones. (My other solution is to plant more trees when it is possible to support the flights of Airbuses).
I admire it because it is the biggest airborne carrier ever built by human. I don't know if the Zeppelin has bigger capacity or the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be.//
AB380 would be much more fuel & environmentally efficient if used to full capacity (ca. 800 pax), but airlines have chosen to use the extra payload for extra confort, esp in the 'premium' classes. Zeppelin had a much lower payload - but then its footprint was even smaller. Attempts to revive this mode of transport have failed up to now - and not for want of trying.
Dreamliner is smaller than AB380 - it's one of its selling point.
Patrice Riemens - NL
The in-flight entertainment system of the A380 for Singapore Airlines runs Linux on every seat,
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/082207-worldbeat-singapore-airlines-puts-a.html?netht=082207dailynews2
Quite a few airlines adopt Linux-based solutions for the in-flight entertainment system of their planes.
Simos - Greece
Lets put it into even more logical terms for the illogical people who dont know how to count. Google will only make about 4.5 billion this year in profits.
If I wanted to buy google, I would have to pay now about 220 BILLION. So if I borrow 220 Billion, even with all the wonderful profits that I could make, I would never be able to pay the interest off that 220 billion. I would go bankrupt. You know that any company that could never afford to buy itself and even make the interest payments off all the money it makes is way overpriced.
But who cares about math and logic. If Google is rational at $700 a share, then its no more irrational to have it at $5000 a share. Hell why not put it to $100000 a share. America is doomed because we have a bunch of morons that simply don’t know how to count.
I challenge anyone based on math alone to justify google above $350 a share. Analysts and investers lie but math does not lie. Numbers tell the truth. The only reason this stock is this high is people are just riding the gravy train as it goes up. Not that the company is really worth 220 billion.
Posted By russ lehi utah : October 31, 2007 9:50 pm
[[Is Google cheap at $600 per share? ]]
Intel has a Classmate PC portal. The Classmate is part of Intel's [[World Ahead Program|http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/index.htm]]. This says the Classmate can run either Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office or Mandriva Discovery 2007 (Linux) and OpenOffice, so I'd assume the cheapest systems have Mandriva.
This isn't a Microsoft project, but the Classmate was sourcing its Microsoft software cheaply under the Microsoft Partners in Learning Program for Governments. I wouldn't have thought [[Asus's commercial notebooks|http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/06/05/intel_classmate_becomes_199_asus_eee_subnotebook_pc.html]] qualified, and this could bump up the price of the Windows option.
This seems much better than the XO: a REAL computer which can run Windows and complete Linux distros (the OLPC uses the Linux kernel, but can't run a distro like Ubuntu or Mepis), while not passing as a charitable effort (which the OLPC isn't, as paying for those near-useless "laptops" would further indebt the third world) Sounds good. I'd buy one.
I live in a country that participates in the OLPC project. And I think the government should spend that money on paying teachers and improving healthcare, not flashy toys which can't run a real operating system, be it Linux (I love Ubuntu and use it exclusively) or Windows (which I understand many people need). We shouldn't spend millions of dollars in products that will be obsolete in a couple years (or less... I can buy desktop computers with better specs than the OLPC on ebay for less money)
[[I wouldn't say that this will be obsolete|http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2006/10/01/intel_classmate_pc_a_mobile_for_the_third_world.html]] in just a few years. I bought a Sony C1VE in March (made 2001) for wirelss web browsing, email & movies, which it's perfect for. It's never going to play the latest 3D games (or anything older than Duke Nukem 3D, to be honest).
WiMax based telecommunications systems are installed in many countries around the globe including many so-called 3rd world countries. Wimax technology could cover many sparsly populated areas of the US except it is resisted by the companies that have substantial investments in hard wire systems. Comment by c300man - August 16, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Malaysia’s Airzed Networks has been running a WiMAX (802.16 - 2-11GHz) Broadband Service in the Kuala Lumpur (Klang Valley) area since July 2005.
The 1Mbps service plan for business users was being advertised at an introductory offer of RM468 (US$134) a month bundled with 6 free 1-Year Wi-Fi accounts (on Airzed’s network). Coming soon are SOHO and Home plans at US$82 and US$53 respectively per month. Airzed is embarking on a nation-wide expansion of the WiMAX broadband service. Comment by Hormuz - August 16, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Regardless of the entrenched positions of the big players, the fact remains that the future is wireless, and there is mounting pressure(from consumers) to be able to have more “software” options on their mobile devices. The footprint being put together is going to be very valuable in the long term. It’s just a question of time before there is enough critical mass. Comment by dan514 - August 16, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Wi-Max could be the first of many steps to allow subscribers to fully ‘exploit’ the opportunities within the ‘Internet’. Providing people high-speed access to the Internet basically wherever they want, could encourage innovations that are either: unknown of now; or, held back by the lackluster speeds currently available. One advantage that Wi-Max brings is the ability to connect multiple low-bandwidth devices at the same time (by sharing the relatively huge bandwidth pipe of Wi-Max), thereby opening up a large, unsatisfied market - provided of course, that Sprint Nextel is savvy enough to be able to offer a attractive, variable rate pricing plan. Comment by Mark P - August 16, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Sprint WiMAX is partnering with Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, Intel and others to create an Ecosystem that will allow device makers (laptops, phones, gameboys, etc to imbed a chip that will provide access to the internet at broadband speeds (10 Mbps), much faster than any 3G network on the market. It will allow mobile access, unlike some of the fixed wireless access mentioned in previous posts. I will also allow chips to be imbedded into autos, portable electronics, appliances, equipment, or anything that could require connectivity. Comment by PJD2006 - August 16, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Sprint will be offering the 2-3Mb speed WIMAX with its EVDO Rev A system providing the best coverage and highest speeds rolled into one product. Their version of WIMAX is not for fixed installations, it is mobile like its EVDO offering. The high speeds of its WIMAX offering will be a direct competitive threat against the telco’s DSL and cableco’s high speed internet offerings. This is a good bet on Sprint’s part. Also, the only one they have. Comment by Mike C - August 16, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Mobile WiMax based on 802.16E, a new technology standard, will support new wireless broadband services. The first commercial network in the world is in Panama. It has the potential to deliver DSL/cable modem-like service in a manner similar to voice over cellular networks. The potential for innovative new services over these networks is profound. Clearwire and Sprint are the only US Carriers to announce nationwide WiMax deployments, but there are regional deployments underway in the Southwest by Pegasus and the northeast by Horizon. International deployments are outpacing the US, just as in conventional broadband. FCC policy in the upcoming auctions needs to foster some much needed competition in this area! Comment by Bob S - August 16, 2007 at 5:30 pm
While pursuing Wi-Max might be a good idea for the future, the issues facing Sprint are their management deficiencies and irreconcilible mistakes associated with the Nextel merger. They need to resolve their fundamental operational issues first, then bet the farm on WiMax. Hemoraging (sp) subscribers for the past several quarters, due to network issues and poor customer service indicates systemic issues, that would probably deter subscribers from taking a chance on this new service. They need to close the credibility gap. Comment by Liberal Submariner - August 16, 2007 at 2:31 pm
//I see that [[Linus posted at least two different issues|Linus says about why Linux "against" Microsoft?]], the Linux thing vs FSF and the [[Obama|http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060628-call_to_renewal_1/]] issue. I also see that people don't always agree with RMS' free software movement thus followed by Linus himself by using the GNU license. A love hate relationship?//
RAV TUX said...
I agree with you 100% Linus about GPLv3. Recently the developers at cafelinux.org choose the X11 License (AKA as the MIT license) for OzOS (A Xubuntu derivative using the enlightenment 17 DE). The direction of GPL is going astray in a way that may not benefit the whole of the GNU/Linux, Open Source world.
The Modified BSD License is by far the best which essential duplicates the X11 License. As a GNU/Linux, Open Source developers I prefer (as well as our General Counsel) the X11 License.
Paul said...
I'm with you on Obama. When I hear him speak I hear a good hearted man, who core principle is to do what he sees as best for the people. People won't agree with him all the time, but that's ok. A President led by good intentions, and good judgment is a vast improvement over the status quo.
Then again, I'm European, so I'm obviously a liberal ;-)
On the GPLv3, I understand where you're coming from. Stallman does tend to be a fundamentalist, and take a no compromise line. That said, GPLv3 is two things.
1) It's a reaction to people abusing the GPLv2, following the letter, rather than the spirit of the document. Without v3 there was no license for people who wanted to stop these abuses on their code.
and so....
2) It's a better description of what the spirit of the document was initially. I'm personally not sure why people are against the GPLv3, but support the v2. It's goal is the same thing. If you chose v2 and your ideals haven't changed (you still want people to gain from your code, but for it never to be proprietary) then why do you disagree with v3. The loopholes that allowed people to go against the spirit of your choice have been made tighter. Isn't that a good thing?
There seems to have been a bit of a backlash again the GPL in favour of licenses such as BSD, and the v3 got caught up in it.
The important thing to remember though is that it's still a choice, and I never begrudge anybodies choice of license for THEIR code.
Felipe said...
Torvalds was 15 when Richard Stallman started the GNU project, GNU GPL, GNU Manifesto, and other free software. The Linux "operating system" is composed largely of GNU software. Without it, the operating system you know and love today wouldn't be the same. Thanks to Richard Stallman, "linux operating system" is free (as in speech).
cantormath said...
Drawing a connection from GPLv3 advocates and religious extremists is not entirely fair. Yes, some people treat the issues like religious doctrine, however, switching from GPLv2 to GPLv3 is also important for "nonreligious" reasons. The importance is in preserving the users' freedoms more thoroughly. GPLv3 fills the loop holes that companies, like TiVo, have found in GPLv2 that take advantage of users.
GPLv3 aside, it is not enough to license your software "Open Source". One really needs to have the intention of preserving the users rights in mind when labeling ones source code open.
Many projects, like Zimbra, are "pretend" open source projects with the illusion that they develop their product with the users interest in mind. Beware of the Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Editions (EE). Projects using such a model, IMO, are not "open source" purely for the reason that the CE is being used as a trial edition while the EE is the only version with full functionality.
IMO, these are just some of the reasons why Linux should move to GPLv3 as soon as legally possible.
Please take no offense to my opinion.
nocturn said...
I have to disagree with you on the GPLv3 and RMS.
The GPLv3 is not against something particular, but rather a way of protecting Free Software. The GPLv2 did essentially the same, but the landscape changed since it was created.
RMS may be a black-and-white type of person, but he has a clear view on things like the 'intellectual property' hype that is used against Free Software.
These quite clear arguments justify the GPLv3 to me.
What I do not really understand is why you are so much against it when you clearly liked the protection the GPLv2 brought your kernel.
Maybe a Torvalds - RMS debate would be nice :-)
Supplement - August 03, 2006
In the last decade, advancements in technology have given a whole new dimension to the world of "business communication". E-mail culture, for example, has enabled us to communicate faster, with greater ease, and almost instantly!
To be effective as managers, we cannot avoid this phenomenon; instead we must embrace it and use it to our advantage. However, before composing an e-mail, we must first ensure that it is the most effective communication channel for the current situation.
Here are few points to consider.
Do my recipients prefer e-mail?
The first step is to identify your recipients' preferences -- whether they like to receive their messages in person or read about it in their e-mail. We often come across people who prefer to communicate via telephone or fax, as they hardly check their e-mails. On the other hand, there are those who find e-mail more convenient.
Is it more cost-effective?
In most instances, it is more cost-effective to send someone an e-mail rather than a letter via post (also called snail mail in today's era). This is especially true if you have to send the message to someone sitting in a different country or time zone.
Do I need an answer immediately?
Sometimes we have an urgent query and we need an immediate answer. This may call for us to consider other options as people may not always be at their desks to reply to e-mails. A more practical and effective channel here would be to telephone them and get an answer.
Does the message need to be confidential?
As a manager, there are times we may want to communicate something confidential to our colleagues or clients. We may think that sending an e-mail is safe, but we do not know who else actually has access to his/her mailbox. For example, many high-level executives get their secretaries to screen their e-mails before they actually read them.
Which recipients do I need to reach?
Are you meant to inform just one person to join you in a meeting, or is it your duty to invite suggestions from everyone on the payroll for the coming company trip? For instances where the same message needs to go out to many people, it is less time-consuming to just send out an e-mail rather than send memos or telephone everyone.
Is my message detailed and important?
Sending messages which are long and contain information like numerical data, etc., may require you to send it through e-mail. In addition, you are also able to send file attachments, which recipients can view, edit and e-mail back to you. This saves you both a lot of time, and any distortion that may occur in the communication process.
After considering these points carefully, we may find that e-mailing is not necessarily the best option, and we must use our judgment to decide on the most effective communication channel. In the next few weeks, we will discuss how to compose clear and effective e-mails, and also the basics of Netiquette.
Gulshan Harjani Chief Communication Consultant Success Workz Indonesia gulshan@successworkz.com
[[Tactical Tech|htttp://www.tacticaltech.org]] wants to support advocates to make use of our Mobiles in-a-box, Message in-a-box and Security in-a-box toolkits. If you have any idea on using these toolkits then you would be interested in this competition.
Five winners of this competition will be provided with a [[Flip camera|http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_ultra.shtml]] or any alternative media gadget or human resource - up to the value of 150 Euros!
To enter this competition, you only need to submit a short application that explains your idea for using one or more of Tactical Tech's toolkits and for documenting this use.
Your Tactical Tech toolkit documentation may include:
*A photo essay showing how you used one of Tactical Tech's toolkits;
*A blog entry;
*A 'how-to' video;
*A two-minute mini video documentary; or
*A data visualization, animation, cartoon or drawing.
This documentation might be recorded as an event is unfolding - or afterwards, as a reflection on what happened.
What we hope is that this CREATIVE documentation will tell your advocacy story and illustrate how our toolkits can be used to benefit marginalised communities. You may wish to document your use of one toolkit or more than one; create one piece of content or several. You can create this content in any language you like, but non-English content should be translated.
What we need from you.
1. A short (up to two-page) proposal explaining how you will use the toolkit, what you will document, the format you will use, and the date you will deliver your documentation to us. You should also briefly list any relevant past experience you have.
2. A description of what you would need from us to help you use one of our toolkits or to document your use of it (for example, a still camera, a mobile phone, flip camera, drawing tablet, one day with a writer, designer, artist etc - any resource/s up to the value of 150 euro).
Please provide an online link to this resource where available or a breakdown of costs such as daily rate.
3. A contact name, phone number and address.
4. This proposal must be submitted by 28th May 4pm GMT and your content must be created and delivered to us by September 31st.
Decisions will be made 3rd April and all applicants will be notified of the results by April 5th.
To submit proposals or questions contact: Tanya Notley and [[Marek Tuszynski|mailto:competition@tacticaltech.org]]
Today, the connection systems used for broadband connections are cables and DSL. Indeed, these two media are highly popular among users and users continue to increase in number. This is understandable as today's lifestyle demands easy, unlimited and speedy access to information. The coverage area continues to expand with the construction of the most sophisticated infrastructure possible.
Iwan Suci Jatmiko , Contributor, Jakarta | Mon, 06/30/2008 10:50 AM | Supplement
http://www.thejakartapost.com/node/173461
In addition, there is also Internet access for personal subscribers, which is generally based on dial-up technology, i.e. using an ordinary telephone connection. The weakness of the dial-up system is that its speed is slow during downloading and uploading data of a large capacity. Cost calculation is also time-based. That's why the dial-up system is very expensive for certain usage as the larger the data dispatched or downloaded, the longer the process will take. As a result, the cost will swell.
There is also the Asymetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) system, which is a modem technology working at frequencies between 34 kHz and 1104 kHz. In comparison, the conventional modem uses a frequency of 4 kHz. The superiority of ADSL is that it allows high-speed Internet access and voice or fax usage simultaneously through one telephone line using an ADSL modem and a splitter to separate the telephone line and the modem channel.
Besides the dial-up and ADSL system, today wireless broadband is increasingly used for Internet connection. Generally, this technology is known as Fixed Wireless Broadband or sometimes as Wireless ADSL because the speed of its access is almost the same as that of ADSL technology. However, the speed is sometimes affected by the weather. A user wishing to subscribe to wireless broadband must be located within range of the transmitter. Meanwhile, many operators are offering wireless broadband services to mobile people.
People have enthusiastically turned to wireless broadband. The number of its users has jumped and a lot of wireless broadband operators have sprung up. Usually, in terms of technology, the operators use a transmitter that requires a Line of Sight to the closest transmitter. On the side of users, they need only a microwave antenna to be connected via the Wireless Modem Router and the computer.
There are two kinds of this wireless broadband technology. First, the Dedicated system that uses frequencies between 3.3 GHz and 5.8 GHZ. The frequencies are controlled by the government. As such, the operators have to pay the government to make use of these frequencies. Like a toll road, connection on the frequencies is better as fewer people use them. Second, the Shared system, which uses a frequency of 2.4 GHz, which is free of charge and can be used by anybody. However, the weakness is that the bandwidth capacity will be divided. This means that the quality of the connection will depend on the number of users in a given area.
The need for mobile data communication services has increased sharply. This is a business potential to tap. As a result, wireless broadband operators now have new competitors: cellular operators. Although the character of the target market is relatively different, cellular operators engaged in wireless broadband services are quite aggressive in tapping their market.
Telkomsel, for example, has set a target of its Internet broadband subscribers through the Telkomsel Flash services at 140,000 active users. PT IM2 does not want to lag behind and expects that the number of its subscribers will increase almost tenfold in 2008. In late 2007, IM2 signed up 25,000 subscribers and expects to increase this number to 200,000 this year.
Meanwhile, another operator, Excelcomindo (XL), introduced its wireless broadband services a year ago. It was introduced last year at the same time as the launch of the 3G Ready service. Meanwhile, PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk, the owner of Esia products, has Wimode, which can serve as a modem and data storage while at the same time phone calls can be made.
The wireless broadband services offered by the operators, including cellular operators, are predicted to boost the number of Internet users in Indonesia. While in 2006 the number of Internet users in Indonesia stood at only 14.5 million people, in late 2007 this number jumped to 20 million. Meanwhile, the number of cellular subscribers in 2010 is predicted to reach 120 million numbers while the number of Internet users is expected to reach 58.7 million.
The operators push their mobile wireless business with two offers. First, they offer subscribers Internet direct access through a mobile phone.
Second, by providing services for subscribers to access the Internet through their laptop or desktop computer (PC). Usually, operators offer a bundling package in the form of a USB modem in which there is a slot for the cellular card (SIM card).
[[Cellular and internet access in Indonesia]]
I enjoyed your article on the $100 laptop, " The Soul of a New Laptop" (May 7), and I heard quite a bit about this project during my time at MIT.
http://members.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0604/028.html
However, a critical question must be asked (and re-asked): What else could be done with this money to help the world's poor?
At the end of your article Walter Bender states that he expects 500 million of these laptops to be produced in the next five years. If they meet their $100 production target, this equates to $50 billion. This amount of money is not enough to solve all of the world's problems, but it is an enormous sum, larger than the current endowment of the Gates Foundation. We must ask how much good could be done if this money were dedicated to food, medicine, more cost-effective forms of education or establishing small businesses and other economic development. This is one reason why Bill Gates himself has been less than supportive of the $100 laptop (it's not just because the laptop uses Linux).
Shandon Hart
Maplewood, Minn.
After few months of delay, Creative Commons has finally released the Version 3.0 licenses. The key differences from Version 2.5 are:
* Generic and the US licenses are now separated
* International harmonisation of moral rights and collecting society
* No more endorsement language
* BY-SA compatibility structure is included
* Clarifications negotiated with Debian and MIT
Congrats to everyone at Creative Commons who made this possible,
especially project coordinator Mia Garlick (sad that she's leaving CC
and joining Google). Details of the changes are described at
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Version_3.
And yeah, don't forget to Digg the news: http://ox.ca/3h0
- Russell
The 'non trivial differences' between 'Free' and 'Open
Source':
The Free and Open Source Software movements are parallel movements with a complex relationship and history outside the scope of this essay. When discussing software, licenses, and development communities, the terms are usually synonymous.
When discussing the motivation, philosophy, and politics behind the the production of this software, the terms vary wildly. As to the nature of the distinction, an inadequate but useful distinction can be drawn: Free Software is a social movement; Open Source is a development methodology. For the sake of this paper I err on the side of overusing Free Software but in many cases, especially when discussing inspiration by Free Software, the Free/Open Source split is hardly clean.
[[Patrice Riemens|mailto:patrice@xs4all.nl]]
Towards a Standard of Freedom: [[Creative Commons|http://creativecommons.org/]] and the Free Software Movement
Author: [[Benjamin Mako Hill|mailto:mako@atdot.cc]]
http://mako.cc/writing/toward_a_standard_of_freedom.html
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sa/1.0/
See more [[Creative Commons License 3.0|Creative Commons Version 3.0]]
Advance Notice for another opportunity for FOSS-oriented companies in Vietnam: Cross the FOSS-Bridge between Vietnam and Europe!
Do you want to team up with a European FOSS-company for joint business?
Are you interested in European expertise in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)?
Do you want to develop joint software projects based on FOSS?
Then you could also be interested in the initiative FOSS bridge "EU-Vietnam" which will soon launch a call for Vietnamese companies who are interested in teaming up with European FOSS-companies for joint software projects.
The EU (Asia Invest Program) and BMZ (German Federal Ministry for economic Cooperation and Development) funded project FOSS bridge "EU-Vietnam" - Joint Business through Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is counting on your contribution to achieve its main goal:
Strengthening Southeast Asian software industries and boosting cooperation with Europe through innovative collaboration on free and open source software (FOSS) business development. The initiative is implemented by InWEnt of Germany (Capacity Building International), INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique) of France and IOIT (Institute of Information Technology) of Vietnam.
If you are interested in a twinning or other components of FOSS Bridge, please send an e-mail to: contact@foss-bridge.org. We will get back to you with more information. Also, an application form will be online soon at http://www.foss-bridge.org.
[[A few tips on facebooking]]
[[Barcamp Phnom Penh in September 2010]]
π (pi), the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle, has captivated imaginations for thousands of years -- perhaps even since the first person tried to draw a perfect circle on the ground or wondered how to construct something round like a wheel. Approximately 3.14, the number has its own holiday on March 14 -- 3-14, get it?
For Marc Umile, it's "3.14159265358979...", he'll mentally rattle off digits of π to pass the time. Holding 10th place in the world for π memorization - he typed out 15,314 digits from memory in 2007 - Umile meditates through one of the most beloved and mysterious numbers in all of mathematics. Memorizing pi for him seemed like a good test of memory, and he found that putting the digits in a definite rhythm, which repeated exactly every 1,000 digits, helped him remember them. The record for memorization was 67,890 digits by Chao Lu in 2005.
Still, for this π Day he's thinking about testing himself to type out [[1,000 digits|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSGK8IEXvXU]] or more.
"I think it's very fun. It's good to be an inspiration to people who would like to broaden their minds and climb the Mount Everest of their minds," he said.
"There are many things that could not be built without implementing the constant π," Umile said. "The great engineering marvels like the arch or suspension bridges we cross over, the tunnels spanning within mountains or even under the water that we drive through. ... Without it, everything would be incomplete or in danger of collapse."
Designing any structure with cylindrical components involves pi, as the formula for area is pi multiplied by the square of the radius. Let's say you wanted to know if a column or cable, both of which have circular cross-sections, is strong enough to withstand a particular force. You would calculate the stress -- force divided by area -- to see if the particular object would work in the construction. You can increase the area if the stress is too great.
Wednesday March 7, 9:18 AM
BOSTON (Reuters) - Dell Inc. is considering offering the Linux operating system as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows on its personal computers, a Dell spokesman said on Tuesday. The PC maker said it received more than 100,000 customer requests for Linux in a "suggestion box" posted on Dell's Web site less than three weeks ago.
"We are listening to what customers are saying about Linux and taking it into consideration," said Dell spokesman David Lord. "We are going forward. Let's say, 'Certainly stay tuned."'
Linux is an open-source operating system that is generally available for free and can be used to run most computers, including Dell's PCs. Dell does not break out how much it charges for Windows when it calculates the cost of a computer system, but a basic upgrade version of the software generally retails for $99.
The only operating system that Dell currently offers on its PCs is Windows, with one exception, Lord said. It sells high-end Linux desktops designed specifically for use in oil and gas exploration, he said.
Making Linux available on other Dell PCs has been the top request since the Web site was launched on February 16, according to data posted on the site, as of Tuesday evening. The second most popular request was that Dell offer another popular free software title, OpenOffice, which competes with Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Have you ever been in meetings where lots of questions are asked but nothing is achieved? Or meetings where lots of people throw around lots of ideas with no follow-up action? Or situations where a detailed plan is worked out only to realize that you were working on the wrong problem or idea? Or a situation where people actively jump into action on the first idea?
Features - August 13, 2006 by Kayee Man/Dewi Susanti, Contributors, Jakarta
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060813.G09
To effectively and creatively solve problems, people need to find out exactly what the problem is, generate ideas to solve the problem, develop an action plan that works and finally, implement the plan. But often, some of the steps are not taken, resulting in the creation of the aforementioned situations in the work context.
Much as we would like to see all these steps taken by a single individual, the truth of the matter is that not all of us like doing all the steps of clarifying the problem, generating ideas, developing solutions and implementing a plan.
A while back, we assessed people's preferences in the process of creative problem solving (FourSightT; www.FourSightOnline.com). As it turns out, even we (Kayee and Dewi) are very different in our working preferences.
Not too long ago, we started to collaborate on a writing project. Kayee (who has a preference to clarify, generate ideas and implement) had a big picture of what we needed to do (clarify) and many ideas here and there (idea generation), and immediately started typing away (implementation), and presented her output to Dewi the next day.
Dewi, being a solution developer, told Kayee that we really needed a plan, so we'll know how our writing project will develop over time. She couldn't start working on the project without a detailed plan. While Dewi nodded away when Kayee tried to convince her to go with the flow, the moment she stopped talking (thinking Dewi was convinced), Dewi turned to her computer and started creating a matrix of ideas, how they can be structured and hoping to see our much needed plan emerge.
You're probably wondering what happened to us -- both working on the same thing, going off in different directions. Well, for many people, the partnership may have been on the brink of collapse. For us, our understanding of each other's working preferences allowed this to happen without much mishap.
Kayee was aware that she was jumping the gun. Dewi's plan would bring her back to earth like a child tugging at a runaway balloon. Dewi, knowing Kayee's impatience to start, knew not to keep her at the planning stage too long and convincingly gave her the impression that "things were moving" while subtly leading her through the planning process.
You see, we understand each other's working style. The assessment we took helped us to gain this understanding and have a common language to talk to each other about how to work together or give space to accommodate each other's working preferences. In this case, a little understanding paved the way.
So Kayee has a strong preference to clarify the problem, generate ideas and implement. Dewi, as it appears, is a solution developer. Now be mindful that preference is not the same as saying that a person will be good at what they prefer to do, nor does it mean that a person does not have the ability to do what they don't prefer to do. Preference -- that is all it is -- is what people like to work on. Also note that Dewi's and Kayee's preferences combined to equal the four stages in the creative problem solving process! To put it bluntly, if we work together, we can be sure that no stages are skipped in the process!
Some people may have a preference for in-depth understanding of a problem (clarifiers), some may prefer to think up new ideas (idea creators), some may prefer to work out an action plan in detail (solution developers) and some may prefer to put ideas into action (implementers). People may have preferences in only one or a combination of any of the four stages of the creative process.
The idea for Tetra Pakr, the ubiquitous carton used for packaging liquids, was conceived by Erik Wallenberg; but it was his partner at work, Ruben Rausing, who invented the process to form and fill the cartons. While it is not clear whether this delineation of tasks was due to a process preference or possession of skills and knowledge, what this example illustrates is that a great idea needs a workable solution that gets implemented to bring the idea to fruition.
IDEO Product Development has a very strong team of product designers. Apple mouse, PalmPDA and Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera are just a few products to highlight the strength of the team. The team is not short on identifying challenges to work on and finding ideas to solve their product design challenges. However, without people skilled in marketing to develop solutions or plans to bring their products to the market and to market and sell the products, the creative problem solving process would be incomplete. IDEO recognized their lack of marketing expertise and began to hire people with marketing and consulting backgrounds to fill the gaps in the process (Sutton, 2002).
In their book titled Breakthrough, Stefik & Stefik (2004) included excerpts of an interview with Dave Robson, a member of the team that created Smalltalk (an influential object-oriented programming system developed at Palo Alto Research Center), who described the collaboration of two other members of the Smalltalk team: Alan Kay and Dan Ingalls.
Alan Kay was described as a great visionary. He had many ideas on how Smalltalk should work. Dan Ingalls was described as an implementer. He shared practical issues that he encountered that in turn guided Kay's thoughts in realizing his visions. In Robson's words, "Alan's main products were ideas ..." and "Dan ... has designed and implemented a whole variety of elegant and efficient systems". Robson concluded: "I think that both of them were necessary to create the first generation of Smalltalk. Without Alan, Dan wouldn't have seen that possibility. And without Dan, Alan would not have made it actually run" (Stefik & Stefik, 2004: 172).
What do we have here? We have Alan Kay the clarifier and ideator and Dan Ingalls the solution developer and implementer. Both were necessary to see a possibility and to work through the process to realize the possibility.
When Thomas Edison was asked why he had a team of assistants, he replied: "If I could solve all the problems myself, I would." As is the case in most work situations, we can't solve big problems or challenges on our own.
Knowing your working preferences is a good starting point to see where you can make the most valuable contributions in a team. Knowing your colleagues' working preferences will enable you to appreciate the value your team members bring to the table - even if it brings along frustration to you because you enjoy being in that part of the creative problem solving process. Each part of the creative problem solving process is valuable to the outcome of the process, so be sure that your team includes clarifiers, ideators, solution developers and implementers.
If you are facing a challenge on your own, knowing your own preferences will help you navigate the creative problem solving process. We tend to skip the stages of the process that we don't enjoy -- be aware of the stages that you are skipping and bear with staying at that stage just long enough for you to effectively and creatively problem solve.
"Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement" (Baltasar Graci n). How well do you know your own creative problem solving process preferences?
Kayee is a graduate student in creative studies at SUNY Buffalo and Dewi is a UC Berkeley alumnus. They can be reached at ideabox@art-explore.com.
The Centre for Internet and Society in collaboration with the Frontier Foundation is holding a three day Digital Natives workshop in Taipei from 15 to 17 August, 2010.
The three day workshop will serve as an ideal platform for the young users of technology to share their knowledge and experience of the digital and Internet world and help them learn from each other’s individual experiences.
[[An Open Call for Participation|http://www.cis-india.org/research/dn/open-call]]
The Centre for Internet and Society (Bangalore, India) in collaboration with the Frontier Foundation (Taipei, Taiwan) are calling out to young technology users to share stories about how they have tried to change things around them with the use of digital and Internet technologies. Conversely, if you feel that the presence of these technologies has significantly changed you in some way, we want to hear about that too!
These can be stories where you have made a significant impact by initiating campaigns or movements for a particular cause, stories where you have used technologies to cope with problems in your personal and social life through your online persona in the virtual World Wide Web or stories where a small blog you started, or a facebook group you created, or a plurk network that you started, or a discussion group that you participated in, led to a change that has a story to tell.
The three day workshop will select 20 participants from all around Asia and in the Middle East to come and share these stories, to interact with facilitators and scholars who have worked in different countries and areas, and to form a network of collaboration and support.
There will be a platform for your stories where they can be heard in your own voice, in your own style and in your own formats. Participants can fill in an application form (as given below) and forward it to digitalnatives@cis-india.org by 15th July 2010. Expenses relevant to the project will be granted to the selected participants.
Stephen Manes 03.12.07
Windows Vista: more than five years in the making, more than 50 million lines of code. The result? A vista slightly more inspiring than the one over the town dump. The new slogan is: "The 'Wow' Starts Now," and Microsoft touts new features, many filched shamelessly from Apple's Macintosh. But as with every previous version, there's no wow here, not even in ironic quotes. Vista is at best mildly annoying and at worst makes you want to rush to Redmond, Washington and rip somebody's liver out.
Vista is a fading theme park with a few new rides, lots of patched-up old ones and bored kids in desperate need of adult supervision running things. If I can find plenty of problems in a matter of hours, why can't Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people )? Most likely answer: It did -and it doesn't care.
Example: If malware somehow gets into your machine, Windows Firewall will not stop it from making outbound Internet connections to do its evil deeds. If you turn off that firewall in favor of a better one, the Windows Firewall control panel will admonish: "Your computer is not protected; turn on Windows Firewall." But the Windows Security Center will correctly tell you that a firewall is on and that you shouldn't run two at a time. Call it convistancy.
Gaffes like this make you wonder if security really is improved as much as Microsoft claims. You'll still have to add your own antivirus software, a new Vista-ready version at that. And Vista's irritating and repeated warnings about possible security breaches don't always mean what they say and are usually irrelevant. You'll take them as seriously as the boy who cried wolf, making them useless as defensive tools.
As usual, things Microsoft was touting last time have mysteriously gone away in favor of putative new wonders. Windows XP's heralded "task-based interface" often let you perform actions by picking them from a list. Now many of those actions have disappeared-except where they haven't.
Likewise, Control Panel options have been totally rejiggered yet again for no apparent reason. You can still use the Classic panel view that's been available since time immemorial, but several items have been confusingly renamed out of sheer perversity.
The new desktop search features are a mess, thanks in part to inscrutable indexing defaults and options. A "quick search" panel at the bottom of the Start menu lets you find results, whether in a file's name or its contents. But on one machine-oddly, the fastest I tested-it was far, far slower than using Start's regular search option. Though that option finds folders like Accessories, quick search doesn't always. And if you click away to do something else while you wait for answers, Vista abandons the "quick search" and makes you start over.
Windows Mail is a mild reworking of Outlook Express whose big new feature is a spam filter that in my tests flagged nonspam as spam and vice versa an unacceptable 10% of the time. The bare-bones word processor WordPad used to be able to open Microsoft Word files. No more. What possible rationale could there be for "fixing" that, except to force users to shell out for the real thing?
Potentially exciting improvements keep coming up short. The speech recognition system's clever design lets you control the computer via voice and dictate into programs like Word. It did pretty well at understanding me even when I used a less than optimal built-in microphone instead of a headset. But my enthusiasm turned to dust when the software for correcting inevitable mistakes locked up repeatedly-even when it understood what I was saying.
Many touted improvements, like the Web browser and media player, have been available for XP for months. One minor winner is Vista-only: file lists that update their contents automatically. You no longer have to hit View and Refresh to see files added since you last opened the list window. Macs, of course, have done this for years.
The new Mac-like ability to show thumbnails of documents and running programs is cute, but it doesn't always work-typical of a level of fit and finish that would be unacceptable from a cut-rate tailor. Only in Windowsland will you find howlers like a Safely Remove Hardware button for memory card readers that happen to be hardwired into your computer.
Still with us: program crashes, followed by the machine's refusal to shut down until you lean on the power button awhile. Thereafter you may be subjected to ugly white-on-black text from CHKDSK, a DOS-era program that issues baffling new reports like "44 reparse records processed."
Should you upgrade your current machine? Are you nuts? Upgrading is almost always a royal pain. Many older boxes are too wimpy for Vista, and a "Vista-ready" unit Microsoft upgraded for me could see my wireless network but not connect to it. The diagnostics helpfully reported "Wireless association failed due to an unknown reason" and suggested I consult my "network administrator"-me. Yet I've connected dozens of things to that network, including other Vista machines, a PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's own Xbox 360.
My recommendation: Don't even consider updating an old machine to Vista, period. And unless you absolutely must, don't buy a new one with Vista until the inevitable Service Pack 1 (a.k.a. Festival o' Fixes) arrives to combat horrors as yet unknown.
I suggested to one Windows product manager that if the company were truly serious about security, Vista might offer a simple way to delete files securely and eliminate all traces of identity and passwords so you could safely pass the machine on or sell it years from now. His reply: "Does any other operating system do that?" That tells you all you need to know about Microsoft. The real slogan: "No innovation here."
As Bill Gates winds down his roles at Microsoft, Windows Vista may be the chief software architect's swan song. It's a shame his legacy is something so utterly unimaginative, internally discordant and woefully out of tune.
Stephen Manes (smanes@forbes.com) is cohost of PC World's Digital Duo, which appears weekly on public television. Visit his home page at www.forbes.com/manes.
http://members.forbes.com/global/2007/0312/038.html
Articles quoted in this blog are part of <my> learning process. Companies under study such as Intel, Google, OLPC, Microsoft, Asus, might have their own respective brands and not in anyway promoted in this blog.
Articles quoted in this blog are part of <my> learning process. Companies under study such as Intel, Google, OLPC, Microsoft, Asus, might have their own respective brands and not in anyway promoted in this blog. However there is no guarantee of recommendation from various sources quoted in this blog.
Countries under study are China, India, Brazil and most of Asean countries.
There was an asking about certification from [[Asia Source II]] participant when we have finished our days. I said, you can just show your group photo and some news that ~AS2 is really happening, well a bit cumbersome:)
''Do we really need that?''
I remembered many trainings were made to produce certification, etc such as Cisco training, MS training, Novell training, and diplomas from certain degrees that you have acquired from universities. This certification was given on a completion of test or a period that you have endured. It will bring happiness too when you received those certification. A milestone in your lifetime.
Those certification will not prove at all that it will guarantee an employment when you ask for one. Well at least the employer will notice that you have undergone some sort of trainings but the employer will need only basic achievement and some skills because you will be on further training to cope with the company culture (that means how they behave or think), and further training that is needed only by the company.
Sometime the training is locked-up within the company that you can't find it in other place. Different company will have different kind of training. The employer will look if you are capable to go on further training on company behalf.
So make sure that you need only certain basic training for certification because the most important is to understand the knowledge. Learn more but not necessarily to pursue the certification. Some knowledge especially IT will advance faster than you can learn or become obsolescence in time if you learned the wrong way..
//Maybe this comment reflect some of my time; graduated from the university some thirty years ago when there was no PC to touch, we did programming FORTRAN at that time using -do you know what- punched cards. For a small iteration routine.
But I have learned more, and know internet or else. So I didn't use the diploma that was given long time ago for studying current usable knowledge. ''How can people certify each other?''//
That would be another story.
> The FOSK Certification will be a single low stakes entry level exam to test the FOSS knowledge and competency level of technical and non technical staff who are responsible for the day to day computer needs of Not for Profit organizations. This professional may work as a technical person, a circuit rider, account management or technical sales, executive positions or any other role that is responsible for recommending and/or choosing FOSS solutions for an organization.
>
> https://group.lpi.org/publicwiki/bin/view/Examdev/FOSK
The Dow's 7% decline on Monday Sept 29, 2008 was the worst single-day percentage drop since Sept. 17, 2001 - the first trading day after the September 11 attacks. The S&P and Nasdaq both lost around 9%, the biggest single-day percentage drop since the October 1987 crash.
[img[DJ slumps from highest 14,000|blog/dji_1year.jpg]]
The day's loss knocked out roughly $1.2 trillion in market value, according to a drop in the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, the broadest measure of the stock market. It was the first time markets have ever lost more than $1 trillion in a day.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/30/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
Stocks plunged Monday after the House of Representatives shot down the proposed $700 billion bank rescue plan, surprising investors who had thought that a bipartisan compromise on the deal had been reached over the weekend.
The plan involves the Treasury Department buying up bad mortgage bets from banks, enabling them to start lending to each other again and ultimately defrosting the credit markets. Lawmakers had fought to modify the plan with more taxpayer protections.
However, taxpayers were not entirely swayed, and voter complaints about the plan ahead of the election contributed to a majority in the House voting against the proposal.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other officials conceived the plan in the wake of a series of bank failures and mergers amid the housing market collapse and subsequent credit market freeze up. Frozen credit markets mean banks cling to cash, making it difficult for businesses and individuals to get needed loans.
Stocks were down Monday ahead of the vote on bets that either the plan wouldn't get Congressional approval, or even if it did, that it wouldn't be enough to relieve credit markets. On Tuesday, President Bush urged lawmakers to take action on the bill when they return to Washington on Wednesday.
"While the plan is far from perfect, it would have established a floor, given the markets confidence and helped to unclog the credit markets," Lancz said.
He said that the longer it takes for a plan to be enacted, the worse the impact it has on both the domestic and global economies. But markets gained back roughly $600 billion Tuesday, according to Dow Wilshire estimates.
September easily earned its reputation as the worst month on Wall Street, according to Stock Trader's Almanac.
The Financial Times has reported that the EU is going to drastically reduce or even eliminate Microsoft's proposed royalties on interoperability information required to be released by the EU's antitrust ruling issued three years ago.
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday April 05, @01:36AM
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/05/0249223&from=rss
According to a confidential EU document, "Microsoft will be forced to hand over to rivals what the group claims is sensitive and valuable technical information about its Windows operating system for next to no compensation...".
Even Neil Barrett, the expert picked by both Microsoft and the EU to oversee Microsoft's compliance with the 2004 ruling, says a zero percent royalty would be 'better.
It is too hard for the average user to use Free and Open Source Software.
Monday, January 22nd, 2007 by [[c5|mailto:cheekay@apcwomen.org]]
//Is it really?//
Earlier today, during one of the first sessions of Asia Source 2, the statement was presented during the Spectogram (an activity where participants are asked to position themselves along a spectrum of 100% agree and 100% disagree; a great way to get participants revved up for sessions, by the way). The statement almost completely polarised the crowd.
I stuck with the gung-ho crowd that went with 100% NO that FOSS was hard to use for the average user. My two cents on it was about perception and availability of FOSS, that most people think that using FOSS is hard because all they’re exposed to are the proprietary software that comes bundled with their machines. People think Internet Explorer is easy to use because they have yet to discover the beauty that is Firefox or Flock. Those FOSS browsers are not only easy to use, they actually work so much better than IE.
One of the participants said it best (I think his name was Samer and I know for sure he’s from Egypt), to paraphrase:
//Let’s be realistic about the tools that average users need: productivity tools, a browser, an email client. The FOSS alternatives to these types of tools are no harder to use than the proprietary ones.//
One of the participants [[Samer Azmy|samer.azmy@gmail.com]] from Egypt said it best, to paraphrase:
//Let’s be realistic about the tools that average users need: productivity tools, a browser, an email client. The FOSS alternatives to these types of tools are no harder to use than the proprietary ones.//
More Employers Study Applicants' Personalities to Avoid Workers Who Can't Get Along With Others. A resume and a brief job interview can't answer the question that matters most to a new hire's co-workers: Is this person an absolute pain?
Monday November 5, 3:33 pm ET
By Ellen Simon, AP Business Writer
Despite a labor shortage in many sectors, some employers are pickier than ever about whom they hire. Businesses in fields where jobs are highly coveted -- or just sound like fun -- are stepping up efforts to weed out people who might have the right credentials but the wrong personality.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071105/hiring_for_congeniality.html?.v=3
Call it the "plays well with others" factor.
Job candidates at investment banks have long endured dozens of interviews designed, in part, to see if new hires will get along with everyone they'll work with. Whole Foods Market Inc. holds group interviews, in which people who will work under a manager are part of the team that grills candidates and collectively picks hires.
Now other companies are setting up higher hurdles.
"In this bloggable, cell phone camera world, your brand on the inside is going to be your brand on the outside. If you have a bunch of jerks, your brand is going to be a jerk," said Tim Sanders, former leadership coach at Yahoo Inc. and author of "The Likeability Factor."
With the national unemployment rate low, at 4.7 percent, and the Baby Boom generation heading into retirement, employers from Microsoft Corp. to rural hospitals are worrying about finding enough workers. But companies like Rackspace Managed Hosting are bucking that trend, working hard to find reasons to turn people away.
Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier said, "We'd rather miss a good one than hire a bad one."
The 1,900-person company is divided into 18- to 20-person teams. One team is so close, the whole group shows up to help when one member moves house, Napier said. Job interviews at the San Antonio-based company last all day, as interviewers try to rub away fake pleasantness.
"They're here for nine or ten hours," Napier said. "We're very cordial about it. We're not aggressive, but we haven't met a human being yet who has the stamina to BS us all day."
There's a possible downside, however. In a Harvard Business Review article titled "Fool vs. Jerk: Whom Would You Hire?" Tiziana Casciaro of Harvard and Miguel Sousa Lobo of Duke University point out that people generally like people who are similar to them, so hiring for congeniality can limit diversity of opinions. One venture capitalist told the authors that a capable manager he worked with built a team that "had a great time going out for a beer, but the quality of their work was seriously compromised."
That's not the worry at Lindblad Expeditions, a 500-employee adventure cruise company. Kris Thompson, vice president of human resources at Lindblad, said, "You can teach people any technical skill, but you can't teach them how to be a kindhearted, generous-minded person with an open spirit."
In the mating dance of job interviews, employers traditionally put their best feet forward, too, trumpeting their wonderful benefits packages while leaving out the bit about working late, eating cold pizza. Not Lindblad. It sends job applicants a DVD showing not one, but two shots of a crew member cleaning toilets. A dishwasher talks about washing 5,000 dishes in one day. "Be prepared to work your butt off," another says.
"It's meant to scare you off," company founder Sven Lindblad said.
It does. After watching the DVD and hearing an unvarnished description of life onboard a Lindblad ship, the majority of applicants drop out, Thompson said.
New hires "undergo a drug test, a physical exam, they have to pack up their life, we buy them a plane ticket and outfit them with hundreds of dollars in uniforms," Thompson said. "If they get on board and say, 'This is not what I expected,' then shame on us."
She asks applicants to tell her about a job that wasn't what they expected and how they dealt with it. One of the best answers came from Kendra Nelsen, who said that while she was working construction, her male co-workers would help themselves to her tools. Her solution: She painted all her tools hot pink. Nelsen, who started as a deck hand, went on to earn a U.S. Coast Guard license and was just named assistant expedition leader in Antarctica.
At KaBoom, a nonprofit that builds playgrounds, the board was hammering co-founder and CEO Darell Hammond four years ago over the organization's high employee turnover.
"I rationalized that they were on the road too much, when in reality, it was the wrong fit in the wrong role," he said.
He started thinking about who left and why, then focused on the characteristics of workers who stayed. The list of traits: Can do, will do, team fit, damn quick and damn smart. His team kept a closer eye on job applicants in the reception area, which is set up as a playground, to see how they acted around playground equipment.
"If you're early, you may have to sit on a swing or the bottom of a slide," Hammond said. People who stand with a tight grip on their briefcases instead of sitting on the playground equipment aren't asked back.
KaBoom sends prospective project managers to one of its four-day playground building trips, with the actual build on the last day involving 200 to 300 volunteers, many of whom have questions for KaBoom staff.
"If they're not easily approached, or they're easily stressed -- this is the way we find out and they find out if it's not going to work," he said.
Hammond wouldn't say what percentage of applicants drop out, but he did say project managers' tenure has increased since they started sending them on the trips four years ago, from one year's tenure to between two-and-a-half and three years.
"We got more passionate people who stayed longer," Hammond said. "What was going to be expected of them when they came on board wasn't a stab in the dark."
Hammond said he isn't afraid of scaring people off, since the best candidates "are constantly looking at themselves to excel, not just cross the finish line, but blow through the finish line."
When all 90 of the people on his staff meet that criteria, he said, "It's incredible. If you have 89 who do and one who doesn't -- it's painful."
Those as intrigued as we were with Asus' newly-announced Eee PC 701 ultralight will likely want to take the short hop over to Engadget Chinese, which has managed to gets its hands on the device and dig up a few more details on it.
Posted Jun 6th 2007 3:59PM by Donald Melanson
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/engadget-chinese-gets-its-hands-on-asus-eee-pc-701/
Perhaps most interestingly, Asus' product manger told them that while Windows XP has been successfully tested with the device, the final product will likely come with only Linux pre-installed, with XP driver support thrown in for good measure.
What's more, Asus also said that the mini-laptop could eventually pack as much as 32GB of SSD storage, and even hinted at the possibility of either an optional built-in 3G module or a separate dongle. Asus also reiterated that seemingly too good to be true $200 starting price, adding that a version for "English speaking countries" could be available "as early as August this year."
Marek @ Jun 6th 2007 4:32PM
This is my new favorite piece of technology so far this year. I'll be
getting one, if not two - but would really like to see 3G or something
similar integrated. Obviously, for $200-300 I can't complain, but if it
had 3G I wouldn't even need apps on the disk - I could just use online
applications like Google docs, etc. This thing is amazing, and looks to
be well under way for a timely release.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/06/Asustek-$199-Eee-PC_1.html
Also with a fantastic price..200$!!
The best thing I like is the build-in 3G and SSD!
There's no way that my parent is going to break this one.
Susan Gunelius (MarketingBlurb.com) @ Jun 6th 2007 9:46PM
The market potential for a low cost laptop is huge. There are so many
market segments that could be interested in this product. I'm excited to
see the $189 laptop launch. Even if it only offers minimal functionality
like Internet access and email, I think the marketing opportunity is
wide open. I talk about this more at www.MarketingBlurb.com:
http://www.marketingblurb.com/2007/06/is_a_189_laptop_on_the_way.html
The best entrepreneur blogs – and often the most successful ones — do more than just promote the entrepreneurs or their projects. Star power can draw attention, but it won’t sustain it if the blog doesn’t ''give.''
Give is a broad term. You can give tangible tools and information to help build a business. Or a motivational story that inspires someone to try an idea. You can give a laugh. You can give food for thought. You can give debate. You can give of yourself, and if you’re interesting enough, people will come back for more. Below, some examples of entrepreneurs who do this:
http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2008/06/13/15-entrepreneur-blogs-worth-reading/
Posted by Wendy Bounds
''Dominate a Niche''
Tom Szaky writes The [[Eco-Capitalist|http://blog.inc.com/the-eco-capitalist/index.html]], a blog about driving profits by being environmentally and socially responsible. Mr. Szaky is chief executive officer of [[Terracycle|http://www.terracycle.net/]], a company that finds creative ways to reuse waste in products like plant food, cleaners and tote bags. Recent posts include: “Will Your Customers Pay to Go Green?”
Ecommerce blog [[Get Elastic|http://www.getelastic.com/]] is another example. The blog shares general strategies for selling on the Internet. Recent posts include: “9 Privacy Policy Usability Tips,” “Cart Abandonment,” and “Dads and Grads: Missed Merchandising Opportunities.”
''Motivate/Inspire/Teach''
Two well-known bloggers in this category are Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki. Mr. Godin was founder of Yoyodyne, an interactive direct-marketing company, which Yahoo Inc. acquired in late 1998. He is an author, blogger and public speaker, and his [[marketing blog|http://sethgodin.typepad.com/]] often inspires by giving broader direction in business and life. (Recent posts talk about serial numbers and financial advice for grads.)
Mr. Kawasaki is a managing director of [[Garage Technology Ventures|http://www.garage.com/]], an early-stage venture-capital firm. He’s an author and public speaker and [[his blog|http://blog.guykawasaki.com/]], How to Change the World, also includes a link to a job board, which is a motivator. Like Godin, he often provides usable lists to readers. One example: “The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption.”
Kevin Kelly’s [[Lifestream|http://kk.org/kk/]] is in this vein. Mr. Kelly, who helped launch Wired magazine in 1993, recently posted about the “Power of Failure” and how to Bribe Your New Employees to Quit. (The ones that aren’t committed.) Malcolm [[Gladwell|http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/]], author of the Tipping Point, is another such go-to blogger for entrepreneurs.
''Offer Tools''
Most entrepreneur blogs do some of this, though several specialize in it. [[WorkHappy.net|http://workhappy.net/]] by Carson McComas writes about “killer resources for entrepreneurs,” often calling out new online tools. Anita Campbell pens [[Smallbiztrends.com|http://smallbiztrends.com/]] with tips and strategies on issues such as business plans, picking domain names and going mobile. So does John Jantsch’s [[Duct Tape Marketing|http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/]] and Drew McLellan’s [[Drew’s Marketing Minute|http://drewsmarketingminute.com/]].
''Entertain and Promote''
The best route to self-promotion is through entertainment. Holly Dunlap fuels marketing of her fashion company with a juicy, photo-laden [[online diary|http://www.hollywould.com/shop/cart.php?main&page=diary]] chronicling her dinners, parties and, sometimes, hangovers. Justine Ezarik, a graphic/Web designer and video editor, began transmitting her life via Internet video last year and has transformed that success into multiple avenues, including her blog, [[tastyblogsnack|http://tastyblogsnack.com/]], where she dissects technology and entertains us.
''If You’re Interested in My Company…''
…maybe you’re interested in me – or more about my company.” These blogs feed loyal customers’ desire to connect with a brand. The founders of [[Honest Tea|http://honesttea.com/]], Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff keep such a blog. [[Craig Newmark|http://www.cnewmark.com/]] of [[craigslist|http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html]] blogs regularly on anything he finds of interest (finches, politics and “Sex and The City”).
One of the most successful examples is billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, owner of the [[Dallas Mavericks|http://www.nba.com/mavericks/]]. His [[Blog Maverick|http://www.blogmaverick.com/]] waxes on everything from cutting-edge technology to the NFL and salary caps and gets tremendous response from readers.
A warning: Readers have typically already bought your product, so don’t just flog it; give them something new to enjoy.
This list is just a start. We want to know what entrepreneur bloggers you think are doing a great job in a particular arena. What else should people be reading—and why?
UNESCO is launching a [[free practical guide|http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27768&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html]] to computer recycling for entrepreneurs and project sponsors, on the occasion of a conference on Digital Solidarity being held in Lyon (France).
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Gartner consultancy, there will be almost 4 billion mobile telephones in use by the end of this year, while the number of personal computers has already passed the billion mark.
The good news behind these figures is that the digital divide is shrinking - 58% of computers are in developed countries but, this share is expected to drop to 30% by 2014 when the total number of personal computers should reach two billion.
But there is another side to the coin: this year, almost 180 million computers have been replaced by new machines, and an estimated 35 million computers dumped, despite the toxic substances they contain.
[[Entrepreneur's Guide to Computer Recycling|http://www.ticethic.com/guide]]
Authors: Benoit VARIN and ~Pierre-Etienne ROINAT
The purpose of this guidebook is to help develop the skills required to handle the growing flux of waste generated by the new and used computer markets for the benefit of the environment and public health. Problems generated by this computer waste are affecting the world in general and developing countries in particular. It represents the negative side of the reduction in the digital divide in a world where one billion ~PCs were expected to be in use this year and one billion mobile phones were expected to be sold.
It also aims to support the emergence of new business opportunities. It should prove useful for ~NGOs and local development stakeholders in fostering small and micro entrepreneurships.
The guidebook is available free of charge online. In addition, its open license will allow interested parties to create versions adapted to local condition and particular contexts.
By Jocelyn Gecker, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 10, 4:57 PM ET.
BANGKOK, Thailand - It was an evening of utter decadence — a 10-course gourmet dinner concocted by world-renowned chefs at $25,000 a head. Many of those who attended Saturday night's culinary extravaganza in Bangkok hailed it as the meal of a lifetime. But it's no easy task to eat plate after plate of Beluga caviar, Perigord truffles, Kobe beef, Brittany lobster — each paired with a rare and robust vintage wine.
"It's really amazing," said one diner, Sophiane Foster, a wealthy Cambodian who lives in Malaysia, as she eyed the dinner's eighth course — a "pigeon en croute with cepes mushrooms." "But I can't finish it. Your senses can only appreciate so much."
High-rolling food lovers flew in from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of Asia for the 40-seat dinner organized by the Lebua luxury hotel in Bangkok, grandly titled "Epicurean Masters of the World." Cooked by six three-star Michelin chefs — four from France and one each from Germany and Italy — the menu featured complicated creations like "tartar of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belon oysters" and "mousseline of 'pattes rouges' crayfish with morel mushroom infusion."
Among the talented chefs, some said they found it challenging to give diners their money's worth.Antoine Westermann of Le Buerhiesel, a top-class restaurant in Strasbourg, France, said he shaved 3 1/2 ounces of Perigord truffles — worth about $350 — onto each plate of his "coquille Saint-Jacques and truffles."
"For $25,000, what do you expect?" he said.
As guests entered the dinner, held at the hotel's rooftop restaurant on the 65th floor overlooking Bangkok, attendants bowed and scattered rose petals at their feet. Men wore tuxedos and women were dripping in diamonds. The guests included Fortune 500 executives, a casino owner from Macau and a Taiwanese hotel owner, said Deepak
Ohri, Lebua's managing director. He declined to reveal their identities.
"It's surreal. The whole thing is surreal," said Alain Soliveres, the celebrated chef of the Taillevent restaurant in Paris.Soliveres prepared two of his signature dishes, including the first course: a "creme brulee of foie gras" that was washed down with a 1990 Cristal champagne — a bubbly that sells for more than $500 a bottle, but still stood out as one of the cheapest wines on the menu.
"To have brought together all of these three-star Michelin chefs, and to serve these wines for so many people is just an incredible feat," Soliveres said.
Chefs submitted their grocery lists to organizers beforehand and the ingredients were flown in fresh: black truffles, foie gras, oysters and live Brittany lobsters from France; caviar from Switzerland; white truffles from Italy.
Diners also sipped their way through legendary vintage wines, like a 1985 Romanee Conti, a 1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and a 1961 Chateau Palmer. The latter is considered "one of the greatest single wines of the 20th century," said Alun Griffiths of Berry Bros. & Rudd, the British wine merchants that procured and shipped about six bottles of each wine for the dinner.
The wine alone cost more than $200,000, Griffiths said. "Just to have one of these would be a great treat. To have 10 of them in one evening is the sort of thing that people would kill for." Wine lovers regularly organize exorbitantly expensive tastings in New York, London and Tokyo, but such events are not as common in Thailand, where it would take the average schoolteacher five years to earn $25,000.
On the street, where much of Bangkok's best food is served, the dinner generated talk of over-the-top excess.
"That is a waste of money," said Rungrat Ketpinyo, 44, who sells Phad Thai noodles for 75 cents a plate from a street cart outside the hotel. "I don't care how luxurious this meal is. It's ridiculous."
Organizers say the event was designed to promote Thai tourism and that most of the profits will go to two charities — Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Chaipattana Foundation, a rural development program set up by the king of Thailand. The guest list included 15 paying customers and 25 invited guests.
Organizers scrambled to fill the seats at the last minute after 10 Japanese invitees canceled their reservation, citing safety concerns after the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok that killed three people. Some chefs confessed they were astonished by the $25,000 price tag.
"It's crazy," Westermann said. "After this, nothing can shock me." But Marc Meneau, the chef of L'Esperance restaurant in Vezelay, France, called it a "culinary work of art."
"It's no more shocking than buying a painting that costs $2 million," he said.
Qualcomm donated Eudora to the open-source community, which means that anybody is free to download and use it without paying for the product. Developers can also access the code, change it and share those changes.
By Jim Finkle
Fri Sep 7, 1:50 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070907/wr_nm/eudora_reborn_dc_1;_ylt=AqrOiPTg7B1t8arqAZpOxSME1vAI
BOSTON (Reuters) - Eudora, a pioneering e-mail program named after author Eudora Welty, is rising from a technical grave as an open source program after owner Qualcomm Inc quit selling the product in May.
Eudora routinely got strong reviews from computer magazines and had a loyal user base, but commercially it was overshadowed by software that Microsoft Corp included with new personal computers, International Business Machine's Lotus software and Web e-mail programs.
On August 31 the Mozilla Foundation started distributing a test open-source version of Eudora, which was developed in the late 1980s as one of the first e-mail programs by a student at the University of Illinois. Qualcomm acquired the software and hired its creator, Steve Dorner. At one point it was used by tens of millions of people.
Eudora is not yet promoting the product on its home page as it does its other titles including its popular Mozilla browser - a rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer - and Thunderbird, another e-mail program. The new version of Eudora is being developed under the code name Penelope and is available on the Web at http://wiki.mozilla.org/Penelope.
Mozilla has said it plans to develop both Eudora and Thunderbird.
How do you multiply 850 times 77.1
In Excel 2007, the result is 100,000
http://www.appscout.com/2007/09/excel_cant_multiply.php
Specifically, Excel 2007 gives the wrong answer when multiplying many pairs of numbers whose product should be 65,535. Microsoft is now aware of the problem, and had this to say about it:
"Microsoft recently learned of the flaw in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 that affects some calculations where the product should equal 65,535. We are currently in the process of developing and testing a fix for the flaw. Microsoft places a high priority on quickly responding to customer feedback and we are committed to finding ways to provide a better software experience. "
Is this true?
I wonder, how can this bug just surfaced. Isn't there any beta tester who can verify this before it come out? In company view I should fire the programmer(s) or the team who are responsible for the mess.
If this is for true then the company (ie Microsoft) should withdraw the Excel 2007 from the market and I could also see the MS stock share is falling!
There is no better explanation from MSDN blog either,
http://blogs.msdn.com/excel
I'm still studying the issue, from the following blog the author try to explain that the bug is only a display problem and it is minor. And Excel 2007 will calculate internally for the true result. That means if we do other calculation from the wrong display, then the end result would be correct.
If this is the issue then what you get is not always what you see. You should calculate by heart if Excel 2007 come out with a 100,000 numeric display.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/09/26b.html
It would be better if we do not upgrade or use anything that we could not trust. Older software is still usable and mature.
Sometime I wonder how much does it cost to live in a new city or place that I have visited. Here's a [[2009 Mercer survey|http://www.mercer.com/costofliving]] that compare different cost of living in cities around the world, I quoted only a few of them.
New York is used as the base city for the index and scores 100 points, all cities are compared against New York and currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
<html><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees#Economist_Intelligence_Unit_surveys">
<img src="blog/city006.jpg" width="400"
alt="Scene of a city">
</a></html>
That survey, which also studied items such as food, housing, transport and entertainment costs, suggested that Singapore had not become more expensive; instead, other cities had become cheaper places to live in.
Tokyo was the fifth most expensive city while Singapore was 24th - up from the 32nd spot in 2006, the last time [[UBS conducted a similar study|http://www.ubs.com/1/e/investors/releases.html?newsId=170250]].
Employees in Tokyo earn the highest wages in Asia, making almost double the amount their counterparts earn here. While workers in Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earn the lowest wages.
"But at the other end of the spectrum, workers in Mumbai need to work 20 nine-hour days - roughly the equivalent of one month's salary - to purchase an iPod nano."
However, Asia remains home to some of the world's priciest cities and nowhere is the spread between most expensive and cheapest more pronounced, said UBS.
To make the study more relevant, the bank compared the prices of specific and highly uniform products that are available everywhere and calculated how long an employee would have to work to be able to afford them in each city.
"It found that on a global average, employees have to work 37 minutes to earn enough to buy a ~McDonald's [[Big Mac|Burgernomics]], 22 minutes for a kg of rice and 25 minutes for a kg of bread."
According to [[the table|http://www.citymayors.com/economics/richest_cities.html]] , Kuala Lumpur (62), Manila (71), New Delhi (70) and Mumbai (73) propped up as cities with the lowest prices. Jakarta ranks 72 in the list. It means that KL is costlier as compared to Jakarta.
I think that the study is not true at all. The statistic may tell you [[some lies|http://www.wendymcelroy.com/reason/stats.html]]. In most Asian cities, we do not eat ~McD as common meal, that makes the survey irrelevant enough when applied to Asian countries. People in KL don't complaint of street prices of meals. But in Jakarta, a common meal can serve up to US$4.00 which is uncomparable to US$160.00 of monthly waged salary for Indonesian. That makes Jakarta expensive enough to live in.
An ordinary meal in Singapore costs around US$2.30 which is almost the same as in other Asian cities like in Manila, KL, or in [[my hometown|Surabaya]].
In Singapore, which list as 40 in the ranks, an MRT ride from Changi airport to town proper costs only a mere US$1.00 but in Jakarta it would cost you around US$15.00 the least to get you in the city. Transportation is easier in Singapore than other cities, therefore you can safe a lot for in-city travelling. While in some cases, transportation can be a huge amount in your budget.
[[EngageMedia|http://engagemedia.org]] has just released of a new report into Free and Open Source Software video codecs. It is a review of available tools for the creation, playback and embedding of online video using FOSS codecs, and a look at the most pressing areas for development to enhance their adoption by social change video projects on the web.
FOSS Codecs for Online Video: Usability, Uptake and Development
A review of available tools for the creation, playback and embedding of online video using Free and Open Source Software video codecs and a look at the most pressing areas for development to enhance their adoption by social change video projects on the web.
http://tinyurl.com/yofb2g
A version in PDF is also available for reading offline here:
http://engagemedia.org/Members/anna/FOSS_Codecs_For_Online_Video_1_2.pdf
Summary of Recommendations
For those of you who wish to skip to the good part, there is a Summary of Recommendations with links to further information and alternatives within the report.
http://tinyurl.com/3cw5c5
Feedback and Input
There is a page on the wiki here for your input:
http://wiki.transmission.cc/index.php/FOSS_Codecs_For_Online_Video:_Input
Distribution
Please forward this report to any individuals/groups who might be interested in order to continue to promote the use and further development of FOSS video codecs and associated software. The report is released under the GNU FDL.
Funding is available in support of FOSS developers and practitioners in Asia-Pacific, to be able to attend international FOSS developer conferences to increase developer participation and knowledge sharing.
Applications close September 17th
http://www.iosn.net/exchange-grants/osi
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) awareness and usage in developing countries in Asia-Pacific is increasing and in several countries backed by government policy. There is however a lack of FOSS developers and participation in the development of FOSS projects. While the Internet provides a mechanism for the real time collaboration and sharing of ideas, it does not completely replace the need for face to face exchanges and hands on collaboration.
Attendance and participation by Asia-Pacific FOSS developers at FOSS conferences, would help increase participation and knowledge sharing. Participants can also provide valuable input on local requirements and be more involved in the direction of these projects. The objective of these grants is to provide funding for FOSS developers in the Asia-Pacific region to be able to attend international FOSS developer conferences to increase developer participation and knowledge sharing.
Eligibility
The travel grants are open to applicants from the Asia-Pacific region and for the benefit of FOSS projects for FOSS events from 24th September to 30th November 2007.
Support and Funding
IOSN will provide successful participant a grant of up to USD2,000 to cover daily expenses for up to 5 days and travel costs. Additional funds may be given if sufficient justification is accepted by review panel.
Deliverables
Successful applicants are then required to submit a travel report in the form of a case study based on a template provided by IOSN. They are also expected to blog their daily experiences.
Support and Sponsors
These grants are made available due to the support of THE OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE.
For more information please contact khairil@apdip.net
InWEnt-IOSN Training of Trainers on Free/Open Source Software-based Geographic Information Systems with Sahana Component (code: TOT FOSS-GIS Sahana Indonesia)
The State Ministry for Research and Technology (RISTEK), Republic of Indonesia
Venue: BPPT Building II, 3rd Floor
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 8
Jakarta 10340, Indonesia
24-28 March 2008
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION:
"Do you want to be a FOSS-GIS trainer?"
"Do you want to make business with services for FOSS-GIS applications?"
The International Open Source Network (IOSN) ASEAN+3 and InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany in collaboration with The State Ministry for Research and Technology (RISTEK), Republic of Indonesia are inviting both government and non-government organizations (NGOs), IT small-to-medium enterprises/businesses (SMEs/SMBs), developers, experts, trainers and users of Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) disaster management information systems to a Training of Trainers (ToT) for FOSS Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with Sahana to be held at the PDII-LIPI in Jakarta, Indonesia from March 24 to 28, 2008.
This activity is in response to the great demand and interest for a follow-up training as a result of the successful conduct of an earlier ToT on FOSS GIS for Disaster Management held last October 2007 in PDII-LIPI in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Additional information to this previous event can be found at:
http://www.ristek.go.id/index.php?mod=News&conf=v&id=2268
http://tinyurl.com/3d65xx
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/ToT_FOSSGIS07_training_materials_in_Bahasa
http://wiki.osgeo.org/ToT_FOSSGIS_07
For this present activity, the Sahana FOSS Disaster Management Information System will be included as a training component. It is a web-based collaboration tool that addresses the common coordination problems during a disaster from finding missing people, managing aid, managing volunteers, tracking camps effectively between government groups, the civil society (NGOs) and the victims themselves. More on Sahana at http://sahana.lk/
The training aims to increase the number of potential developers, experts, trainers and users of FOSS disaster management information systems, so they can be quickly deployed in times of disaster and are able to offer more efficient and effective services (physical or virtual) to the affected communities. Of equal importance is the focus on enlarging the base of local small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the field of IT, who shall be empowered to offer related FOSS-services to users of FOSS disaster management information systems.
The FOSS GIS ToT will focus on:
* Main concepts of GIS; install, configure and use FOSS GIS applications; apply FOSS GIS tools for practical purposes (disasters, resource management, data visualization, etc).
*Introduction to Sahana, a FOSS Disaster Management Information System; explore its features and applicability to disaster management as a stable and mature FOSS GIS application, particularly to Indonesian situations.
*Knowing about business possibilities with FOSS-GIS services.
*Develop a corps of trainers in Indonesia able to train others how to use FOSS GIS tools and applications.
HOW TO APPLY:
Before you proceed to apply, please refer to the detailed Participation Criteria, background and additional information along with downloadable application forms (odt and pdf formats), at the IOSN site at http://www.iosn.net/Members/fsarmiento3/tot-fossgis-sahana-indonesia
Interested individuals are invited to apply for participation by sending your responses below to: asean3[AT]iosn[DOT]net
''Application deadline: 03 March 2008''
FUNDING AND IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS
State Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK), Government of Indonesia
http://www.ristek.go.id/
InWent Capacity Building International, Germany
http://www.inwent.org/
http://www.it-foss.org
International Open Source Network (IOSN)
http://www.iosn.net/
FOSS Nepal Community is organizing "FOSS Essential Training 2007" in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 17th and 18th. Details on this training can be vied on http://www.fossnepal.org/?q=node/86
Over 27 IT professionals and students from different organizations and universities gathered at Yala Maya Kendra, Lalitpur, Nepal for a two-day Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) training called "FOSS Essentials Training 2007" on March 17-18, 2007. It was the first Free/Open Source Software training of its kind in Nepal. The key objective was to create an awareness about FOSS among general computer users, promote the use of FOSS and to build a network of FOSS practitioners and trainers in Nepal.
FOSS Essentials Training 2007 was jointly organized by FOSS Nepal Community and the Center for International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC), Singapore. The event was supported by National Information Technology Center (NITC, Nepal), and Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya (MPP, Nepal).
A broad range of topics were covered in the 2-day training including hands-on experience with installing GNU/Linux, Basic System Administration, Migration to FOSS, Localization, Collaboration in FOSS, PHP and MySQL Basics, Content Management Systems (CMS), Wiki, Blog, etc. There were resource persons from CICC-Singapore(www.cicc.org.sg), FOSS Nepal Community (www.fossnepal.org) and Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya (www.mpp.org.np).
For more information, visit
http://wiki.fossnepal.org/index.php?title=FOSS_Essentials_Training_2007
For the open content of the training, visit
http://www.sixyadaan.org/index.php?title=FOSS_ESSENTIAL_TRAINING_2007
Contact Subir Pradhanang <subirbp@gmail.com>, Ekta Silwal <ektasilwal@gmail.com> for further information.
[[FOSS.my 2008]]
[[IOSN-InWEnt Training of Trainers on the FOSS Toolkit for SMEs]]
[[VMware Virtualization Forum 2008 ]]
[[Open Source for Health Conference]]
[[Philippine Open Source Summit]]
[[Tiddlywiki meet up in San Fransisco]]
[[Workshop on Open Source and Open Content]]
[[Video Advocacy Workshop]]
[[Wikimania 2008: Call for Participation]]
[[Transmission Asia-Pacific - Call for Applications]]
[[APNG - ICT vision from, by and for Next Generation]]
[[IEEE Indonesia ComSoc: CFP- WOCN2008]]
[[FOSS bases Geographic Information Systems with Sahana Component (TOT)]]
[[Mekong ICT camp]]
Over 130 IT professionals of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from more than 27 countries had gathered at Sukabumi, Indonesia for a nine-day Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) training camp called [[Asia Source II]]. The key objective was to promote the use of FOSS for social and economic development and to build a network of FOSS practitioners and trainers with Asia.
[img[Happy fellow participants|blog/image066s.jpg]]
Asia Source II was jointly organized by UNDP's International Open Source Network (UNDP-IOSN) through its ASEAN+3 Centre of Excellence, InWEnt - Capacity Building International (Germany), Tactical Technology Collective (Netherlands), Aspiration (USA), and ICTWatch (Indonesia). The event was supported by The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Hivos and UNDP's Asia-Pacific Development Programme (UNDP-APDIP).
InWEnt Capacity Building of Germany sees networking as one of the main outcomes of Asia Source II. The newly constituted FOSS network service to key groups such as SMEs and NGOs in the region. One concrete example is a software resource toolkit for SMEs which was kick started at Asia Souce II. According to InWEnt, such capacity building provides large scale opportunities for networked local industries in Asia based on affordable localized solutions and support services. Such economic and social development is one of the main goals of InWEnt IT@FOSS programme[www.it-foss.org].
The Indonesian Minister for Research and Technology, Mr.Kusmayanto Kadiman visited the camp for the inaugural session and the closing ceremony. He reminded the participants of the social and economic benefits and impacts of FOSS to the NGO and SME sectors and introduced the participants to “Indonesia, Go Open Source” (IGOS), an initiative of the Indonesian government which promotes the adoption of FOSS.
During the press conference at Sheraton Hotel Jakarta, Bona Simanjuntak, senior researcher of ICTWatch of Indonesia pointed out that Asia Source II is a most timely opportunity for the Indonesia FOSS community to showcase their achievements to the global community.
Idaman Andarmosoko, one of the facilitators, says the choice or venture into Free and Open software for developing countries is basically a strategic choice, as it enables a repositioning on the industrial relations in the software sector. Fran Boon from Oxfam UK emphasized that access to ICTs can be made cheaper by using cheap & simple solutions, such as community radio, wireless networks using hand-built antennas & using old low-powered PCs as thin clients.
Allen Gunn of the USA based NGO Aspiration says ”FOSS is both a democratizing and empowering technology, giving practitioners control of their technological destiny while creating publishing, infrastructure and revenue opportunites that would likely be unaffordable with proprietary software”.
The main focus at Asia Source II is open publishing and broadcasting, alternative hardware and access, system migration and information management. There will also be special technical sessions on localisation, cryptography, mobile phone and VOIP and non-technical session on FOSS for women, effective communication, campaigning and advocacy strategies, disaster management, FOSS business models, etc.
Facilitators and participants at Asia Source II included Onno Purbo, IT specialist from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Farzaneh Sarafraz from Iran who developed Sharif Linux with support for Persian Language. Ravindra De Silva from the Lanka Software Foundation who worked on the Sahana Disaster Managment System. Natasha Primo from Women's Net from South Africa who has helped many African organisations shift from proprietary software to FOSS. Sayamindu Dasgupta from Free Software Foundation, India and Jamil Ahmed from Bangladesh Linux User Group who have jointly contributed to the development of Ankur, a Bengali language distribution of Linux. There are also participants from the National ICT Development Authority of Cambodia, the Philippine Linux User Group, Free Software Foundation of Pakistan, TXTPower from the Philippines and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Indonesia and many other organizations.
Asia Source II is a follow up event to Asia Source I which was held on January 2005 in Bangalore, India and was build on the model of Source Events developed by Tactical Technology Collective — more information: http://replication.tacticaltech.org
http://www.cio.in/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=2793
[[FOSS.IN|http://FOSS.IN/2007 ]] is India's largest and probably best known Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) conferences, and is now spoken about as one of the the four primary, grassroot-level FOSS conferences in the world, the other three being being linux.conf.au, OLS and linuxconf.eu.
The conference sees thousands of participants coming together from across India and from many parts of the world, to listen to talks on cutting edge FOSS technologies, given by leading FOSS developers and contributors from across the world. They also participate in discussions, BoFs, workshops and just a lot of honest-to-goodness fun, meeting people, exchanging ideas, hatching plans for world domination.
FOSS.IN differs from other conferences by being completely developer and contributor focused. There are no "preaching to the choir" evangelism talks, no bandwidth-robbing introductory talks, no boring "I could have read this on the web" talks - this conference is hard-core developer/contributor oriented.
FOSS.IN will help professional and student developers, who have development experience but no prior FOSS experience, to become successful FOSS contributors, by exposing them to the minds of some of the most brilliant developers in the world. They will learn about cutting edge technologies that come out of the FOSS community to literally change the world, and they will learn what it is like to work in a team of geographically dispersed people.
And existing FOSS developers and contributors will get together and fine-tune ideas and projects, learn new and interesting ways to change the world they live in, and help new developers to come up to speed.
The newly introduced Project Days give you a chance to get involved with eight of the most talked about FOSS projects on the planet, and will learn to contribute to them.
At FOSS.IN, you are not artificially kept at the fringe by unreal, self-serving commercial interests - you are mainstream. This is one of the most anticipated technical events every year, and there is a good reason for this.
So how do you participate?
If you are a FOSS developer/contributor, you should submit proposals for sessions for the Project Days and/or the Main conference. But you better hurry up - the last date for submission is October 8th, 2007.
If you are not (yet) a FOSS developer/contributor and want to learn how to be one, you attend the event as a delegate - i.e. part of of the audience of thousands of people who are there to learn, interact and have fun.
If you are an organization that would like to see India producing more and more FOSS contributors, whose razor sharp skills will also show up in their work in your organization, then you should consider sponsoring the event. While many of the sponsor slots are already filled, there is room for a few more.
And finally, if you are a member of the FOSS community, and want to be at one of the most happening (technically and socially) FOSS events in the world, then make sure you have your calendar marked for December 4th through 8th, 2007.
The venue will be (for the most part) the National Science Symposium Centre (NSSC) of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
http://foss.in/2007/info/Home
Here are the selected Project Days sessions, in alphabetical order:
* Debian/Ubuntu
* Fedora
* Gnome
* IndLinux
* KDE
* Mozilla
* OpenOffice.org
* OpenSolaris
These eight Project Days sessions will be part of the CfP that will be published next, and people will be able to submit talk proposals for each of them (and the Main conference, of course).
FOSS.IN/2009 will be held on December 1-5, 2009 (Tuesday through Saturday) at Bangalore’s largest and most modern conference venue – the NIMHANS Convention Centre.
Just as always, FOSS.IN is a contributor event, focusing on development efforts in FOSS from India.But this year, we are taking even further, by expanding the event to encompass not just the concept of Free and Open Source Software, but the very mindset that drives it – the hacker mindset.
[[FOSS.IN/2009’s Call for Participation|http://foss.in/news/fossincfp-2009.html]]
This is a Call for Participation inviting proposals for FOSS talks, FOSS ~WorkOuts, Workshops, ~BoFs, Projects of the Day and Tech Talks at FOSS.IN/2009.
Important Dates
16-Oct-2009 | Call for Participation and start of submissions
26-Oct-2009 | End of submissions proposals
31-Oct-2009 | List of accepted submissions published
15-Nov-2009 | Due date for final slides & talk materials
01-Dec-2009 | Conference begins
The[[ registration|http://foss.in/register/speaker-registration-2009]] for talks, workouts, workshops, ~BoFs and tech-talks is open now. If you have questions, hop onto the mailing list, or use the contact system.
The Event Format
Because of the huge amount of space and the facilities at the NIMHANS Convention Centre, we are able to flex our intellectual muscles more than ever, and are able to expand on the concepts introduced last year.
This means that unlike last year, FOSS.IN Workouts will run for the duration of the event, not just for a few hours. So projects can ask for (and will be allotted) areas where teams can hunker down for upto 5 days, and work on their projects. We will provide network and electricity and tables, you bring your notebooks, special equipment, enthusiasm and talent. All we ask is that you work on FOSS projects, and keep us informed about progress every evening.
As usual, talks will be focused on FOSS projects and contribution to them, but we won’t turn down te occasional high quality talk by an exceptional presenter, even if it isn’t quite about FOSS or contribution (but is at least related to it). For example, a talk about hacker spirit and mentality, given by someone known for her knowledge of the subject and ability to present, would certainly be accepted.
We will, however, draw a line at advocacy, political or introductory talks. As usual, we do not want to compete with other events that happen roound the year, that handle such subjects.
This year, we have much more room for the sponsor expo and FOSS expo, and FOSS projects will be able to exhibit their work to visitors and interact with them. There will be lots of space for discussions, socialising, project meetings, brainstorms and much more.
But most of all, we expect to see people building on the foundation stones we laid last year, to make FOSS.IN the biggest and most productive FOSS conference in the world. Our mottos //Technology for a Free World// and //Talk is Cheap, Show me the Code// are very much the core focus of the event – let’s show the world what India, and the FOSS community, is capable of delivering.
[[FOSS.my 2008|http://foss.my/]] is Malaysia’s premier Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) event. Whilst this is our first go at it, we aim for this to be an annual event bringing together professionals and enthusiasts from Malaysia, Singapore, Asia and the rest of the world for a two day grassroots driven FOSS conference.
Date: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November 2008,
Venue: Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (TPM Campus) will be host to FOSS.my 2008!
FOSS.my is different from other events in that we focus only on FOSS and that this conference is purely non-commercial. There will be no marketing/sales talks by vendors (we are very strict on this!) so all that is presented is FOSS goodness! Instead, vendors will be encouraged to speak on the FOSS technical aspects of their projects/tools. This approach works better as it benefits all through knowledge sharing within the community.
Do explore http://foss.my/ to find out more about the event, and how you can participate as a speaker, delegate, volunteer, exhibitor or sponsor!
http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=31768802826
Open Source Geospatial Foundation is pleased to announce the Call for Abstract for the FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial) 2010 conference, being held
September 6-9, in beautiful Barcelona, Spain.
Held annually, [[FOSS4G|http://2010.foss4g.org]] is the premier conference for the open source geospatial community, providing a full-immersion experience in established and leading edge geospatial technologies for developers, users, and people new to open source geospatial.
FOSS4G 2010 presentations are 25 minute talks, with 5 minute question and answer sessions at the end. Presentations cover the use or development of open source geospatial software. Anyone can can submit a presentation proposal and take part in the conference as a presenter.
Read full information at: http://www.osgeo.org/foss4g/2010/call_for_abstracts
[[FOSSASIA|http://fossasia.org]] is one of the top Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) events for developers, enterprises, governments and general users held annually in Vietnam. The event brings together FOSS projects from Asia and around the world.
This FOSSASIA 2010 is to be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on November 12 – 14.
[[Call of participation|http://fossasia.org/speaker-registration/]]
FOSSASIA is an exciting event gathering many contributors from the free and open source communities and enterprises. FOSSASIA offers sessions for newbie users, advanced business users, enthusiastic promoters, beginning coders or anyone interested in cutting-edge Open Source technologies.
The main topics of FOSSASIA 2010 are Lightweight Computing and Women in IT. We are also looking for contributions to the ~OpenOffice Asia Summit and the Debian ~Mini-Debconf.
*Lightweight solutions (mobile, desktop, web, server, hardware)
*Fostering the Asian community and Women in IT
*~OpenOffice Summit Asia
*Debian ~Mini-Debconf Asia
1) Talks / Presentations
The sessions at the FOSSASIA will be scheduled a) for 30 minutes and b) for one hour blocks of time. Expect approximately 20 minutes for a half an hour block and about 45 minutes for a talk with the final 15 minutes used for questions and group discussion. The session could be a technical talk, panel discussion, or BOF.
2) Lightning Talks
The lightning talks at the FOSSASIA are short presentations. Each lightning talk is only 5 minutes long with no time for Q&A. Proposals for lightning talks will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, limited by available space.
3) Hands on labs/Workshops
At FOSSASIA summit 2010, we will have a special area for workshops.
4) Exhibition area for your project/community
Exhibitions including booths, posters and stands of community projects are welcome. Spaces are free of charge.
This three-day event is well supported by [[Open Office organization|http://openoffice.org]], debian community, Quang Trung Software Park, MBM International and many others.
I didn't know facebook some two years ago. Now it is going to offer its shares in the stock exchange. In layman term, it means that facebook now has [[some value|http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8WKOckNML3k]] that the owner may offer to sell portion of previously a no value company with users paying nothing.
"A [[Facebook IPO|http://www.facebook-ipo.com/]] may attract the same level of attention as Google Inc.’s share sale in 2004. Google sold 19.6 million shares for $1.67 billion in August 2004, giving the company a market value of $23 billion."
The more and more users will only create facebook more power and the richer it will be, not by gaining income from users but from people who want to invest by buying shares from the stock exchange. In this case, the New York stock exchange.
"[[Facebook|http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=70302]], which has more than 300 million users, has raised more than $600 million from investors since it was founded more than five years ago. Its most recent infusion came this spring from Russian Internet investor Digital Sky Technologies, which invested $200 million in exchange for a 2 percent stake in the company, valuing Facebook at $10 billion. "
In short, actually we //the facebook users// are working for the company or its owner by getting more friends acquainted and accounted as new recruited facebook users.
The same goes with [[google wave|What is Google wave?]], the more users it has, the more powerful it will be and we are part of the growing unpaid workers that will certainly make google richer.
Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision -- "The Network is the Computer" -- Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.
*Founded 1982 by Andreas von Bechtolsheim, Vinod Khosla, Bill Joy and Scott McNealy
*34.200 employees worldwide, 13.9 billion dollars (9.4 billion euros) in revenues FY 2007, market cap (total value of all Sun shares) about the same as yearly revenues
*Grew astronomically with the Web, suffered from the Web bubble, now profitable over the last four quarters
*Lead by Scott McNealy until 2006, now by Jonathan Schwartz (a prolific blogger)
*The world’s biggest contributor to Open Source: Open Office, Java (now under GPL), GlassFish, NetBeans — and soon MySQL
*Environmentally friendly; large numbers of distributed employees working at least partially from home
*Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, just south of Cupertino (MySQL’s North American headquarters)
*Counts some of the worlds most brilliant innovators amongst its current and past employees
Posted on April 4th, 2007 by John Pospisil
A recent Harris Poll has found that while most online computers users are aware of Microsoft’s Windows Vista, few are intending to switch over to the new operating system anytime soon.
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/04/04/
The Harris Poll of 2223 US online adults in early March found that 87% were aware of Vista. Unfortunately for Microsoft, only 12% of Vista-aware respondents were intending to upgrade to Vista in the next 12 months.
The poll revealed that 39% of those intending to move over to Vista planned to upgrade their existing computer so it would meet Vista requirements, 35% planned to buy a new computer with Vista preinstalled, 17% planned to purchase a new “Vista-ready” computer, and 8% said that they would install Vista on their existing computer without any upgrade.
A similar Harris Poll in December 2006, just one month before Vista’s consumer launch, found that 47% of those online were aware of Vista, and that 20% intended to upgrade in the coming year. It seems that while Microsoft’s “Wow Starts Now” marketing campaign has boosted awareness of Vista, it hasn’t substantially increased the total number of people planning to upgrade.
The survey does indicate, however, that the release of the new operating system has affected the timing of the purchase of a new computer for 40% of the respondents who were aware of Vista: one in five said they had delayed the purchase of a new computer, and one in five said they would bring forward the purchase of a new computer.
According to Milton Ellis, Vice President of Harris Interactive’s Technology Group, said Microsoft has some way to go to convert the awareness of Vista into sales.
“In order to generate that ‘WOW’ factor, Microsoft will have to put forth a value proposition that will move the majority to the upgrade category in the years ahead. Vista promised better performance, reliability, security, and a revolutionary user interface - but it appears consumers looking to upgrade are not ready to buy into the promise whereas new computer buyers will want the latest and greatest,” said Ellis.
“Microsoft has faced this challenge before with operating system upgrades. Consumers tend to wait until a few service packs have been released to fix real or perceived problems. No doubt, Microsoft understands these issues and will proceed accordingly.”
Leonardo Fibonacci was a mathematician who was born in Italy around the year 1170. It is believed that Mr. Fibonacci discovered the relationship of what are now referred to as Fibonacci numbers while studying the Great Pyramid of Gizeh in Egypt.
Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers in which each successive number is the sum of the two previous numbers:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, etc.
These numbers possess an intriguing number of interrelationships, such as the fact that any given number is approximately 1.618 times the preceding number and any given number is approximately 0.618 times the following number. The booklet [[Understanding Fibonacci Numbers|Understanding Fibonacci Numbers]] by Edward Dobson contains a good discussion of these interrelationships.
Interpretation
There are four popular Fibonacci studies: arcs, fans, retracements, and time zones. The interpretation of these studies involves anticipating changes in trends as prices near the lines created by the Fibonacci studies.
Arcs
Fibonacci Arcs are displayed by first drawing a trendline between two extreme points, for example, a trough and opposing peak. Three arcs are then drawn, centered on the second extreme point, so they intersect the trendline at the Fibonacci levels of 38.2%, 50.0%, and 61.8%.
//Do you know that hips and busts measurements in fashion design or figurine statues in musea is fibonacci number of closely 1.618? So Fibonacci has defined a beautiful bust by its number as percepted by human.//
Interesting discussion about the [[Firefox 3 download day|http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/?p=downloadday]]. In Indonesia, it is well informed and I believe some can download it with the luxurious bandwidth they have, mostly from government offices.
On other parts, they will wait for the CD to come out. Usually avail in most magazines with CDs in the next edition. Because of the bandwidth limitation and don't have the luxury, 17-20MB is big enough to download for most of us, in terms of time and cost of internet connection.
I refrained myself of downloading any new version of coming out software until it has tested and again well tested. This new thing is only for the experts or those who need the new features of the new version had to offer.
I don't want it to make unbelievable things happen to developed software. I have used FF2 for more than a year and use it for editing and saving my wikiblog. There are reports that FF3 still have bugs when running tiddlywiki.
The Associated Press, New York | Wed, 06/18/2008 9:32 PM |
The new version of the Firefox Web browser became available as a free download Tuesday (Wednesday Jakarta time). The release was delayed as visitors checking for the update overloaded Firefox's Web servers.
The site was slow or unreachable for about two hours starting about 12:45 p.m. EDT (16:45 GMT), 15 minutes before the scheduled release time, according to AlertSite, an Internet performance monitoring company. Performance improved later in the day.
Firefox supporters organized launch parties around the world as they tried to set a [[world record|http://www.spreadfirefox.com/worldrecord]] for most software downloads in a 24-hour period. The category is new, and Guinness World Records must certify it, a process that could take a week or longer.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/06/18/firefox-3-web-browser-now-out-free-download.html
The first ever Open Source Camp in Bangladesh will be held at SUST, Sylhet on 23-24th March 2007. CSE Soceity and SUST OSN are jointly organizing the event. Ankur and BdOSN will provide the support.
Mr Jamil Ahmed of Ankur will direct the camp. Students from SUST will be the main participants. However, students from other university like BRAC University will also attend the camp.
The 2 Day long camp will focus the capacity building of the students towards Open Source Software and Open Content Development. The camp will cover the hands on experience with GNU Linux, Open Office, Mozilla, LAMP/WAMP as well as Wikipedia.
http://www.iosn.net/Members/munirhasan/OS%20Camp
Contact Jamil Ahmed <itsjamil@gmail.com> for more information.
Food supplements are eating up household money through useless health cravings, often aided by doctors' prescriptions. The DSHEA caters to businesses rather than to human health.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/09/30/food-supplements-can-rob-our-wallets-and-make-us-even-sicker.html
Iwan Darmansjah , Jakarta | Tue, 09/30/2008 10:18 AM | Opinion
A 50-year-old male patient with a body weight of 91 kg consulted me one morning with a long-standing cough which I diagnosed as bronchitis. It had been preceded by a short period by a flu, which is known as a viral infection, but all the symptoms had disappeared except the hacking, phlegm-producing cough.
Bronchitis is an irritating disease that may last for weeks or months, often hard to cure, even much more difficult than the more serious pneumonia (infection of the lung tissue). While community-acquired pneumonia is easily cured by antibiotics, bronchitis is difficult to manage and reacts best with rest and anti-asthma drugs because antibiotics don't work. This patient, however, was given -- by his doctor -- one course of unneeded antibiotics and seven food supplements, costing him Rp 1.4 million.
The free trading of these dietary supplements was initially triggered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Dietary Supplement, Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. This law makes it easy to market dietary supplements because no data on safety and efficacy are needed. This means that no basic studies or clinical trials are required.
Many medical practitioners are also unaware that supplements are not drugs and are devoid of any evidence of clinical trials that prove efficacy -- and safety. Many supplements have adverse reactions, and combined with polypharmacy (using more drugs than is really needed) are causing interactions between molecules in the body, causing unknown and problematic body reactions -- not to be excluded -- this includes cancers. The rage of antioxidant consumption, for instance, has been said to be a trigger of cancer.
Antioxidants are good for preserving food, especially cake, but there is no positive proof (evidence) that it preserves human health needs, notably when overused. An array of different brands and shapes of bottles filled with oxygenated water is also beginning to replace the wine list in European restaurants and hotels.
Imagine that, perhaps now, at least 20 to 30 percent of the world is using or trading supplements, further stimulated by multi-level marketing, a business that is nonfunctional and contributes nothing of lasting economic value.
It is created by today's style of business -- short-term gains by such events such as holiday sales and discounted prices for things we really don't need or use. We may, perhaps, have the largest number of malls (relatively speaking) in greater Jakarta, but yet the city is still building more.
Economically the entire nation may suffer from a backlash of real growth, and may therefore lack innovation to make a positive change. Malls are also providing the place to spend that kind of money; they even have become the playgrounds of children and adults, causing transmission of airborne diseases.
As the name suggests, DSHEA stipulates that the Act includes education of the public. This would fall on the shoulders of the U.S. FDA, and indeed a large budget accompanies this activity. Informative leaflets are to be inserted in each packet and the internet and other media contributes ample warnings and caveats on supplements.
In developing countries, however, no impartial information is provided by governments, while deceptive advertisements in all media forms are widespread. While some supplements are producing beneficial results in selected users, very often devious marketing tactics are attracting sick people who then do not use the available efficacious drugs, overthrowing entire therapeutic systems.
The serious question to be asked is whether this phenomenon, together with all the other unethical marketing scams in the world, may lead to an aftermath following the global housing and credit crunch that may be greater than anything imagined, affecting the 6 billion have-nots on our planet.
The writer is a Clinical Pharmacologist.
It's got the same climate as Earth, plus water and gravity. A newly discovered planet is the most stunning evidence that life - just like us - might be out there.
[[Last updated at 13:24pm on 25th April 2007|http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/technology/sciencetechnology.html?in_page_id=1965]]
Above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach, something stirs...
This is the scene - or may be the scene - on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System. The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes. If forced bookies to slash odds on the existence of alien beings.
The Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface. This remarkable discovery appears to confirm the suspicions of most astronomers that the universe is swarming with Earth-like worlds.
We don't yet know much about this planet, but scientists believe that it may be the best candidate so far for supporting extraterrestrial life. The new planet, which orbits a small, red star called Gliese 581, is about one-and-a-half times the diameter of the Earth.
[img[New planet|blog/planet3s.jpg]]
It probably has a substantial atmosphere and may be covered with large amounts of water - necessary for life to evolve - and, most importantly, temperatures are very similar to those on our world.
It is the first exoplanet (a planet orbiting a star other than our own Sun) that is anything like our Earth. Of the 220 or so exoplanets found to date, most have either been too big, made of gas rather than solid material, far too hot, or far too cold for life to survive.
"On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X," says Xavier Delfosse, one of the scientists who discovered the planet.
"Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life."
Gliese 581 is among the closest stars to us, just 20.5 light years away (about 120 trillion miles) in the constellation Libra. It is so dim it can be seen only with a good telescope. Because all planets are relatively so small and the light they give off so faint compared to their sun, finding exoplanets is extremely difficult unless they are huge. Those that have so far been detected have mostly been massive, Jupiter-like balls of gas that almost certainly cannot be home to life.
This new planet - known for the time being as Gliese 581c - is a midget in comparison, being about 12,000 miles across (Earth is a little under 8,000 pole-to-pole). It has a mass five times that of Earth, probably made of the same sort of rock as makes up our world and with enough gravity to hold a substantial atmosphere.
Astrobiologists - scientists who study the possibility of alien life - refer to a climate known as the Goldilocks Zone, where it is not so cold that water freezes and not so hot that it boils, but where it can lie on the planet's surface as a liquid.
In our solar system, only one planet - Earth -lies in the Goldilocks Zone. Venus is far too hot and Mars is just too cold. This new planet lies bang in the middle of the zone, with average surface temperatures estimated to be between zero and 40c (32-102f). Lakes, rivers and even oceans are possible. It is not clear what this planet is made of. If it is rock, like the Earth, then its surface may be land, or a combination of land and ocean.
Another possibility is that Gliese 581c was formed mostly from ice far from the star (ice is a very common substance in the Universe), and moved to the close orbit it inhabits today. In which case its entire surface will have melted to form a giant, planet-wide ocean with no land, save perhaps a few rocky islands or icebergs. The surface gravity is probably around twice that of the Earth and the atmosphere could be similar to ours.
Although the new planet is in itself very Earth-like, its solar system is about as alien as could be imagined. The star at the centre - Gliese 581 - is small and dim, only about a third the size of our Sun and about 50 times cooler. The two other planets are huge, Neptune-sized worlds called Gliese 581b and d (there is no "a", to avoid confusion with the star itself).
The Earth-like planet orbits its sun at a distance of only six million miles or so (our Sun is 93 million miles away), travelling so fast that its "year" only lasts 13 of our days. The parent star would dominate the view from the surface - a huge red ball of fire that must be a spectacular sight.
It is difficult to speculate what - if any - life there is on the planet. If there is life there it would have to cope with the higher gravity and solar radiation from its sun. Just because Gliese 581c is habitable does not mean that it is inhabited, but we do know its sun is an ancient star - in fact, it is one of the oldest stars in the galaxy, and extremely stable. If there is life, it has had many billions of years to evolve.
This makes this planet a prime target in the search for life. According to Seth Shostak, of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California, the Gliese system is now a prime target for a radio search. 'We had actually looked at this system before but only for a few minutes. We heard nothing, but now we must look again.'
By 2020 at least one space telescope should be in orbit, with the capability of detecting signs of life on planets orbiting nearby stars. If oxygen or methane (tell-tale biological gases) are found in Gliese 581c's atmosphere, this would be good circumstantial evidence for life.
[[There are billions of like-earth planets in the universe]]
As Seth Shostak says: "We've never found one close to being like the Earth until now. We are finding that Earth is not such an unusual puppy in the litter of planets."
But are these alien Earths home to life? No one knows. We don't understand how life began on our world, let alone how it could arise anywhere else. There may be an awful lot of bugs and bacteria out there, and only a few worlds with what we would recognise as plants and animals. Or, of course, there may be nothing.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute uses radio telescopes to try to pick up messages sent by alien civilisations. Interestingly, Gliese 581c is so close to the Earth that if its putative inhabitants only had our level of technology, they could - just about - pick up some of our radio signals, such as the most powerful military transmitters. Quite what would happen if we for our part did receive a signal is unclear.
"There is a protocol, buried away in the United Nations," says Dr Shostak. "The President would be told first, after the signal was confirmed by other observatories. But we couldn't keep such a discovery secret."
It may be some time before we detect any such signals, but it is just possible that today we are closer than ever to finding life in the stars. William Hill said it had shortened the odds on proving the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence from 1,000-1 to 100-1.
Spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We would face a possible eight-figure payout if it were to be confirmed that intelligent life of extra-terrestrial origin exists. We felt we had to react to the news that an earth-like planet which could support intelligent life had been discovered - after all, we don't know for sure that intelligent extraterrestrial life has not already been discovered."
The new planet, so far unnamed, is 20.5 light years away and orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581.
For the technologically challenged, buying a simple PC can be a daunting task. There are so many models and outlets to choose from.
Features - August 14, 2006 by Arnawa Widagda, Contributor, Jakarta
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060814.Q03
Manufacturers are not making it any easier either. Most of the time, brochures are filled more with marketing hype and technical buzz words and not enough substantial facts. Often, less tech-savvy buyers will look to a tech-geek friend or product reviews to help them make their choice.
The first thing you should do before buying a PC is to find at least three reasons for wanting it. Usually, these reasons fall into work, play and enjoying multimedia entertainment -- mostly movies and music. List your reasons and set a priority for each one.
The second step is to look at the hardware requirements of the software you will be using. It is important to note that you should at least plan to buy a PC that meets the recommended requirements. Meeting the recommended requirements means you will have the most optimal experience with the software on your PC.
The third step is to look at how you will be using the PC. If you like to multitask, no doubt you will probably be running multiple applications at one time, ie. using a word processor and spreadsheet together, quite probably periodically switching to check e-mails and browse the Internet.
Most people also like to play music when they are working and do not forget firewall and anti-virus software to protect your PC. However, if you mainly use your PC as a multimedia PC with no Internet connection, you will only use one application -- the media player -- and you don't need firewall and anti-virus protection running all the time.
For a multitasking PC, memory is an all important factor. Each application you are running will use a little bit of memory, so it is wise to go higher than the recommended requirements. For most office use, 512 MB is recommended while for more demanding applications and environment, ie. with anti-virus downloads and firewall in the background, 1 GB memory is a must. 2 GB is recommended if you like to switch between a multitasking desktop and demanding games, but 4 GB is overkill.
The second factor that may help some of your multitasking woes is the use of dual-core processors. With a dual-core processor, the operating system will spread the workload between the two cores so that technically you can have two applications running full speed at the same time.
However, do not expect a two-fold increase in performance because with a single application, only the first core gets used. Even if you are switching between applications, the second core is rarely used -- you have to run something quite demanding in the background to get any real benefit from the second core.
There are some applications that can distribute their workload across two or more processors, but most of these applications are used by professionals, ie. content creation with video/audio editing and post production, image/photo editing and software 3D rendering.
If you work with these applications, dual-core processors may offer a substantial boost in performance. New, demanding PC games can also make use of dual-core processors more efficiently than older ones.
Right now, the fastest dual-core processors are Intel's Core 2 Duo processors, followed closely by AMD's Athlon 64 X2 processors. However, Core 2 Duo systems is still quite expensive and not always available, so if you cannot wait, the more affordable Athlon 64 X2 processors like the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ or 4200+ is a good buy. For notebooks, Intel's Core Duo processors are better than AMD's Turion, offering slightly faster performance and longer battery life.
Naturally, if you're only using your PC for watching movies and listening to music, a less expensive single-core processor like Intel's Core Solo or AMD Sempron with 512 MB of memory is more than enough. It should be fast enough for simple office applications and Internet use though with anti-virus and firewall protection running in the background it may seem a little slow sometimes.
Traditionally, even the menial integrated graphics cards or the so called "on-board graphics" is enough for desktop and multimedia use. The only reason to get a faster, more powerful graphics cards is if you want to play new demanding 3D games.
The last step is doing research and setting a budget. Find out which vendor offers the most support -- which is very important for notebooks -- and which has better longevity or can be easily upgraded for desktops.
If the product you want goes over your budget, ask about the options or the differentiating factor between products. For example, having a flat panel LCD for a desktop PC sure is nice, but you may still get by with a flat screen CRT and save some money.
Some additional things you might want to consider, particularly with a notebook, is build, design, comfort and ergonomics. A better design with tougher materials like magnesium or titanium alloy is more durable to misuse and abuse, though it might be slightly heavier.
Richard Stallman once wrote that the point about free software is it is "free as in freedom, not free as in beer", meaning that people should be at liberty to do as they pleased with software, rather than subscribe to its restrictive licences. As the recession takes hold, the stress may be on the second half of his now-famous aphorism. To the millions downloading free software in a recession, the point is that it is free – as in free beer.
Since Stallman first made his rallying cry as the founder of the free software movement in the 1980s, the way that software has been developed and distributed has been transformed. There cannot be a corner of the industrialised world that doesn't rely on some form of free software. But free software, and the open source movement it inspired, has so far affected mostly the back-end world of servers and databases, or taken over from software, like the web browser, that was already available at zero cost.
<<tabs free
open "First tab" [[Open source apps are no small free beer]]
office "Second tab" [[The Open Office Politics]]
free "Third tab" [[Without Free Software, Open Source Would Lose its Meaning]]
>>
Supplement from Jakarta Post - July 29, 2006
E. Effendi/Contributor
empy_effendi@freshmindsgroup.com
OK, here's the situation. You're handling five serious problems with your team and you have no idea how to solve them. Your team keeps debating solutions but somehow the problems seem to get more complicated after each discussion. Your boss suddenly adds to the pressure by moving the deadline forward and on top of that, he adds two more problems for your team to solve. What do you do?
If you are an inexperienced manager, you might panic and consequently wet your pants. But if you've been in that position for years, you'll probably do the most logical thing, which is to quit and look for another job.
No, just kidding. An experienced manager would not quit. He would gather his team to solve this problem right away, just like you can, except that he has more knowledge, skill, more advisors and a bigger budget. Isn't management fun?
If you face a big problem, you have to first gather your team and discuss the problem in a structured way. You need to invite them to attend a meeting and explain how important it is to solve the problem and how this problem bothers your organization so that they are willing to attend. Also explain that there will be free donuts.
Once you are in the meeting, you need to decide what the problem really is. Craft a problem statement and write it on a flipchart. It's an important tool to keep the discussion from straying and making you wonder whether the coffee served contains alcohol.
Please note a problem statement should not contain any suggested solutions or causes. Therefore "to increase teamwork with a limited budget" is a far better problem statement than, "to increase teamwork by reducing members' BO and bathing more".
After you decide on the problem statement, you need to analyze the problem and find the main cause. This is where you reach the fun part where your team members, in the spirit of cooperation and workmanship, blame each other and spit at each other.
Therefore, you need to manage this process wisely, otherwise your team members will point fingers at each other, resulting in unhealthy conflict. Fortunately, there are several methods available to facilitate the process. The simplest way is the why-why method, in which you continuously ask the question "why" to the problem until you reach the main causes of the problem. It is a very popular method to find a root cause because it whittles the problem down to the source. Besides, the constant questioning will drive your team members mad.
Another popular method is the fishbone diagram, developed by Kaoru Ishikawa from the University of Tokyo. In this method, you need to first draw a fishbone figure to draft the problem, such as this:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After you draw the chart, your team members will have a new perspective, which is how bad your drawing skill is. However, this diagram will really help you in understanding the problem. What you do is write the main problem in the head part of the diagram. Then you write the symptoms or the sub problems in each box on the bone, and write the causes of the problem in each bone, as below.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That way, the fishbone diagram is proven to be a tool that can show the relationship between each symptom and their causes in order to decide which problem/cause you should tackle first, so that you can focus on it ... and then get stuck.
It is because you keep staring at the problem and do nothing. It is now time to do something and find the solutions, which is the next phase of the process.
We will discuss several methods of finding a solution next session, in which we will again have a group meeting and fight with each other brutally. But, hey, there are always donuts.
Recently the [[Norwegian has declared war on using IE6.|http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/02/norwegian-websi.html]]
"Several large websites in Norway have launched an advocacy campaign urging Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 users to upgrade their outdated web browsers."
//The funny thing is that IE6 has been upgraded to IE7 and now IE8 is launched. Even Microsoft is joining the campaign.//
Even Microsoft is supporting the campaign. Norwegian news site Teknisk Ukeblad reports Thursday that Microsoft Norway's Alveberg Isabella says, "We of course hope that our users follow us on [upgrading] to Internet Explorer 7."
//~IE6 is an old browser of 2001 that people still make use of it. But there are more options from available nowaday browsers.//
Dozens of other sites, including the influential tech news website Digi.no, have joined the campaign, but have widened the playing field by suggesting either upgrading to ~IE7 or switching to an alternative like Firefox, Safari or, of course, Norway's own Opera browser.
[[Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominates the market|http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090317/wr_nm/us_google_chrome_1]], with a 67.4 percent market share in February, while the Mozilla foundation's Firefox browser had a roughly 22 percent share. Apple's Safari browser had an 8 percent share.
Last month, Google officially joined the European Union's antitrust case against Microsoft, describing the browser market as "largely uncompetitive." The EU has charged Microsoft with abusing its dominant market position by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with its Windows personal computer operating system.
Sites in Sweden, Indonesia and Australia have joined in. Norwegian blogger Peter Haza is cataloging the participants, and an international wiki called "~IE6 - DO NOT WANT" has been set up to track the spreading browsercide. There's a Facebook group, too.
The next [[Ubuntu 10.04|https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidLynx]] will be supplied without GIMP and is replaced by ~F-Spot which is a simpler module for image editing. The reason is to spare more space on live CD for other useful resources.
http://techie-buzz.com/ubuntu/gimp-removed-from-ubuntu-10-04-lucid-lynx.html
GIMP is an image editing tool and has been part of Ubuntu CD for a really long time. Although, this decision was taken to reduce the size of the Ubuntu live CD, it may have many other side advantages and logical explanations.
*GIMP is a high end application for the more professional users.
*The GIMP User Interface has many options, settings and editing capabilities. GIMP has never had a interface as "good" as Photoshop.
The developers at the Ubuntu Development Summit has decided to [[remove GIMP|https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RemoveGimp]] from the next Ubuntu release onwards.
However GIMP will still be installable via Synaptic package manager or from Ubuntu Software Center.
GIMP is actually a powerful open source product on image manipulation. This strategy will leave Ubuntu to sell on its own, ending the long lasting relation with GIMP. Neither one of them [[commented|http://lists.xcf.berkeley.edu/lists/gimp-developer/2009-November/023779.html]] wrongly,
This has happened before when Pidgin was replaced by Empathy which is a bigger product that users may found it heavy. Later on, Ubuntu could also remove Open Office which is also taking space and leave it on demand via apt-get.
Goodbye Karmic Koala and welcome Lucid Lynx.
The second GNOME.Asia Summit will be held in [[Ho-Chi-Minh City|http://gnome.asia/en/location/]], Vietnam, from 20-22 November, 2009. The GNOME.Asia Summit is an exciting event gathering many contributors from the free and open source desktop communities, bringing together the Asian community, and providing a forum for planning future development and growth.
The theme of the summit is 'Get Freedom with GNOME' which refers to the primary goals of the [[GNOME.Asia Summit|http://gnome.asia/en/]]: spreading the knowledge of GNOME and free/open source software across Asia; and building a vibrant, thriving community around it. Our target audiences include GNOME users, developers, contributors, students, and clients in Asia.
Topic areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
* GNOME 3.0
* Localization & Internationalization
* Mobile platforms and thin clients with Maemo and LXDE
* GNOME and free and Open Source Communities
* GNOME library and application development
* Desktop deployments
* School software
The event will feature keynotes, sessions, lightning talks, exhibitions, and a hands-on lab. We are asking for submissions for three types of proposals:
1) Sessions
2) Lightning talks
3) Exhibition, hands-on lab
The sessions at the GNOME.Asia Summit will be scheduled for one hour blocks of time. You should expect approximately 45 minutes of lecture with the final 15 minutes used for questions and group discussion. Please take into consideration any time you will need for preparation. The session could be a technical talk, panel discussion, or BOF.
The lightning talks at the GNOME.Asia Summit are short presentations. Each lightning talk is only 5 minutes long with no time for Q&A. Please take into consideration any time you will need for preparation, such as projector setup. Proposals for lightning talks will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, limited by available space.
At the GNOME.Asia summit 2009, we will have a special area for exhibition and hands-on Lab. Exhibitions including booths, posters and stands, and hands-on Lab are welcome.
To be considered for inclusion as a participant at the GNOME.Asia Summit 2009, please send an email to committee@gnome.asia with a short abstract about your proposal. The submitted abstract should indicate the type of your proposal. Include your name, biographical information, a photo suitable for the web, a title, and a description of your presentation (under 400 words). The reviewing team will evaluate the entries based on the submitted abstracts and available time in the schedule.
The deadline for submissions is November 6, 2009. Successful candidates will be selected and notified by the organizing committee by November 9, 2009. Once your abstract is selected you will need to create an account on the GNOME.Asia Summit website where you will need to update your topic information, along with providing some biographical information.
All interested contributors are highly encouraged to send in their proposals. Please help us to spread the invitation to other potential participants. Even you do not plan to be a speaker, please consider joining us. This is going to be a great event!
[[GNOME_Asia_Call_for_Participation_and_Speakers.pdf|http://gnome.asia/static/media/GNOME_Asia_Call_for_Participation_and_Speakers.pdf]]
GNOME.Asia Summit is an annual conference for GNOME users and developers in Asia. The event focuses primarily on the GNOME desktop and other devices that use GNOME, and also covers ~GNOME-based applications and GNOME development platform tools.
It brings together the GNOME community in Asia to provide a forum for users, developers, foundation leaders, governments and businesses to discuss both the present technologies and future developments.
GNOME.Asia Summit has been held in Beijing, China in 2008 and ~Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam in 2009. The summit has been recognized as one of the top three FLOSS conferences in China in 2008 by the Chinese government and the biggest FLOSS conference in Vietnam in 2009 by the Vietnamese government.
For this third edition of the [[GNOME.Asia Summit|http://2010.gnome.asia/]] we're delighted to partner with the organizers of COSCUP (Conference for Open Source Coders, Users and Promoters), the largest free & open source software (FLOSS) conference in Taiwan. The event will be held on August 14th and 15th at the International Conference Hall, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica in Taipei (Taiwan).
For this third edition of the GNOME.Asia Summit we're delighted to partner with the organizers of COSCUP (Conference for Open Source Coders, Users and Promoters), the largest free & open source software (FLOSS) conference in Taiwan. The event will be held on ''August 14th and 15th'' at the International Conference Hall, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica in Taipei (Taiwan).
With a tagline of “Open Web and Mobile Technologies” , it emphasizes the exciting development in these two areas as well as the GNOME desktop environment, and leverages the world-leading hardware industry in Taiwan. We are expecting a minimum of 700 participants composed mainly of an Asian and Taiwanese FLOSS technology focused audience as well as international experts. Right now the joint conference of COSCUP / GNOME.Asia 2010 is calling for papers, if you are interested to join us, please feel free to browse the "register" page and participate the event!
Microsoft promises cheap student software as charity set to ship five million Linux-based laptops to developing world.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article1676934.ece
In July the non-profit One Laptop Per Child will begin shipping 5 million laptops, priced at $100 each. Designed for developing countries, the machine – dubbed XO – can be recharged by hand. Crucially, for Microsoft, they run on the rival Linux operating system.
Microsoft has stressed that its efforts in this area are not philanthropic, but motivated by commercial reasons.
The $3 software bundle, which will be released in the second half of this year, will include the Windows XP Starter Edition operating system and Microsoft Office Home, a package that includes applications such as Word.
A Microsoft spokesman said the scheme was designed to “help close the digital divide” and “bring social and economic opportunity to the estimated 5 billion people who are not yet realising the benefits of technology.” It will also seed a working knowledge of Microsoft software systems, which account for as much as 90 per cent of the market, in a new generation.
The developing world is seen as key for technology groups faced with saturated Western markets. Mobile phone companies, for instance, are tailoring basic, rugged handsets with long battery life, designed to be shared among communities in Africa.
Koichiro Matsuura, the director general of Unesco, said he welcomed partnerships with private groups to counter a “drastic shortage of trained teachers, which constitutes one of the major obstacles in achieving education for all".
Analysts regard cooperation between the public and private sector as key to rolling out technology in the developing world.
Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, said: "Strategies with the greatest potential will involve collaboration among many players, including governments, NGOs, commercial carriers, financing entities, local providers, services organisations, and hardware and software vendors.”
CK Prahalad, a professor at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, said: "Computers and connectivity are still too expensive for private ownership by the poor, and applications as well as information resources that are appropriate to this group have been slow to emerge, in part because the poor themselves have not been involved in creating them."
IDG News Service 4/19/07
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/070419gatestech/
Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service, Beijing Bureau
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates launched an initiative in Beijing Thursday aimed at bridging the digital divide between technologically advanced and developing countries.
The initiative, an expansion of Microsoft's "Unlimited Potential" strategy, involves offering governments a US$3 software package called the Student Innovation Suite. It includes Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, Microsoft Math 3.0, Learning Essentials 2.0 for Microsoft Office, and Windows Live Mail desktop.
The suite will be available by the end of this year to qualifying governments that are working to supply PCs to students to promote technology skills. In 2008, Microsoft will extend its availability to all countries with economies defined as low- or middle-income by the The World Bank.
"In each country it is tailored to the interests of the government and citizens, but it's about innovation, it's about integration, and it's about creating jobs in those regions," Gates said, speaking at the conclusion of the two-day Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Asia in Beijing.
Gates emphasized the role of technology in education, and said the software would be a first step towards offering children in the developing world greater access to computing. He referred to "my favorite Windows product, the Windows tablet," and said that tablet PCs could eventually replace paper in schools.
"Over time, students won't need to have textbooks. The cost of [the tablet] will be less than buying textbooks, and yet the experience of using it is dramatically superior than what you would have had with a paper-based experience," Gates said.
While Gates has always been a proponent of using technology to solve social, economic and health problems worldwide, this latest move is not purely altruistic, one industry analyst said.
"You'll find that Microsoft would be fairly open if pushed that they don't go into a market for philanthropic reasons," said Clive Longbottom, founder and analyst of Quocirca, a technology research firm in London.
Microsoft has to find more creative ways to distribute its software in emerging markets, where open-source software and Linux have a foothold, he said. Partnering with local governments and global organizations to reach students and developers is a good way to do that, he said.
Microsoft's Windows-based approached differs from other developing-world computing initiatives such as the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC), which makes use of an open-source Linux operating system, combined with an Advanced Micro Devices Inc. microprocessor, and powered by a hand crank. OLPC has targeted a price for its laptop at $100 per unit by 2008, although Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, Rwanda, and Ethiopia ordered units priced at $150 earlier this year.
Libya has committed to providing 1.2 million laptops within a year, and Rwanda will offer 2 million laptops to schoolchildren within five years, according to the OLPC. The OLPC effort has been led by Nicholas Negroponte, the co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab.
Technology's role in improving education is already established, according to Gates. He referred to a distance-learning experiment where the results of a class that experienced live instruction was compared to a remote education class. The latter received the lecture on DVD, and stopped the presentation every 15 minutes. The remote group could stop and discuss things wherever they wanted. Because it was start and stop, that was the group that did the best."
Microsoft and others needed to begin reaching out to the developing world through existing, lower-cost technologies such as cell phones and television to provide basic computing and educational opportunities, according to Gates.
(Elizabeth Montalbano in New York contributed to this report.)
Steven Schwankert is Asia desk editor for the IDG News Service.
Toen wij repatrieerden uit de gordel van smaragd
Dat Nederland zo koud was hadden wij toch nooit gedacht
Maar 't ergste was 't eten.
Nog erger dan op reis
Aardapp'len, vlees en groenten en suiker op de rijst
Geef mij maar nasi goreng met een gebakken ei
Wat sambal en wat kroepoek en een goed glas bier erbij
Geef mij maar nasi goreng met een gebakken ei
Wat sambal en wat kroepoek en een goed glas bier erbij
Geen lontong, sate babi, en niets smaakt hier pedis
Geen trassi, sroendeng, bandeng en geen tahoe petis
Kwee lapis, onde-onde, geen ketella of ba-pao
Geen ketan, geen goela-djawa, daarom ja, ik zeg nou
Ik ben nou wel gewend, ja aan die boerenkool met worst
Aan hutspot, pake klapperstuk, aan mellek voor de dorst
Aan stamppot met andijwie, aan spruitjes, erwtensoep
Maar 't lekkerst toch is rijst, ja en daarom steeds ik roep
http://lagujadul.multiply.com
Lyric http://lirama.net/artist/3010
<html><a type="application/rss+xml" href="blog.xml">RSS feed for this page</a></html>
In 2004, Google announced that it had entered into agreements with several libraries to digitize books, including books protected by U.S. copyright law, in those libraries’ collections.
Several authors and publishers brought this lawsuit against Google, claiming that its digitization without permission infringed their copyrights. In response to the authors’ and publishers’ claims of copyright infringement, Google argued that its digitization of the books and display of snippets, or a few lines, of the books is permitted under the U.S. copyright law’s doctrine of "fair use."
Instead of resolving the legal dispute over whether Google’s digitization and display of the books is permissible under U.S. law as a "fair use," the parties negotiated a settlement.
[[This following settlement involves the Google Library Project.|http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/r/view_settlement_agreement]]
This is the settlement administration [[website|http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/]] for the Google Book Search Copyright Class Action Settlement. The purpose of this website is to inform you of a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by authors and publishers, claiming that Google has violated their copyrights and those of other Rightsholders of Books and Inserts, by scanning their Books, creating an electronic database and displaying short excerpts without the permission of the copyright holders.
Google denies the claims. The lawsuit is entitled The Authors Guild, Inc., et al. v. Google Inc., Case No. 05 CV 8136 (S.D.N.Y.) The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement.
For further information, please review the [[Notice|http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/notice.html]].
Claim your Books and Inserts: You can do this at any time, but in order to be eligible for Cash Payments for Books, you must complete your Claim Form on or before January 5, 2010. Opt out of the Settlement must be submitted online or postmarked on or before ''May 5, 2009''.
File an objection or notice of intent to appear at the Fairness Hearing: Must be postmarked on or before May 5, 2009.
Google Inc. co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each took home their customary $1 annual salary again in 2007, while a steep decline in the company's stock price chopped more than $8.5 billion from each of their massive holdings of Google shares, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
March 25, 2008: 8:47 PM EDT
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/25/technology/google_compensation.ap/index.htm?
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) --
Brin, 34, the company's president of technology, and Page, 35, president of products, took the hits to their multibillion-dollar fortunes as shares of the Internet search leader plunged over the past five months on disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and fears the company can't sustain its torrid growth.
CEO Eric Schmidt also received his customary $1 salary in 2007, the Mountain View-based company said in its proxy statement filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schmidt also received $480,561 in 2007, including $478,662 in expenses incurred by Google mostly for Schmidt's personal security. His total compensation was down 14% from 2006, when his personal security costs were higher.
Schmidt's stockpile of 9.5 million shares of Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) stock - down from the 10.7 million shares he owned at the same time last year - has also taken a hit because of the stock price drop. The stock horde is now worth about $4.3 billion, about $3 billion less than at the stock's peak of $747.24 in November.
As of Feb. 15, according to Tuesday's regulatory filing, Brin owned 28.6 million shares of Google, while Page owned 29.1 million, about as much as they held last year. Their stock is "Class B" common stock, which in Google's case means they carry greater voting power than ordinary shares.
At the stock's November peak, Brin and Page each held more than $21 billion worth. Now that the stock is trading below $500 - it lost $9.78, or 2%, to close at $450.78 on Tuesday - Brin and Page each now hold around $13 billion worth. Each founder received a bonus of $1,723, for a total of $1,724. Brin got the same amount last year. Page's figure was higher in 2006 because Google paid $37,000 in personal travel expenses for him.
[[Don't Be Fooled by $1 Salaries|http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070609/1_salary_ceos.html]]. $1-a-year salary can still lead to millions of dollars in compensation for CEOs.
Saturday June 9, 2:25 pm ET By Ellen Simon, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A handful of CEOs in the AP executive pay list take home a salary of $1 a year or less. But all of them manage to make millions anyway, illustrating the point that if you're running the show, your salary doesn't mean much.
"Salary has become such a minuscule component of CEO compensation that it is now largely irrelevant," said J. Richard Finlay, founder of the Centre for Corporate & Public Governance.
Of the 386 Standard & Poor's 500 CEOs whose companies reported under the Securities and Exchange Commission's expanded disclosure requirements this year, salary accounted for only 9.5 percent of total pay. For the 11 CEOs in the group who earned more than $30 million, salary was just 2.7 percent of total pay.
In the group, the CEOs with the smallest salaries were:
''Terry Considine'', chairman, president and CEO of Apartment Investment & Management. He reported a salary of zero, although footnotes in the company's proxy statement show that he received stock options valued at $600,000 as his base salary. Considine's total pay, as calculated by the AP, was $4.8 million in 2006.
''Richard D. Fairbank'', president and CEO of Capital One Financial Corp., also had zero salary, as well as no bonus. But he was awarded $18 million worth of stock options.
Since 1997, Fairbank has been paid almost entirely in stock and options, which are pegged to Capital One's long-term performance. The company's proxy said the board's compensation committee believes this is "the mechanism that most aligns the CEO's financial rewards to the value he delivers to stockholders."
Fairbank has 5.9 million unexercised options, as well as unearned shares and options that have not vested that the company values at $27.3 million.
''James Rogers'', president and CEO of Duke Energy Corp., received no salary in 2006. But like Fairbank, he receives most of his compensation in stock and options. His total pay for 2006 was $27.5 million.
''Eric Schmidt'', CEO of Google Inc., took home exactly $1 in salary. And his overall compensation totaled $557,466, a fraction of the $71.7 million granted last year to competitor Yahoo Inc. CEO Terry Semel, the No. 1 executive on the AP pay list.
Almost all of Schmidt's package covered the cost of $532,755 for personal security. Schmidt, along with Google's founders, ''Larry Page'' and ''Sergey Brin'', has refused to take anything more than a token paycheck for the past three years to promote an egalitarian spirit at the company. But all three own handsome stock stakes in the company. Schmidt, 52, owns 10.7 million shares currently worth $5.5 billion.
Another $1-a-year CEO is Apple's ''Steve Jobs'', who's been treading water at that level for the last three years. But Jobs, 52, also owns more than 5.4 million Apple shares that are now worth more than $660 million.
Google shares had fallen today March 7, 2008 at Wall Street taking the hardest fall since Oct 31, 2007 when it reached $700. Today it is traded at $432 per share, a 3.35% decrease in one day.
[img[Google six months|blog/google.jpg]]
//My worry with Google’s price is not that its too high, but that its too soon. The company can’t grow 50% a year forever. At some point, growth rates must slow down. When that happens the stock will experience a protracted decline or at least remain neutral. For my money, I’d rather invest in something cheaper.// Posted By Frank, Minneapolis, MN : October 31, 2007 12:50 pm
October 31, 2007
Google tops $700
http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.cnn.com/2007/10/31/google-tops-700/
Shares of Google (GOOG) broke through the $700 level for the first time Wednesday morning, only two and a half weeks after the stock first surpassed $600. Google’s stock opened at $700.83 and briefly dipped below $700 before going on to close at a new all-time high of $707.
Google’s stock has been on a phenomenal tear this year, surging more than 50 percent. I took a look Tuesday at why Google’s stock was poised to top $700 so soon and why investors should probably get used to the world’s top Internet search firm passing other psychologically important barriers on a somewhat regular basis.
As long as Google continues to extend its lead in search over Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT), it seems likely that Google’s stock will keep climbing higher and higher.
In fact, William Morrison, an analyst with ThinkEquity Partners, raised his price target on Google to $800 last week, citing Google’s dominance in search as well as its forays into newer businesses such as online video advertising, mobile advertising and traditional media. Google is partnering with companies such as radio station owner Clear Channel and satellite TV operator EchoStar (DISH) on extending its automated ad buying system to radio and television.
Sure, Google may be lagging in the hot area of social networking, having lost out to Microsoft in the battle for an investment in Facebook. But Fortune’s Josh Quittner reports that Google has some interesting social networking plans of its own.
What’s more, Google is said to be in talks with several wireless carriers about a long-awaited mobile phone, dubbed by many in Silicon Valley as the Gphone. This could potentially put Google into competition with Apple (AAPL) and its iPhone.
Yes, some might find it fitting that Google’s stock topped $700 on Halloween. Bears certainly make the argument that Google is a scary stock that has benefited more from hype and momentum trading. But Google’s stock, as I noted yesterday, isn’t nearly as frightening as some other dot-com stocks.
Shares trade at a cheaper price-to-earnings ratio than Yahoo and are also less expensive than Amazon.com (AMZN) and Chinese search leader Baidu (BIDU) based on 2008 earnings estimates. So don’t be fooled….shares of Google, even at $700, are probably more of a treat than a trick.
Only six apps are available to customers who are testing Wave. One, from Ribbit, lets users place Web calls to other users and create multi-user Web conference calls. It can also automatically transcribe voice into text. Ultimately it could sell for $2.95 to $19.95, depending on the features, says Ribbit CEO Ted Griggs.
"Our hopes are pretty high," he says. "If Google Wave becomes a tool for collaboration, then being early to the game has a lot of value." In August, Ribbit and its owner, BT Group (BT), hired Kevin Marks, who led some of Google's developer efforts, to be its vice-president of Web services.
Done right, Google Wave has the potential to grab traffic and user time away from Facebook; AOL's AIM; e-mail services from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!; and even Skype and Cisco System's ~WebEx. An add-on from startup 6rounds turns Wave collaboration into a video conference, similar to Skype's. Users can communicate via Web video while editing documents or playing games on Wave. The company hopes to make money by selling virtual goods through its free app.
Another developer, ~LabPixies, could help Wave compete with online-gaming portals. Its free sudoku puzzle game allows for real-time competitive play. The company makes money through contextual ads, into which Google could potentially share. Google could also insert its ads into other free apps.
Marketing agencies, meanwhile, are already starting to look at how they could use Wave to grow their client companies' brands by sponsoring applications or allowing fans to share photos and chat. Just as brands are now paying attention to Facebook, Wave "is something everyone's got on their radar," says Dan Shust, director of emerging media at agency Resource Interactive, which works with such companies as Victoria's Secret, ~Hewlett-Packard, and Procter & Gamble. "The same thing might come true for Google Wave."
A chief goal for Wave and its apps is to drive use of search, which can be done directly from the Wave service, and to boost sales of Google Apps, the suite of productivity tools that competes with Microsoft Office.
In a nod to social-networking site Facebook, there are already a host of applications for Wave, including Sudoku and Chess.
Google has big plans for Google Wave, its new online communication service—and they won't all come from Google.
The Web search giant is hoping that software developers far and wide will create tools that work in conjunction with Wave, making an already multifaceted service even more useful.
Google is even likely to let programmers sell their applications through an online bazaar akin to Apple's App Store, the online marketplace for games and other applications designed for the iPhone.
"We'll almost certainly build a store," Lars Rasmussen, the Google software engineering manager who directs the 60-person team in Sydney, Australia, that created Wave, told ~BusinessWeek.com. "So many developers have asked us to build a marketplace—and we might do a revenue-sharing arrangement."
But while the Apple App Store sells software only for Apple gadgets, Google's Wave store would be likely to sell apps that work on all kinds of devices, from laptops to Web-enabled ~TVs to smartphones. Any device with a modern browser should be able to use Google Wave and download related add-ons. The Web search giant is considering selling its own applications through the Wave app store as well, Rasmussen says.
The market opportunity for such wide-ranging applications could be large if Google Wave succeeds in replacing existing modes of communication in the same way e-mail has supplanted letters. "It'll probably transform IM and e-mail systems," says Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. "Lots of imaginative developers will build a whole host of new applications. This is disruptive." Brian Pokorny, a venture capitalist at Angel, says real-time communication "is a multibillion-dollar opportunity in the next two to five years." The VC firm is considering investing in developers who are creating add-ons for Wave.
Since May, when Wave was introduced, developers have created hundreds of add-ons for the service, Rasmussen says. A handful, including some from software vendors SAP (SAP) and salesforce.com (CRM), have been tested but are not yet available to customers.
Chrome is not just a browser, Google has come out with its own version of operating system. This Google Chrome OS is a milestone after myriad of Linux distros available so far. However Linux distros account for only 0.64% of [[OS market share|http://www.statowl.com/operating_system_market_share.php]] while Windows gains 90.49% despite all the hard effort from the open source community.
I think Google is just right to unveil the new Chrome OS as they have already supporting applications like the chrome browser and gmail aside from the famous search engine and google maps or Youtube.
The [[Google Chrome OS|So what is Chrome OS?]] will compete head on with Microsoft Windows 7 and also to Mac OS (Google executives even have share in Apple Inc).
It is also available for free as an open source project which will
give a boost in the OS market share. I hope this will not be an exclusivity to use Linux based OS if you want to spread open source.
More info
http://chrome.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-chrome-os-faq.html
//I don't know the detail if it is derived from Linux kernel or running [[on top of Linux|The new Google OS is open source and free to use]] in a new windowing system. Tell me if you have any first experience with this new OS.//
Sometime when we touch computer, we feel shock from the devices. It means that some electricity is leaking and if you can feel it then it must be more than 60 volts already so your human body can response to it. This leakage is dangerous to parts of computers such as memory, USB devices or others. This leakage comes from [[improper grounding]].
One way to overcome the problem is by making small ground facility to lessen damage caused by leakage electricity. What we do is to attach one end cable to the chassis of the computer, screw it and nail the other end of the cable to the wall which should be deep enough so the leak can go through the cable into the ground. This will cover the problem.
//What good news are referred to?
Will it save the environment, our money, our energy ... I wonder.
Is this the world that we live in? (from Queen)//
[[How a green office will contribute to environment ]]
[[Portable Applications at works]]
[[Ways to Save on Gas for Your Life and Business ]]
[[Lights out across Asia]]
[[Airbus 380 to carry 500 passengers]]
[[Humans and the environment ]]
[[Palm oil is the most popular vegetable oil]]
[[Virtual keyboard and Carbon calculator]]
[[Can we compete against paperless newspapers?]]
[[OSS runs better in Windows environment]]
[[Intel, Google headline effort to cut computer energy use]]
[[$199 Laptop Is No Child's Play]]
[[Found 20 light years away: the New Earth]]
[[Why Google spent $3.1 billion on DoubleClick]]
[[Gates launches developing world tech initiative]]
[[Dell may offer Linux as alternative to Windows]]
[[Linux, open source greener than Windows]]
[[Asian Countries Making the Switch to Open Source]]
[[FOSS recommended for use in developing countries]]
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/693/356
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1133344040
By Brian Caulfield 05.17.07, 6:00 PM ET
Burlingame, Calif. - Intel's new Core chips are a hit for the company-and a
radical change.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/05/17/perlmutter-intel-core-tech-cx_bc_0517perlmutter.html
While earlier chip designs prized speed, while hogging power and generating way too much heat, the new chips are built around cool-running "cores" that can be paired up to get more done. Introduced last summer, they have already helped turn Intel's fortunes around.
The man behind the new generation of chips could be just as important to Intel's (nasdaq: INTC) future. David "Dadi" Perlmutter, the 53-year-old Israeli engineer who ran the Core team, is now in charge of the sprawling microprocessor giant's product development decisions-that is, figuring out which chips will one day replace the Core.
Picking correctly will help Intel keep its grip on the chip business. And it may help put Perlmutter in charge of the company. An internal shake-up last July made Perlmutter one of two executives described as being "peer plus one" with broad responsibilities under Chief Executive Paul Otellini, and an obvious candidate to become the boss at some point down the road.
If he does, he may end up running the company with a different style than his predecessors. A relentless arguer, Perlmutter has long questioned the Intel orthodoxy that speed is the best benchmark for measuring a chip's value.
This has worked out well for his employer. Four years ago Intel's speedy Pentium processors were running out of gas. Intel couldn't push their design much further without sucking up too much power and generating too much heat. Computers and laptops seemed to be getting hot enough to double as hibachis-and Intel's business was getting cooked by rival Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD). Intel's Israeli team-led by Perlmutter-offered a way out. “You want to have alternative when the king is dying,” Perlmutter says.
The solution? Slap down multiple cool-running cores on a single slice of silicon. The cores could work together to accomplish more than any hot-running, single-core Pentium could do alone. The design for those cores would be based on Perlmutter's power-sipping, cool-running Pentium M notebook processor-which had put Intel in control of the fast-growing market for laptop processors after its introduction in 2003
Now the Core processors, coupled with Intel's manufacturing might, have created a decisive advantage for Intel. During the first quarter of 2007, Intel's share of the market rose to 80.2% from 75.7%, according to market tracker iSuppli. During the same period, rival AMD stumbled and lost $611 million.
The success is a triumph for Intel's Israeli team, where Perlmutter got his start at Intel in 1980 out of Technion--Israel's answer to MIT. By the late 1990s, he had overseen the development of his share of high-profile products, including Intel's Pentium Pro, Pentium II and Pentium MMX processors.
Perlmutter's parents fled Germany for Palestine in the 1930s, and his colleagues say the engineer is a typical driven and intense "yake"-Hebrew slang for an Israeli of German extraction. When he hits the gym, “he is not there to take an exercise,” says one longtime colleague. “He is there to kill the equipment.”
He brings that intensity to the verbal rough-housing that Intel's engineers have always loved. "Dadi has a sentence he loves saying: I don't mean to argue,' but then the argument starts," says longtime colleague Alex Peleg. And in Intel's Israel design center, the arguments can be heated enough to alarm visitors. "The first time they see this, they might say 'Wow these guys are fighting, these guys hate one another,' where it's actually completely the opposite," Peleg says.
And with Perlmutter, an argument is inescapable. If an engineer says he'll deliver a product in September, Perlmutter may tell him "that's too late, it's impossible," says Shmuel "Mooly" Eden, general manager of Intel's mobile platforms group. If the engineer changes the answer to July, Perlmutter will restart the debate from the opposite angle, demanding to know "how the hell are you going to do it in July?".
"No one wants to debate the big boss," Perlmutter says of the tactic. "Show me what you are going to do … or else I don't believe you, I think you are just sick and tired of my nagging."
The nagging goes both ways, however, with colleagues describing Perlmutter's management style as "democratic chaos." Perlmutter encourages engineers to question everything before managers ultimately make a decision. And if it's clear he's screwed up, Peleg says Perlmutter will take the blame.
Colleagues say Perlmutter took some of the blame for the failure of Timna, a low-cost chip that Intel officially canceled in 2000. The chip relied on a form of memory that would have made putting the processor in a computer too expensive to compete on price with older Pentiums. "People say you know he's not just throwing the blame on us, this guy can take some of the faults on himself," Perlmutter says.
Perlmutter is demure about his ambitions, saying he doesn't look forward more than two or three years. "At some point if a CEO-ship should be in front of me and it's going to be a challenge, maybe I'll take it," he says. "I have my own challenge now that I am very happy with."
It's pretty well known by now that the Internet, for all its world-flattening glory, is a destroyer of businesses without parallel. How many companies roared along for decades, minting money, only to see the Internet eat their business plans?
[[Bill Gates: PC Genius, Internet Fool|http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1818989,00.html?]]
We live in a media age and the media industry is Exhibit A in the murder trial. Newspapers, magazines, music, television, movies — all of the traditional models are dead or dying as bloodied moguls everywhere scramble to survive. But the Net has brutalized old-line business across most industries — retail, telecom, financial services — and the technology industry itself, is, ironically, no exception.
Few companies not born on the Web have figured out how to thrive there. (Apple, with its post-PC iPhone, could be the shining exception.) As Gates turns his attention full time to philanthropy, I wonder what will be left of the great company he founded, Microsoft, by the time Gates picks up a Nobel Prize for Peace. Clearly, a business with $26 billion in cash reserves isn't exactly at death's door. And Microsoft continues to be enormously profitable, thanks to its operating system monopoly. Thanks, that is, to Gates's genius.
But big, complicated operating systems such as Microsoft's latest, Vista, aren't necessary in the Web Age, where applications are delivered for free and on demand — often without users' even being aware of it. The Net is where the money is, and it's the one place that Gates — like so many others — hasn't left his mark.
He saw the Internet missile coming, of course. But by the time he sounded the alarm, it may have been too late. Read his famous [[Internet Tidal Wave|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tidal_Wave_memo]] memo, sent to the troops May 26, 1995, over a year after the browser company known as Netscape launched.
Gates was always more accustomed to being a disruptor than being disrupted. At the age of 25, he licensed a primitive operating system, PC-DOS, to IBM for $80,000 rather than sell it outright, a move that's usually ranked as one of the Greatest Business Moves of All Time. Gates figured that many PC makers would copy IBM's open architecture, and make their own PCs; they'd need to license an operating system, too. PC-DOS soon became MS-DOS, an operating system for all IBM clones, and Microsoft was on its way to becoming the one thing that billions of PCs around the world would have in common.
From 1980 until 1994, when Mosaic/Netscape emerged, Gates played a scratch game, parlaying his little "Micro- Soft" company into an empire that defined the PC Era. By opening up Windows to third-party developers, he created a platform that made many developers rich, and built out an ecosystem that put a desktop in almost every home.
But there is no greater blinder than success, even for a visionary like Bill Gates. By the time he realized the tech world was quickly shifting from PCs to the network that connected them, his moves were limited. A fiercely competitive man, he reached for the obvious lever, and attempted to tie the late-starter Internet Explorer browser to the monopoly he created, the Windows operating system. The move was mercilessly effective and beat back rival [[Netscape|http://browser.netscape.com]], which immediately saw its commanding share of the browser market disappear.
It was also illegal. With Netscape crying foul, the Feds successfully pressed an antitrust suit against Microsoft. The PR damage — Gates acting insolent on the witness stand, showing a convenient lack of memory about key business decisions — turned out to be short-lived and is all but forgotten as Gates remakes himself as a philanthropist. But the court's decree forced the great general to march cautiously into the future. He may have won the Battle of the Browser, but he would start to see major casualties in the Internet War.
Gates built or bought all manner of things to conquer the Net, but few managed to be anything more than also-rans in the innovation game. In 1995, he launched a gated online service, MSN; a Web-based email client, Hotmail was purchased in 1997; a search engine, MSN Search, launched in 1998 using a third-party product as its core; a chat client, Messenger, was released in 1999; and last year it bought an online advertising platform, aQuantive and became a significant, though minority investor, in social network Facebook.
While Microsoft is exponentially larger than Google — number 44 on the Fortune 500 list versus Google at 150 — Google's Web business (advertising mostly) is growing so fast, it's poised to rival Redmond's operating system revenues by 2010. And that's the problem. As more and more of what Windows does moves up into the cloud — into Google's always-on, give-'em-whatever-they-want-for-free servers — what becomes of the company that Gates built?
The smartest move Gates could make right now is to get out of the way. There are many smart and talented people inside Microsoft who know what to do. That will probably work. And if not? Maybe we'll see Gates return, a Nobel in his pocket, ready to wrestle with the Web once again.
Join us at the Lien Centre as we explore how open technologies and collaboration are changing the face of not-for-profit engagement and citizen activism for the better.
The idea is to discuss how values from the worlds of open source and open content are spreading and influencing areas like education, architecture, politics, philanthropy and other fields.
This event is part of the [[“Open Everything”|http://openeverything.net/]] series of conversations happening worldwide. Conversations have taken place in Toronto , Cape Town and Cortes Island. We invite you to be part of the fourth installment right here in Singapore.
<imap://mark%2Esurman@imap.runbox.com:993/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E28504?part=1.3&filename=MarkSurman.jpg>
Leading the discussion is [[Mark Surman|http://commonspace.typepad.com/about.html]], Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow in South Africa . A community technology activist for almost 20 years, Mark is currently inventing new ways to apply open source thinking to social innovation.
Open Everything is a tasty cocktail of an event: inspirational talks (about 5 in one hour), unconferency conversations and refreshments all mixed up together.
Date: 15 September 2008, Monday
Time: 2:30pm - 7:00pm
Venue:
Reading Room, Level 5, Li Ka Shing Library
Singapore Management University
70 Stamford Road, Singapore 178901
Presenters
Mark Surman(Shuttleworth Foundation)
Joeri Gianotten (Ammado)
Lee Poh Wah (Lien Foundation)
Ivan Chew (Gahmen Bloggers)
Gary Kwong (Mozilla open source community)
Giorgios Cheliotis (Creative Commons)
Richard Fuchs (IDRC)
To Join
Leave your name, contact details and the areas you would like to see being discussed at [[http://www.lcsi.smu.edu.sg/prog_reg.asp|http://www.lcsi.smu.edu.sg/prog_reg.asp]]
Visit our wiki http://openeverything.wik.is/Singapore to keep up to date with event developments. If you are working on something 'open' that you would like to share with us, drop us a note!
Programme Flow
*Open Everything Keynote, Mark Surman, Shuttleworth Foundation
*Open sessions organized by participants
*Under the Hood: E-ALF -> */Creating Low Cost, Nimble and Open Learning Opportunities in a Global Organization/* - Richard Fuchs, IDRC. Interview by Willie Cheng, Lien Centre
*Closing reflections 'Mapping Open' by Mark Surman
Speedgeeks / Lightning Talks
*Ammado, a platform provided to create an online community in support of social causes (Joeri Gianotten)
*Lien Foundation on its version of philanthropy (Lee Poh Wah)
*Gahmen Bloggers, civil servants apply their passion for social media into a more personable and better public service for citizens (Ivan Chew)
*Mozilla open source community (Gary Kwong)
*Open Content- Creative Commons (Anil Samtani/GiorgiosCheliotis)
This conversation is for individuals who wish to:
*Explore areas where they think the philosophy and model of ‘open' can help in their social cause-related work
*Gain insights from practitioners who have thrived on this idea of "open"
*Be engaged in inter-disciplinary conversation (because great things happen at the intersection!)
To see what has happened in other Open Everything conversations, log on
to http://openeverything.wik.is/
Feel free to contact us at the Lien Centre for further enquiries at
liencentre@smu.edu.sg <mailto:liencentre@smu.edu.sg>or 68280823.
About Social Conversations@Library
Social Conversations@Library provides a platform for thought leaders and
practitioners in the social space to share their work and to engage in a
conversation with the community on ideas and innovations to enable
positive social change in Singapore and beyond.
For a copy of the SMU map, see below.
http://www.smu.edu.sg/campus/map/
Feel free to contact us at the Lien Centre for further enquiries at
liencentre@smu.edu.sg or 68280823.
Q&A with Henri Richard, Advanced Micro Devices' chief sales and marketing
officer.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/05/17/amd-richard-intel-tech-cz_ec_0517amd.html
Richard: We decided to go out with a strategic direction that was different from Intel's. Before 2002, Advanced Micro Devices had partial success in the consumer market. We understood that the way to greatness was not to ape Intel but to differentiate our solution. If it weren't for AMD, everyone would be speaking "Itanium." Customers need to trust you. I'd like to put a lot of credit to the new AMD management team for demonstrating that. Customers want to know: Are you real? Are you going to support me? Will you deliver on the promise?
I tell my kids, "My job is to sell freedom." I don't sell products. Our chips are fully compatible with Intel's and vice versa. Sometimes we're faster, sometimes they're faster. But essentially the market aspires to have choice. The last thing you want is for every PC or TV to be the same.
*What's different about your approach from Intel's?
When I meet with customers in the cellphone or TV business, they present their vision of where they want to take their product, and they tell me what they want the components to be, what they should do and how much they should cost. Then they say, "Can you do it for me?" In the PC space, Intel tells the customer, here's the roadmap. This is the way it's going to be. Since when does every customer in the world decide that every other year is the right schedule to upgrade their chip? They talk about being customer-centric, but it's not in their DNA. They've been brought up to rule the world.
Intel looks at everyone as an extension of their business. We look at ourselves as an extension of our customers' business. It's not just about the products or the technology. It's the fact that we're fundamentally changing the business model.
*Do we really need "ultramobile" PCs?
I don't know if it's a fat cellphone or a thin notebook. But there's clearly a missing link in mobile devices. If you have a fat cellphone, you're compromising on computing power and on visual quality. If you have a notebook, you've got computing power but you're trading excellent autonomy and connectivity. At the convergence of these devices, something will emerge: where the screen is good enough, the keyboard is good enough and the connectivity is good enough so that you don't need a Ph.D. to make everything work. That's the device we would all love to have. Then we wouldn't need to carry around two or three devices.
Will it come? Absolutely. Why is it so difficult? There are technology challenges, engineering compromises. And you have a clash of industries: The PC guys are always trying to get in a PC-centric view of the world, but they don't always have the greatest consumer insights. PCs are still way too frustrating and too prone to bugs and errors. If my refrigerator was like my PC, I'd have to wait 60 seconds to get a beer.
*AMD has had an awful quarter. How do customers know you'll be viable?
I can't deny the recent quarter was a negative. But there are two ways to look at business: performance and health. There's what you see in the earnings. But what is the AMD customer saying to us? What's the end user demand? We had a series of challenges because we grew so fast in 2006. It put us in a position to disappoint some customers.
Although I can't look at Q1 with anything but disgust, this has never been anything other than a marathon. I look at Q1 like an anomaly and am confident that customers, users and employees' motivation and determination is intact.
*You have already teamed up with IBM on research. You've suggested that you might give up manufacturing, too. Is this is a viable strategy?
Increasingly it's going to be a world of partnering, because there are more good ideas in several brains than in just one. And the costs barriers to entry are getting enormous. As the PC industry matures, it's not as homogeneous as it used to be. There's a need for "good enough" devices, where the focus is on keeping costs low. At the other end of the spectrum, there will be this incredible need for performance.
The race in chip design needs to change from "I'm doing it because I can" to "I'm doing it because it's meaningful to the end user." If there's one thing I can be proud of, AMD has helped Intel improve its game. If it hadn't been for AMD, Intel's way of addressing the market would have remained static. I give them a lot of credit for looking at the competition and forcing themselves to change.
Google's quest for the perfect links
http://blog.ted.com/2007/06/googles_quest_f_1.php
TED partner Google has allowed for the first time a journalist (Saul Hansell from the NYT) to spend a day with engineer Amit Shingal and his "search-quality team" - the people responsible for the very secret mathematical formulas that decide which web pages best answer each user's query.
It's a delicate act, a mix of science and artistry: half a dozen major or minor changes are introduced in Google's search engine every week, and each change can affect the ranking of many sites - although most are barely noticed by the average user. Hansell's story is a rare glimpse behind the world's largest search engine, which indexes billions of webpages in over a hundred languages and handles hundreds of millions of queries a day. It's a long article (3200 words) but since "it's becoming impossible not to visit with Google daily", as Swiss technophilosopher René Berger once said, it's worth knowing a thing of two about the way your host runs his house. Excerpts:
Google's servers basically make a copy of the entire Web, page by page, every few days, storing it in their huge data centers:
//As Google compiles its index, it calculates a number it calls PageRank for each page it finds. [ BG: the picture at right shows the original PageRank algorithm, from a powerpoint presentation Larry Page gave at Stanford in 1998] This was the key invention of Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. PageRank tallies how many times other sites link to a given page. Sites that are more popular, especially with sites that have high PageRanks themselves, are considered likely to be of higher quality.//
Mr. Singhal has developed a far more elaborate system for ranking pages, which involves more than 200 types of information, or what Google calls “signals.” PageRank is but one signal. Some signals are on Web pages — like words, links, images and so on. Some are drawn from the history of how pages have changed over time. Some signals are data patterns uncovered in the trillions of searches that Google has handled over the years. (...)
Once Google corrals its myriad signals, it feeds them into formulas it calls classifiers that try to infer useful information about the type of search, in order to send the user to the most helpful pages. Classifiers can tell, for example, whether someone is searching for a product to buy, or for information about a place, a company or a person. Google recently developed a new classifier to identify names of people who aren’t famous. Another identifies brand names.
These signals and classifiers calculate several key measures of a page’s relevance, including one it calls “topicality” — a measure of how the topic of a page relates to the broad category of the user’s query. (...) Google combines all these measures into a final relevancy score. The sites with the 10 highest scores win the coveted spots on the first search page, unless a final check shows that there is not enough “diversity” in the results. (...) If this wasn’t excruciating enough, Google’s engineers must compensate for users who are not only fickle, but are also vague about what they want; often, they type in ambiguous phrases or misspelled words.
And they must of course also keep out the millions of fake webpage created by hucksters who try to hijack searches to lure users to their porn or scam pages. Hansell's article also details the constant debate inside Google (and other search companies) about "freshness": is it better to provide new information or to display pages that have stood the test of time and are more likely to be of higher quality? Until recently, Google had preferred the latter.
But last year, when the company introduced its new stock quotation service, a search for “Google Finance” couldn’t find it, and that pointed to a broader problem that was solved by developing a new mathematical model that tries to determine when users want new information and when they don't.
The solution revolves around determining whether a topic is “hot.” If news sites or blog posts are actively writing about a topic, the model figures that it is one for which users are more likely to want current information. The model also examines Google’s own stream of billions of search queries, which Mr. Singhal believes is an even better monitor of global enthusiasm about a particular subject. As an example, he points out what happens when cities suffer power failures. “When there is a blackout in New York, the first articles appear in 15 minutes; we get queries in two seconds,” he says.
Think you will love this story,
http://www.jansch.nl/2008/02/02/microsoft-and-sun-the-real-story/
So one day, Scott McNealy, founder and chairman of Sun, read in his
morning newspaper how the use of Java was rapidly diminishing, courtesy
of something called 'The LAMP Stack'. Furiously, he called his
accountant.
Scott: "I knew this Java thing was a bad idea in the first place! I see
only one solution. We need to buy this Lamp!"
Accountant: "Euh, LAMP is not a company. It's an acronym. It's Linux ,
Apache, MySQL and PHP"
Scott: "Then buy me Linux!"
Accountant: "But we still have this Solaris thing.."
Scott: "Then buy me Apache!"
Accountant: "That's a foundation. Nothing to buy there."
Scott: "Then buy me MySQL!"
Accountant: "We don't do databases."
Scott: "It's a database?"
Accountant: "What rock have you been living under?"
Scott: "Sweet. I can own the Lamp AND piss off Oracle at the same time!"
(waves fake plastic magic wand) "Make it so!"
And so it happened.
[[Sun Microsystems Acquired MySQL]]
A green office is a practical and simple Environmental Management System (EMS) that has been specially developed for offices to support managers in promoting a more environmentally friendly office lifestyle.
[[How to create a green office|http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/09/06/how-create-a-green-office.html]]
Nirwono Joga, Contributor Jakarta Post | Sun, 09/06/2009 12:34 PM
The green office program, which has been developed by various organizations, educates and inspires employees in applying more environment friendly habits that will ultimately lower the company's overall costs.
The green office program aims at reducing the use of natural resources, promoting environmental conservation by raising employee awareness and promoting approaches to mitigate climate change through saving energy and the use of alternative energy sources.
The green office program can be implemented through the following: a regular EMS audit, regular evaluation visits (minimum once a year), teaching employees eco-efficient methods, organizing regular green office seminars and workshops, an eco-tips Email mailing list to be sent to employees, go net (extranet service), providing sufficient
information and tools for green office coordinators both for head office and branch offices, and becoming a role model for other nearby offices.
The software and hardware for the green office program, which is different for each office, comprises a climate calculator web tool for annual reports (that calculates CO2 emissions of heat, electricity, fuel, paper consumption, waste), an EMS evaluation check list, web questionnaires, a benchmarking questionnaire for environmental managers and an eco-habit gauge for employees.
The green office indicators are based on the office's annual consumption of the following (at least three indicators): total consumption of electricity (kWh), paper for printing (kg) and trash (kg).
To create an EMS and eco-efficient policy it is necessary to apply and coordinate the EMS, purchase environmentally friendly products, create an internal and external awareness of the green office program as well as train employees to motivate them to make the green office program a success.
So what can we do to participate in the green office program?
Efficient use of water. Don't let the water gush out of the taps, use just the amount of water needed when washing your hands or washing dishes, opt for a dual flush system for the toilet, use a water tap with a censor, always finish the water that you drink and make absorption wells. Use electricity efficiently by choosing energy saving products, switching off the lights in the morning or in the afternoon or when they are not required, switching off computers and so forth when they are not being used.
Windows that face each other will help the free circulation of air and make the atmosphere fresh. Use alternative energy, such as solar energy, wind or biogas. Use materials such as paper efficiently as well as opt for environmentally friendly products when making purchases. Reduce trash and introduce the 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) program.
The green office program is part of the company's responsibility toward conservation of the environment, which has been economically proven to be profitable (a healthy environment means a healthy economy) and to create a comfortable and healthy work place.
The image of a green office can also be turned into a positive selling point for the company's marketing efforts. So, are you interested in creating a green office of your own?
The writer is a specialist in architectural issues.
When it comes to the corporate vibe, ~VMware is the anti-Google. There are no heated toilet seats at ~VMware, no Pajama Days. ~VMware's employees are more likely to be married with children. ~VMware does serve a free lunch - once a week. The day is a perfectly adequate salad bar set up on card tables.
Just as engineers at Google famously present project proposals to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Greene presides over hours-long product-review sessions for significant initiatives. Unlike the Google guys, she doesn't don a lab coat. Quips Karthik Rau, a senior marketing executive: "We're not into costumes at ~VMware."
What's more, Greene warmed to the task of running a large organization. She never much cared for sales and finance. But she is hyperattentive to ~VMware's partners and she has unlimited time for the engineers, a group she is known to coddle.
She is running a respected business that she helped to create - and she has more than enough cash to buy just about any boat she wants. "If I had $10 billion," she concludes, "I couldn't buy my way into this job."
What about competition?
Virtualization software is designed to make a physical server act like multiple logical servers, improving server utilization by allowing IT managers to efficiently combine numerous computing resources on a single server. Besides VMware and Virtual Iron, other vendors include XenSource, and SWsoft.
~VMware's two biggest threats are common in the software industry: commoditization and Microsoft. Competitors who have caught on to ~VMware's allure are offering stripped-down virtualization software for free or next to nothing. ~VMware is aware of the trend, but not afraid of it. Eighty percent of ~VMware's revenues, Greene says, come from advanced features that the competition can't match. Microsoft is another story. It plans to incorporate virtualization - at no extra charge, natch - into its latest software for servers, due out next year.
Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 operating system, coming in February, will include virtualization capabilities. Microsoft's vast Windows customer base gives it a clear advantage, said David Marshall, editor of a virtualization news blog, ~VMblog.com, and marketing director of InovaWave, whose software complements all types of virtualization software.
Dengue fever is common in Indonesia and causes many deaths. Below is further information on how to cope with this dengue fever. The writer is an expert in tropical infectious diseases and worked formerly with the U.S. Navy as a microbiologist. He is now a section editor for the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. He can be reached at jkb@vhasia.com.sg
Features - August 30, 2006 by J. Kevin Baird, Ph.D., Contributor, Jakarta
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060830.T01
You have heard about dengue fever (bleeding fever) or "break bone" fever. You probably know people who have had it. You know it is in Jakarta and it is a little dangerous. But you may do not know what you can do about it.
You may think your lurah (community chief) is doing something about it, as are the people who manage the property where you work. Or maybe the Ministry of Health is doing something -- or perhaps not. The fact is, protecting yourself and your family from dengue is squarely in your hands.
Dengue fever is a relatively new disease, appearing initially in the 1950s in Southeast Asia and causing just a few thousand cases in that decade. The infection has since spread to most tropical and subtropical areas.
During the 1990s there were nearly 200,000 cases in all of Southeast Asia. In just the first half of this decade, there have been over 300,000 cases in Indonesia alone. The dengue problem grows steadily worse. There is no drug that prevents or cures infection. There is no vaccine. If you get dengue fever, you ride it out.
Last year in Indonesia there were about 80,000 reported cases, and nearly 1,100 deaths caused by dengue. Most experts consider the disease underreported by a factor of two or three -- one reported case for two or three actual cases.
Most people infected by dengue experience mild-to-severe discomfort, typically a headache (especially behind the eyes), malaise and maybe a rash. But about 1 to 2 percent develop a more severe form of the disease called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF).
The case fatality rate for DHF ranges from 1 percent to 40 percent, depending on promptness and quality of supportive clinical care. People with dengue fever need medical attention and, managed properly, it greatly diminishes risk of a bad outcome.
Dengue is a fact of life in Jakarta, with thousands of cases and dozens of deaths each year, and most cases occur during the rainy season. Why that happens is the key to what you can do about it. Dengue is transmitted by a mosquito that is abundant in Jakarta, Aedes aegypti (and a sister species, Aedes albopictus), the Asian Tiger mosquito.
It loves the rainy season. Reducing your exposure to this mosquito is the key to diminishing your risk of acquiring dengue fever. The Asian Tiger bites during the day. The mosquitoes we all see in our homes at night are probably not the Asian Tiger. You are more likely to see the Asian Tiger in your backyard or schoolyard in the middle of the day, but it also goes indoors if it can.
This mosquito is most abundant where it finds suitable breeding sites, and these definitely become more abundant with rain. These mosquitoes love to lay eggs in little containers that capture even just a few drops of rainwater each day. The breeding site can be discarded cans, tires, flowerpots, or even an unnoticed dam in your drain spouts.
Maybe a leaky faucet or air conditioner condensate at the side of the house provides just what the mom mosquito is looking for. It is these breeding sites that are the bull's-eye of reducing the risk of dengue fever.
Attacking breeding sites is hard work. Constant vigilance is needed even after making a sweep of your premises -- each new rainfall potentially creates breeding sites not seen before.
When you see insecticide fumigation going on, this represents a sure sign of failure to effectively control breeding sites. Fumigation effectively knocks down the adult mosquitoes that happen to be present when it occurs, but many resting mosquitoes survive and can safely take to the air just a few minutes afterward.
What's worse, the many thousands of larvae in breeding sites (soon to become flying adults) escape this band-aid approach at control and take to the air within a few days. Fumigation also kills bees, dragonflies, and other beneficial insects.
Don't reproach the government too hard on this effort. They simply cannot take responsibility for breeding sites in your home, school or work site. This would take armies of invasive officers that simply do not exist.
Apart from surveillance, insecticide fumigation is largely all they can do. The real work is in our hands as stewards of the properties we occupy. Know where Aedes mosquitoes breed and attack these nurseries.
OK, your neighbors are not doing their part. So, why bother? After all, the mosquitoes that infect people have clearly come from someone else's yard. Wrong on two counts: 1) Outsiders are routinely on our own properties, and 2) Aedes mosquitoes can be born with dengue virus inherited from their mothers. That's right -- a mosquito hatched in your yard and never going anywhere else can transmit dengue fever.
A package of tools is available for managing the risk of dengue fever. These tools constitute a solid program of biodiligence against the mosquito vector of this disease: * After surveying your property and ridding it of unnecessary pools you will be left with necessary pools like fishponds, bird baths, waterfalls, etc. Put guppies and minnows in these pools. They eat mosquito larvae.
Larger fish do not pay much attention to mosquito larvae, and they may eat your guppies and minnows instead. Keep algae and dead leaves off the surface of the water -- this provides larvae effective cover from feeding fish. * There are also biological control tools available to professionals. These are bacteria or fungi that infect and kill mosquito larvae and are harmless to people, fish and most other aquatic animals and plants. Chemical treatments are also available. * Great advances have been made in the technology of mechanically attracting and destroying mosquitoes. Forget the bug zappers and sound-emitting repellants -- these are not effective. The best technology uses ultraviolet light, heat, carbon dioxide and other proven chemical attractants (like octanol or mosquito sex pheromones) combined with air flow (a fan) to ensure capture.
The best of these machines tend to be hard to find in Indonesia (almost all are manufactured in the U.S.), expensive (about US$500) and require daily maintenance, but they really work in reducing mosquito numbers.
* If at all possible, seal your house against mosquito entry, especially during the rainy season, by running air conditioners and keeping doors and windows closed. If this does not work, insectide-impregnated mesh is available to cover the attic space over your ceiling (where many mosquitoes can gain entry). Blowers over frequently opened exterior doors create a wind curtain that keeps mosquitoes out (costing about $1000). Insecticide-treated paints may also be considered in some cases.
* Mosquito nets, typically draped over beds are great protection against night-biting mosquitoes like the ones that carry malaria. Unfortunately, our day-biting dengue mosquitoes could care less about your bed. That being said, if you have an infant in a crib or a toddler in a playpen, mosquito netting over those things during the day provides excellent protection.
* The final tool of biodiligence is personal protection. Wearing a DEET-based repellant every day is not such an appealing prospect, and I do not recommend it. More importantly, DEET is known to be toxic to small children and should not be used on them.
But if you use DEET on yourself or older children, a formulation between 30 percent and 40 percent works best. The lower concentrations do not work as well, and the higher concentrations do not work any better.
The skin lotion brand Skin-so-Soft (Avon Inc.), which contains no known insect repellants, is by reputation an effective device against mosquitoes, especially for babies and small kids. I found that it worked great on my own kids, and at least one study demonstrated good activity. Clothing frustrates biting mosquitoes. The more skin you cover, the less likely you are to be bitten.
Dengue is a serious disease that infects thousands and kills dozens of people every year in Jakarta. In the absence of a drug that cures infection, or a vaccine that prevents it, managing your risk of dengue involves a program of biodiligence against the Asian Tiger mosquito.
A sound program will deliver other benefits as well, including diminished risk of other mosquito-borne diseases that occur (much less frequently than dengue), like Japanese encephalitis, and of course the sheer pleasure of not being riddled with itchy mosquito bites.
A book about different techniques of interviewing job seekers and how to recruit best people with points to ponder. Tell stories about how Microsoft got their employees hired and somewhat psychological. People are hired based on how well they answer questions given by the recruiters. I don't think this book was written by Microsoft to give examples. This book is 288 pages thick by William Poundstone, 2003. Originally published by Little, Brown and Company, visit http://www.twbookmark.com
Subtitle: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle -- How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers
Why are beer cans tapered on the ends? How many piano tuners are there in the world? Why does a mirror reverse right and left instead of up and down?
For years, Microsoft and other high-tech companies have been posing riddles and logic puzzles like these in their notoriously grueling job interviews. Now "puzzle interviews" have become a hot new trend in hiring. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, employers are using tough and tricky questions to gauge job candidates' intelligence, imagination, and problem-solving ability-qualities needed to survive in today's hypercompetitive global marketplace.
For the first time, William Poundstone reveals the toughest questions used at Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies—and supplies the answers. He traces the rise and controversial fall of employer-mandated IQ tests, the peculiar obsessions of Bill Gates (who plays jigsaw puzzles as a competitive sport), the sadistic mind games of Wall Street (which reportedly led one job seeker to smash a forty-third-story window), and the bizarre excesses of today's hiring managers (who may start off your interview with a box of Legos or a game of virtual Russian roulette).
//Poundstone talked to various people who have been involved in Microsoft hiring, including those who were interviewed, and those who gave interviews (full disclosure: I worked at Microsoft for ten years and was one of the people he talked to). He includes a lengthy list of questions, and most interestingly for many people, he also includes answers. //
http://books.slashdot.org/books/03/04/22/224224.shtml?tid=109&tid=127&tid=98
In the book, Poundstone traces the origins of this type of question, providing some fascinating information on the history of intelligence testing. He then chronicles how a certain type of puzzle interview caught on in the high-tech industry. Microsoft was not the first company to ask such questions, but it certainly popularized it.
Poundstone explains that responding to a problem you can't solve could be thought of as the fundamental problem in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and then continues, "The problems used in AI research have often been puzzles or games. These are simpler and more clearly defined than the complex problems of the real world. They too involve the elements of logic, insight, and intuition that pertain to real problems. Many of the people at Microsoft follow AI work closely, of course, and this may help to explain what must strike some readers as peculiar -their supreme confidence that silly little puzzles have a bearing on the real world."
It could be -or maybe Microsoft employees assume that since they were hired that way, it's a great way to hire (and complaints from those who were not hired are just sour grapes). Most developers I knew thought of AI as a pretty academic discipline, and were more concerned with putting a dialog box up at the right location on the screen than trying to pass the Turing Test.
Nevertheless, as companies seek to emulate Microsoft, the questions have caught on elsewhere. And as Poundstone put it, such questions have now "metastasized" to other industries, such as finance.
This makes the effectiveness of these questions an important issue. Poundstone first presents evidence that "Where do you see yourself in five years" and "What are you most proud of" are fairly pointless questions. In one experiment he describes, two trained interviewers conducted interviews with a group of volunteers. Their evaluations were compared to those of another group who saw a fifteen second video of the interview: the candidate entering the room, shaking hands, and sitting down.
The opinions correlated strongly; in other words, when you are sitting in an interview telling the interviewer what you do on your day off and what the last book you read was, the interviewer has already made up his or her mind, based on who knows what subjective criteria. As Poundstone laments, "This would be funny if it weren't tragic."
Puzzle interviews could hardly be worse than that, but it turns out the evidence that they are better is doubtful. Poundstone shows how intelligence tests are on very dubious scientific standing, and points out that Microsoft's interviews are a form of IQ test, even though Microsoft does not admit that publicly. In his 1972 book of puzzles Games for the Superintelligent, Mensa member James Fixx wrote, "If you don't particularly enjoy the kinds of puzzles and problems we're talking about here, that fact alone says nothing about your intelligence in general". Yet virtually every Microsoft employee accepts the "obvious" rationale, that only people who do well in logic puzzles will do well at Microsoft.
There is another important point about puzzle-based interviews: although you would think that they were naturally more objective than traditional interviews-more black or white, right or wrong, and therefore less subject to interpretation by the interviewer-in fact, interviewers' evaluation of answers can be extremely subjective. Once you have formed your impression of a candidate from the enter/handshake/sit-down routine at the start of the interview, it is easy to rationalize a candidate's performance in an interview, either positively or negatively. They needed a bunch of hints to get the answer? Sure, but they were just small hints and it's a tough problem. They got the correct answer right away? No fair, they must have seen it before.
Given the ease with which the answers to logic puzzles can be spun, it is highly probable that Microsoft interviewers are also making fifteen-second judgements of candidates, without even realizing it.
Three years ago Malcolm Gladwell wrote a New Yorker article about job interviews called The New-Boy Network. Gladwell quotes much of the same research as Poundstone, and relates the story of Nolan Myers, a Harvard senior who is being recruited by Tellme and Microsoft. He has done a one-hour interview with Hadi Partovi of Tellme, and spoken to Gladwell, the author, in a coffee shop for about ninety minutes. His initial interaction with Microsoft was much briefer: he asked Steve Ballmer a question during an on-campus event, which led to an exchange of emails.
As Gladwell writes, "What convinced Ballmer he wanted Myers? A glimpse! He caught a little slice of Nolan Myers in action and-just like that-the C.E.O. of a four-hundred-billion-dollar company was calling a college senior in his dorm room. Ballmer somehow knew he liked Myers, the same way Hadi Partovi knew, and the same way I knew after our little chat at Au Bon Pain." So Steve Ballmer, who obviously does not feel that he is choosing people based on traditional interviewing techniques, and in fact was one of the originators of the "Microsoft questions," is more prone to making fifteen-second judgements than he would probably admit.
The flaw, if any, may simply be in ascribing too much value to the puzzles themselves. The actual questions may be secondary: the company might do as well asking geek-centric trivia questions, like "What was the name of Lord Byron's niece?" That does not mean Microsoft is hiring the same people that an investment bank is going to hire. The cues they look for may be different: instead of a firm handshake and the right tie, they may be looking for intelligent eyes and fast speech, or whatever non-verbal cues ubergeeks throw off.
A Microsoft interview candidate will typically talk to four or five employees, and in general must get a "hire" recommendation from all of them. Even if the employees are actually basing their recommendations not on puzzle-solving ability but on a subconscious evaluation, it is unlikely that all of them will be subconsciously using the same criteria. Emitting the proper signals to satisfy four different Microsoft employees may be as good a judge of a candidate as any, and Microsoft may be good at interviewing simply because it tends to hire people that are similar in some unknown way to the current group of employees. If another company adopts puzzle interviews, they may discover that they are not hiring the smartest people, just the people most like themselves.
In the end, the best thing that can be said about puzzle interviews is that as a screening technique, they are no worse than traditional interviews. And there are some side effects: some candidates may be more prone to accept a job with Microsoft because of the interview style, and imparted wisdom about the technique may function as a useful pre-screening of prospective applicants.
And of course, employees may get a kick out of showing a candidate how smart they are, although this can have a downside: How Would You Move Mount Fuji? has several examples of interviewers who seemed more concerned with proving their intelligence than in gauging that of the candidate. One former Microsoftie admits they asked candidates a question they did not know the answer to, just to see what they would do.
Two chapters of the book, entitled "Embracing Cluelessness" and "How to Outsmart the Puzzle Interview," attempt to help interview candidates who are confronted with such puzzle questions. The official advice is scarce: Microsoft's Interview Tips page advises candidates "Be prepared to think," which isn't much help, since presumably nobody is advising the opposite. Some of the recruiters who go to college campuses have their own little tips; for example, one recruiter named Colleen offers a quote from Yoda: "Do or do not, there is no try." Other recruiter tips include "Stay awake" and "Always leave room for dessert." Luckily, Poundstone gives advice that is a bit more concrete than that.
Microsoft puzzles can be divided into two types: those where the methodology is more important than the answer, and those where only the answer matters. The "methodology" puzzles break into two classes, "design" puzzles //"How would you design a particular product or service?"// and "estimation" puzzles //"How much of a certain object occupies a certain space?"-for example, "How much does the ice in a hockey rink weigh?"//
Design questions exist because at Microsoft, responsibility for product development is split between two groups, the developers and the program managers. Developers write code: program managers design the user interface, trying to balance the needs of users with the technical constraints from developers. As Poundstone points out, while estimation questions and general logic puzzles are universal, the design questions are reserved for program managers.
The reason is that program management does not require the specific skills of development. Designing software is something any reasonably intelligent person can attempt, so the design questions are aimed at finding people who are really good at design. In fact one program manager I worked with told me that the best way to distinguish a potential program manager from a potential developer was to ask them to design a house: a developer would jump right in, while a program manager would step back and ask questions about the constraints on the house.
//Developers, meanwhile, are usually asked to write code on the whiteboard, an experience that program management candidates are spared. Books exist that discuss coding problems in more detail, such as Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job by John Mongan and Noah Suojanen, which covers many standard programming questions and even includes answers to a few of the logic puzzles that Poundstone addresses. //
Poundstone does include some of these design questions and provides sample answers. But the "answer" to these questions is really the process involved: ask questions, state assumptions, propose design. That's all you need to know about them. If you are wondering why Microsoft did not use this logical procedure when confronted with the question "Design a response to the open source movement," but instead seems to have spouted off the first five things that popped into its collective head-that's just more proof that performance in interviews is not necessarily a great indicator of future job performance.
Another recruiter, Stacey, gives the following interview tip: "The best interview tips I can give you are to relax and think for yourself. For a Microsoft interview, be prepared to answer both technical and problem solving questions. Ask clarifying questions and remember to think out loud. We are more interested in the way your are thinking through a problem then we are in your final answer!"
That approach works for the "methodology" questions: design and estimation. What about the other kinds-the more traditional brainteasers? For those questions, forget your methodology. What Microsoft interviewers want is the right answer.
James Fixx, writing three years before Microsoft was founded, offers some advice that may hearten potential Microsoft recruits: "One way to improve one's ability to use one's mind is simply to see how very bright people use theirs." With that in mind, we can follow along with Poundstone as he explains the solutions to the puzzles that the very bright people at Microsoft ask during interviews. He certainly delivers the goods: 100 pages of answers. Unfortunately, it's not clear whether seeing those answers help you tune up your brain to answer problems that do not appear in the book.
In his book, Fixx spends some time trying to explain what, as he so delicately puts it, "the superintelligent do that's different from what ordinary people do." For example, trying to describe how a superintelligent person figures out the next letter in the sequence "O T T F F S S", he advises people to think hard: "Persistence alone will now bring its reward, and eventually a thought occurs to him." Talking about how to arrange four pennies so there are two straight lines with three pennies in each line, he writes "The true puzzler...gropes for some loophole, and, with luck, quickly finds it in the third dimension."
Further hints abound: "The intelligent person tries... not to impose unnecessary restrictions on his mind. The bright person has succeeded because he does not assume the problem cannot be solved simply because it cannot be solved in one way or even two ways he has tried." This advice sounds great in theory, but how do you apply it in practice? How do you make your mind think that way? As Poundstone quotes Louis Armstrong, "Man, if you have to ask 'What is it?' you ain't never goin' to know."
Poundstone recognizes that the flashes of insight that Fixx describes, and that Microsoft interviewers expect, are more of a hit-or-miss thing than the inevitable result of hard thinking by an intelligent person: "What is particularly troubling is how little 'logic' seems to be involved in some phases of problem solving. Difficult problems are often solved via a sudden, intuitive insight. One moment you're stuck; the next moment this insight has popped into your head, though not by any step-by-step logic that can be recounted."
During interview training I participated in when I worked there, Microsoft would emphasize four attributes that it was looking for when hiring: intelligence, hard work, ability to get things done, and vision. Intelligence was always #1, yet despite this, Poundstone says that the official Microsoft people he talked to would shy away from the word "intelligence", preferring to use terms like "bandwidth" and "inventiveness". Indeed Microsoft's Interview Tips web page says "We look for original, creative thinkers, and our interview process is designed to find those people." No mention of the word intelligence or any notion that interviews are some sort of intelligence test.
In fact, although I think that most Microsoft people would consider the puzzle tests to be mainly a test of intelligence, they may do better at testing some of the other desired attributes. Psychologist and personnel researcher Harry Hepner once said, "Creative thinkers make many false starts, and continually waver between unmanageable fantasies and systematic attack."
Poundstone explains that you have to figure out when your fantasies have become too unmanageable: "To deal effectively with puzzles (and with the bigger problems for which they may be a model), you must operate on two or more levels simultaneously. One thread of consciousness tackles the problem while another, higher-level thread monitors the progress. You need to keep asking yourself 'Is this approach working? How much time have I spent on this approach, and how likely is it to produce an answer soon? Is there something else I should be trying?'"
This is great advice, not just for a puzzle, but for a job, and life in general. So watching someone think through a puzzle might be a great way to see how they would tackle a tough problem at work-the "hard work" and "get things done" abilities that Microsoft is also looking for. As James Fixx writes in the sequel More Games for the Superintelligent, "While the less intelligent person, unsure of ever being able to solve a problem at all, is easily discouraged, the intelligent person is fairly sure of succeeding and therefore presses on, discouragements be damned."
Unfortunately, the typical Microsoft interviewer is not looking at the approach to puzzle questions as a test of perseverence. Someone who tries five different attempts might demonstrate more resourcefulness than someone who just "gets it"-but they would get turned down. Interviewers who ask puzzle questions are probing the "intelligence" category, and they want the right answer.
The last chapter of the book is titled "How Innovative Companies Ought to Interview" and deals with a soon-to-be-problem: How will the industry be affected by the publication of this book? Will interviews still work if everyone knows the secrets?
Knowledge of Microsoft-style questions is already out there on the Internet. Since the candidates who participate in the interviews do not sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, they are free to tell others the questions they were asked, and from these reports databases of questions have been built up. Poundstone includes the URLs of several sites, including Kiran Bondalapati's "Interview Question Bank", Michael Pryor's "Techinterview", Chris Sells' "Interviewing at Microsoft", and William Wu's "Riddles". These sites generally don't include answers, but certainly knowing the types of questions to expect can be an advantage.
//Microsoft employees are aware of such sites. Once, when I sent email describing the questions I had asked a Microsoft candidate, I got a nasty reply from someone else at the company: Didn't I know that the question I had asked was posted on a website of known Microsoft interview questions?//
On the other hand, with no official internal Microsoft list of questions, some employees are undoubtedly using these sites to come up with material. Even within Microsoft there is debate about which questions are reasonable. In an unscientific survey I took of former Microsoft program managers, opinion was divided on the validity of some of the questions. A question described by one person as a good test of a candidate's ability was dismissed by another as foolish.
Poundstone does point out that some questions are silly and should not be asked ("Define the color green"), but he gives serious answers to others which I don't think are worthwhile either, including "If you could remove any of the fifty U.S. states, which would it be?" and "How do they make M&Ms?"
Furthermore, I would argue that if an entire class of questions can be "tainted" by How Would You Move Mount Fuji?, they don't deserve to be asked in the first place. Estimation questions might be invalidated by the revelation that the way to solve them was to multiply together a bunch of wild guesses.
The strategy of using a design question to to differentiate program management candidates from developer candidates might also go the way of the dodo. Is that necessarily a bad thing?
by ergo98 (9391) <dennis.forbes@gmail.com>
http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/ | Last Journal: Tuesday September 27, @10:43AM)
I wouldn't call it a "moronic question" whatsoever: Certainly no worse than pulling a "brainteaser for dummies" out of the net archives, which is what the majority of "clever" Microsoft-like questions are. It's like being the Jeopardy host and smirking in self-satisfaction because you know all the answers... because you have them in front of you.
Questions like "What is your greatest weakness" can show a tremendous amount about the applicant, and is more of a discussion starter than a literal questions. As far as how the applicant answers, I can see definite downsides to "I'm a perfectionist" (meaning: I never finish projects because I'm always working on "just one last issue") or "I work too hard" (meaning: I'm a martyr and will likely have a serious case of burn-out several months down the road, not to mention upsetting the work apple-cart).
Any question at an interview, asked and interpreted by someone with intelligence, is a powerful question. Do you eat lunch? What are your career goals? What is an optimal work day? All of these questions can give great insight into the honesty and character of the interviewee.
Personally I think the "Microsoft questions" are grossly overstated, and asking brainteasers most certainly didn't make Microsoft the success that it is (especially true to those that believe that Microsoft is more of a marketing success than a technical success. Personally I believe that they're a great technical success as well, but just pointing out the paradox).
The environment is the air, water and land in or on which people, animals and plants live. These elements are vital to human life, yet we abuse them so much that we are endangering our world.
Supplement - September 02, 2006
* Acid rain originates with emissions from coal-fired generators, iron and steel mills, pulp and paper mills, and from motor vehicle exhaust. The released sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are converted to sulphuric and nitric acids in the atmosphere. These acids return to earth through wet sulphate or nitrate deposition
* There is so much moisture in the air that if it were all to condense and fall, there would be up to an additional seven centimeters of water added to the Earth's surface.
* The air is so polluted in Cubato, Brazil, that no birds or insects remain, most trees are blackened stumps, and its mayor reportedly refuses to live there.
* One hundred and twenty-five hectares of trees are used to make the newsprint for the average Sunday edition of the New York Times. Nearly 63,000 trees grow on 125 hectares.
* The average computer chip plant produces 15 million liters of wastewater and thousands of liters of corrosive hazardous materials a day, such as hydrochloric and sulfuric acid.
* Use of less fertilizer at precisely the right times can cut costs by up to 17 percent for farmers in developing countries and reduce damage to the environment.
* Tires burning at landfills generate huge amounts of noxious air pollution.
* Shaving with a hand razor at a sink uses more energy because of the water power, the water pump, etc. than shaving with an electric razor.
* Every 24 hours a leaking water faucet with an opening the size of a pin will waste 646 liters.
* It takes one 15- to 20-year-old tree to produce 700 paper grocery bags.
* It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.
* Americans spend US$10 million each day on potato chips.
* More money is spent worldwide on Chicago Bulls merchandise than the entire economy of New Zealand.
- compiled from various sources
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." (George Bernard Shaw).
We all know about the five senses: taste, smell, sight, touch and sound, and most of us were born with these senses. Some are said to have the sixth sense: intuition, and sometimes it is interpreted as the awareness for other-worldly creatures. Kayee has a friend who adds a seventh sense to the list: humor.
Features - September 10, 2006
Only fools work, seriously!
by Kayee Man & Dewi Susanti, Contributors, Jakarta
While it is tempting to discuss the sixth sense, unfortunately we can't seem to associate ourselves with such fame... yet. Instead, we will attempt to have some fun while exploring the sense of humor.
So, why all of a sudden an interest in humor, you may wonder. Believe it or not (not in Ripley's sense but in the everyday sense), humor and creativity are related. According to Torrance, a professor at the Educational Psychology Department at University of Georgia and generally known as the father of creative thinking, both creativity and humor revolve around unusual combinations, an element of surprise, conceptual and perceptual incongruities (Torrance, 1999).
Think about it: good jokes require a great deal of wit. In the examples above, the answers take us by surprise because we find them unusual, absurd, un-thought of, and therefore funny. The answers make unlikely interpretations of the questions (joke 3), make connections with what we are familiar with -- but at the same time turn it into an unfamiliar setting (jokes 1 and 4), and make uncommon combinations (jokes 2 and 5).
And yes, creative thinking is about making unusual combinations, looking at things differently, and thinking of and seeing things that don't normally fit or belong together. This is why many experts on creative thinking actually prescribe humor (playfulness, spontaneity) as one of the necessary ingredients to being creative.
Ekvall, Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at University of Lund, Sweden, conducted research in major corporations to find out what differentiates companies that produce more innovative products to those that are less innovative. Among other things, Ekvall's research showed that organizations that had a playful and humorous environment were more likely to have creative behavior exhibited by employees.
Time magazine reported Google to be the biggest media company in the world, in market-cap terms. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google were described as "playful" (they used to take part in the regular roller-hockey games in the Google parking lot). The Time article featured a photograph of Brin and Page playing with Lego pieces during the interview.
Not only are the founders of Google playful people, Googleplex, as the headquarters of Google is known, is also described as "quirky." Toys for employees and their children, individualized road signs inside the building, electronic scooters to get from one place to another, a sand-volleyball court, a ball pit with brightly colored plastic balls and a London style telephone booth (minus the telephone) were just some of the examples cited that contribute to Googleplex's quirkiness (Time magazine, Feb. 20, 2006).
Amidst all this playfulness, however, much serious work gets done. Brin and Page were reported to be "tough sells" when it comes to approving projects and keeping their engineers on their toes with their project proposals.
So we don't need to be serious all the time to be productive. Dr. Firestien, associate professor of International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College, concludes that "There is a positive link between humor, productivity and creativity". People with a sense of humor are less rigid, less tense, less stressed and therefore able to get more work done. Humor is also found to alleviate boredom (very useful when one needs to get through those unavoidable mundane tasks).
And here is a bonus for having a sense of humor: research shows that group leaders who are able to laugh at themselves are perceived to be more effective at relieving tension, better at encouraging member participation and more willing to share opinions. Humor has a positive influence on effective communication in groups.
Our experience in facilitating problem solving groups and training substantiates what research and the creativity literature are telling us about having a sense of humor. We have never failed to have a smiling participant and a more relaxed atmosphere once we pose to participants the problem of how they can stop us from talking. A more relaxed atmosphere enables participants to focus on learning and generating ideas rather than being in the defensive mode.
So now the big question...if we don't have one already, how do we go about acquiring a sense of humor? Moody -- and the name is not a joke! -- describes a person with a good sense of humor as one who sees himself and others in a detached way, thus being able to laugh at himself and things that don't quite go right and remain positive at the same time (in Torrance, 1978: p.223).
So, first, you have to be willing. Having read this far into this article, we would assume that you are interested in acquiring a sense of humor, or at least to explore the idea of acquiring a sense of humor. As we believe, once you are aware and willing, you are half way to positive change.
So, here's our recipe for a sense of humor. What you can do on your own: Set a quota for a laugh a day (our motto: a laugh a day keeps the doctor away). Read humor or joke books (keep some in the office). Meditate to relax. Put a funny mirror in your bathroom or on your desk. Imagine. Take deep breaths. Think of happy thoughts. Exchange your brain for a day. Use laughing gas (joke!).
*What you can do with your coworkers: Ask yourselves silly questions (e.g. how to stuff an elephant into my boss' mouth). Throw a party. Pop balloons (exercise sends oxygen to the brain and has an invigorating effect). Meet our boss, Elli. Treat your employees or employers like they're your precious kids. Dance at work.
*What you can do whether you are alone or with a group of people you know or even do not know (we suggest you try various situations and don't forget to let us know the result!): Pretend you're the guest star. Start playing. Exercise your mouth muscles. Watch comedies. Smile for no reason. Tickle yourself (it doesn't work, so get someone else to tickle you). Talk to, play with, or pretend to be children, animals, or plants. Or, just laugh when others are laughing (even if you don't know what they're laughing about).
We love to play and laugh. If none of the above work for you, come and join us. We get lots of work done too.
Kayee is a graduate student in Creative Studies at SUNY Buffalo and Dewi is a UC Berkeley alumnus. They can both be reached at ideabox@art-explore.com.
Ragtime is a very old music prior 1900 and played until 1930. But it still be played nowadays by groups of ragtime music lovers. Ragtime music has aged more than a [[hundred years|http://music.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/9905_ragtime/index.shtml]] today.
Originally played with piano and recorded using the so-called piano scroll at that time. These scrolls were archived and played again using Steinway piano, and converted to midi or ~MP3 files.
In 1973 film director George Roy Hill overheard the record when his teenage son was playing in his room. Hill decided to use the music in his movie, [[the Sting|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sting]], starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford, telling a story about con men making bet at racing horses in 1930. Ragtime music was played throughout the film and I enjoyed it very much. The film itself has become a classic and the ragtime CD is available off the shelf.
The music was originally played by [[Scott Joplin|Ragtime music, the Scott Joplin story]] that make him the king of rag. The music is always [[joyful|http://www.datacom.co.id/Ragtime-for-Bedtime.mid]] as the blacks always do in good or bad times (remember the mourning band played in New Orleans). Ragtime are mostly played with piano although it played also by [[different musical|http://www.datacom.co.id/mplfsong.mid]] instruments like the violin, oboe, and some peculiar instrument like [[bells|http://www.datacom.co.id/Slvrbell.mid]]. Some lyrics were found but I seldom heard ragtime music sung by people.
The ragtime music was usually played in silent movies like the three stooges or Charlie Chaplin's for illustration and in comical cartoon movies. It also sounds like music in a carousel or merry-go-round when you are having a good time in the night bazaar with kids. It can be [[mellow|http://www.datacom.co.id/Pictface.mid]] also and played in waltz or [[tango|http://www.datacom.co.id/solace1.mid]].
I think that is why I was always hooked. I played again and again, and downloaded a lot midi files from the web and got variations of the originally played ragtime music. I listen ragtime music when I was sick or nearly recovering from my illness. You may believe it or not, the ragtime music is quite relieving.
Samples of ragtime music:
[[Augustan|http://www.datacom.co.id/augustan.mid]]
[[Ash of Africa|http://www.datacom.co.id/ashafrca.mid]]
[[Breeze from Alabama|http://www.datacom.co.id/Breezala.mid]]
[[Heliothrope Bouquet|http://www.datacom.co.id/Bouquet.mid]]
[[Mapple leaf rag|http://www.datacom.co.id/Maple-Leaf-Rag.mid]]
[[The easy winners|http://www.datacom.co.id/the-easy-winners.mid]]
[[The entertainer|http://www.datacom.co.id/The-Entertainer.mid]]
The 5th IEEE and IFIP International Conference on Wireless and optical Communication Networks(WOCN2008) will be held in Surabaya, Indonesia. The conference will be supported by the IEEE ComSoc Indonesia Chapter.
CALL FOR PAPERS
[[WOCN 2008|http://www.wocn2008.org/]] in Surabaya Indonesia, NOW accepting papers submission The 5th IEEE and IFIP International Conference on Wireless and Optical Communications Networks - The Next Generation Internet Accepted papers will be included in IEEE Xplore.
Date: May 5, 6 and 7, 2008
Venue: Hyatt Regency, Surabaya
Important dates:
Paper Submissions Deadline: January 31, 2008
Notification of Acceptance: February 29, 2008
Camera Ready Version Due: March 15, 2008
Paper submission link: http://papers.mssis.com:8888/
Revised versions of selected papers will be published in international peer reviewed journal that will be announced.
Elsevier publishing house will be receiving all the title of the accepted papers from IEEE WOCN2008 conference for inclusion in its databases, including Engineering Index (EI) and EI Compendex.
Accepted papers also include: IEEE Catalog Number: CFP08604-CDR,
ISBN: 978-1-4244-1980-7 and Library of Congress: 2007943044 Numbers.
Previous WOCN conferences were held at:
WOCN2007 Singapore
WOCN2006 Bangalore India
WOCN2005 Dubai UAE
WOCN2004 Muscat Oman
WOCN2009 possible location could be held in Moscow Russia or Cairo Egypt, if you would like and interested to participate, contribute and have any suggestions please contact: Guy.omidyar@IEEE.org
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Contributions are invited on all topics concerning Mobile, wireless and optical communications networks and components and related areas. We are soliciting original papers describing the state-of-the-art research and development in the areas of ''Wireless and Optical Communications and Networks'', including but are not limited to the following topics:
1. Management
*Resource and Information Management
*Pricing and Billing Issues
2. Architecture
*Convergence of Fixed and Mobile
*Hybrid Communications System
3. Devices
*Low-Power End-Devices and Wireless Communications
4. Security
*Security in Mobile and Wireless Networks
5. QoS
*Adaptive Quality of Service Provisioning
*End-to-end Quality of Service
6. Mobility Support
*Handoff Algorithms
*IP and Mobility
*Mobility and Connection Management in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks
*Policy-based Mobility Management
7. Applications
*Personal Communications
*Location and Context Management
*Smart Media
*Mobile Code
*Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks Applications
8. Access
*Wireless IP
*Wireless Multimedia Services
*Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
*Multiple Access Technology
*Broadband Wireless Access
9. Networking
*Wireless Personal Area Networks
* Wireless Local Area Networks
*Mobility and Nomadic Computing
*Analysis and Simulation of Mobile Network Protocols
*Home Networking
*Mobile Ad-hoc and Sensor Networks and the Internet
*Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking Routing
*Satellite Networks
10. INTERNET
*Access and broadband technologies
*Agent technologies, Distributed games
*Hypertext and hypermedia
*Multimedia on the Web
*Audio/video/voice coding for Internet service
*Internet security, Multicast
*Virtual private networks
*Web navigation strategies, Quality of service
*Scalability aspects, Traffic characterization
11. Information and Communications
*IP telephony and IP V6
*Satellite communications systems for mobile planet
*Security and privacy, network security and mobile payment
*Multimedia applications, QOS and traffic management
*Sensor Mesh and Ad Hoc Networks
*WLAN, mobile WIMAX, 3G and 4G systems
*Multiple antenna Systems- MIMO and Beam forming and OFDM
*Performance Analysis of Wireless Networks
*Ultra-wideband (UWB) communications Systems and RFID
*Modeling and analysis and performance evaluation of networks
*Control theory and practical implementation of communications networks
*Design of algorithms and decision making of large distributed communications networks
*Power line communications applications and development
*State of the art and practice of M- and E-commerce and Web-based information systems
*Emerging research topics and the future of M-and E-Commerce Technology
*Peer-to-Peer systems,
*Grids and large-scale distributed systems
*Applications of wearable systems in consumers, industrial, medical, educational, military environment. Use of wearable computers as components to support collaborative works
*Cognitive Radio Networks
*Smart cards and security in the networks
*M- and E- commerce and mobile payment
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
General Chairs:
Professor Guy Omidyar, Omidyar Institute, USA
Conference Vice Chairs:
Assistant Professor Muhammad Ary Murti, IEEE ComSoc Indonesia Chapter
Arief Hamdani Gunawan, IEEE Indonesia Section
Professor Daehyoung Hong, IEEE ComSoc Asian Pacific and
Sogang University, Seoul, Korea
Technical Program Co-Chairs:
Assistant Professor Muhammad Ary Murti, STTTelkoms, Indonesia
Associate Professor Vincent Guyot, ESIEA/LIP6, France
Professor Alok Kumar Das, Jadavpur University
Assistant Professor Valencia M. Joyner, Tufts University, USA
Professor Asoke Talukder, IIIT, Bangalore, India
Associate Professor Ping Shum, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore
Assistant Professor Daniel Siahaan, ITS, Surabaya Indonesia
Panel Chair
Dipnarayan Guha, NTU, Singapore
Tutorials and Publication Chair
Prof Guy Omidyar guy.omidyar@IEEE.org
Do you want to know practical FOSS applications for SMEs?
Do you want to become a trainer for FOSS applications for SMEs?
http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/call_for_applications/call-for-institutional-participation-iosn-inwent-training-of-trainers-on-the-foss-toolkit-for-smes
At the [[Asia Source II]] camp in Sukabumi, Indonesia (January 2007), a CD called SME-in-a-Box (draft) was distributed by IOSN. The concept was similar to one already developed by Tactical Tech but directed towards the small-to-medium enterprises. After Sukabumi, IOSN proceeded to formalize the SME-in-a-Box. Due to space limitations, the list of applications on the liveCD was prescribed and users could not easily modify the content with other FOSS business applications.
With input from these activities, IOSN and InWEnt engaged domain experts to facilitate the evolution of the SME-in-a-Box into a [[liveCD|http://sme-in-a-box.org/SME-in-a-Box/DemoLiveCD]] that will allow SMEs to choose their applications and use that for their specific business needs. This liveCD will be called the FOSS Toolkit for SMEs.
This call is for organizations/institutions who share IOSN-InWEnt's mission of promoting FOSS among SMEs. Each organization will nominate a representative to the Training of Trainers (ToT) and will commit to their re-entry plan which details how they will share their newly acquired knowledge with SMEs and their communities. A total of twenty organization's representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam will be accepted into the ToT.
At the end of the TOT, the successful participants will have the knowledge and skills to train others on the FOSS Toolkit for SMEs.
[img[Semi group photo of ToT participants|blog/dsc04499s.jpg]]
Training of Trainers for the FOSS Toolkit for SME in Manila, the Philippines from November 4 to 7, 2008.
INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH
For this Training of Trainers, the call for participation will be sent to institutions with a requirement to clearly signify their commitment to designate their representative/participant to train SMEs, other staff members and communities upon their return within three months (re-entry plan). This institutional approach assures that there is an echo seminar that is offered to local staff members / communities and the knowledge gained is shared to others.
During the selection process, a high score will be given to institutions which will be able to embed a training course on the FOSS Toolkit into their regular plantilla of activities and services offered. These will be expected from the re-entry plan they will be submitting as a requirement for application.
Though applications of institutions and associations will be prioritized, individual FOSS trainers and experts are also eligible to apply.
RE-ENTRY PLAN
The programme provides monitoring after the ToT (through their institution) for a sustainable implementation of follow-up activities. The monitoring will be done through a special website to be created for that purpose.
The Indonesian archipelago is "very vulnerable" to the impact of potential climate change fueled by global warming, Sir Nicholas Stern, head of the U.K. Government Economic Service, warned Friday 23 March 2007.
JAKARTA (Dow Jones) -- The Indonesian archipelago is "very vulnerable" to the impact of potential climate change fueled by global warming, Sir Nicholas Stern, head of the U.K. Government Economic Service, warned Friday.
The potential increase in both sea levels and severity of storms linked to global warming pose a serious threat to island states, including Indonesia, Stern told a World Bank press briefing at which he presented the conclusions of his eponymous report about the economic implications of climate change.
"Indonesia with 17,000 islands is very vulnerable," he said.
Stern said the massive flooding, which crippled Jakarta in early February, was a foretaste of the problems the city will have to grapple with in the face of rising sea levels driven by climate change.
The report issued in October by the U.K. Treasury called for a globally coordinated fight to curb growth in emissions from energy consumption thought to spur climate change. The report prescribed efforts to combat climate change as a strategy to boost world economic growth and warned that failure to respond to global warming could spell a global economic and environmental disaster.
Indonesia has much to lose from the impact of climate change, a World Bank-funded briefing paper issued at the press conference indicated. The paper warned of serious environmental, economic and social disruption if Indonesia is hit by rising temperatures, more intense rainfall and rising sea levels linked to global warming.
"Climate change will alter precipitation, evaporation, run-off water and soil moisture; hence will have effects on agriculture and thus food security," the paper said.
Indonesia's Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar told the press briefing that the Indonesian government is seriously taking the conclusions and recommendations of the Stern report. The need to prepare for and mitigate global warming "has surfaced to the top of conversations of ministers," Witoelar said.
Info-Activism is an approach to advocacy that recognises the artful use of information and communications as a primary tactic in successful campaigns.
The Info-Activism Camp is organised by [[Tactical Tech|http://www.tacticaltech.org]] and will be held in India, from ''February 19 to 25'', offers rights advocates the chance to make a greater impact in their work.
*Are you interested in using mobile phones to reach out to your community but don't know how?
*Do you produce reports full of crucial data but feel like the right people aren't reading them?
*Do you know that using the internet and mobile phones for your advocacy work can create security vulnerabilities but don't know how to protect yourself against them?
*Do you want to learn how to use digital advocacy to create change?
If your answer is yes, then read on....and be a participant at our [[Info-Activism Camp|http://www.informationactivism.org/]]!
The camp provides a space for intensive learning and doing, a structured 'skill-share' environment for experienced advocates that will give them the confidence and know-how to leverage the limited resources they have to create greater impact. During the week, participants will learn how to creatively integrate new technologies in to their advocacy and create long lasting connections with other advocates and tech-activists.
The camp will give rights advocates the practical skills, tools and techniques to use technology to:
*Gather and analyse information and facilitate evidence-based campaigning
*Create and disseminate targeted, accessible and engaging information for advocacy efforts that have impact on targets and mobilise support
*Increase participation from affected communities
*Enable cooperation and coordination with allies
*Minimise security and privacy vulnerabilities
The seven-day camp, organised by Tactical Technology Collective helps advocates to make the best use of information, communication and digital technologies to achieve their objectives. The first-ever international camp on info activism will feature 120 participants, picked through a competitive selection process, and who will not only learn but also share skills and techniques to aid in the process of advocacy.
Workshops, group discussions, interactive sessions and live demos, which to a large extent will evolve from participants' proposals, are all part of the one-week programme. Info-Activism is a compelling approach to launch campaigns and bring issues to light. The camp presents a great opportunity for rights advocates to enhance their skills. If you want to learn more about the camp, please go to http://www.informationactivism.org
The working language of the camp will be English. If you want to learn more about the camp, read more about our work at http://www.tacticaltech.org or write to infoactivism@tacticaltech.org
Spring is on its way.
I was looking for ways to install Mac OS on generic Intel ~PCs and found more than a few links. They find the bottlenecks and it will end the closed 'proprietary' Apple system. I hope it is a [[greener way|Green computing]] to save your resources.
The bottlenecks are described in,
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/26/efix_os_x_on_generic_pc/
"The key to making a generic Intel Mac that can handle updates lies in the fact that the 'uniqueness' of Apple hardware is really dependent only on the mechanism the Mac substitutes for the venerable BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), the firmware interface between the operating system and the hardware. The Bios replacement Apple uses is in fact an open standard, EFI (Extended Firmware Interface), introduced a decade ago by Intel as part of its attempt to get its Itanium chip off the ground."
The other way round is to install via [[virtualization|http://www.taranfx.com/how-to-install-mac-os-x-snow-leopard-on-pc-dual-boot]].
And the site also offers installing Mac OS from a USB flash.
I believe these sources are valid and workable.
Next thing to find out is what kind of hardware is applicable to run the Mac OS?
My option is only to find solution on how to run mac apps on Intel based computers someday when it's needed. A run on local stores, I found that N450 is more than available on netbooks with 10" from so many different brands. A complete comparating sheet on Atom processors is avail [[here|http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyID=29035]].
Is the N450 Atom processor a good candidate? Or a new [[I3 core Intel processor|http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=46473]] will do?
See that the N270 and N280 differs in embedded and loose chip. Most of the Atom processors mentioned have the [[Virtualization technology]] from Intel.
And for the [[I3 core|http://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei3/overview/436847.htm]] has the option of using the DDR3 RAM avail in some notebooks in the market.
I found a few brands that sells mounted computers using the [[230 and the 330]] (not embedded) dual core atom processors. I think these are the most affordable Nettops to run Mac OS.
Have a nice warmer day:)
While the One Laptop Per Child XO, expected to start coming off of production lines in large numbers in November 2007, is perhaps the best-known laptop aimed at people in developing communities.
Intel has already shipped thousands of its Classmate PC systems to test markets, including Mexico and Brazil. With a 7-inch display and solid-state hard drive, the Classmate shares many physical traits with the $399 Linux-based Asus Eee PC (a product that's actually available to consumers), but the Classmate is clearly designed to withstand greater wear and tear, with a thick ruggedized plastic shell.
Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman on 11/1/07
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/intel-classmate-pc/4505-3121_7-32727076.html?tag=bubbl_1
The Classmate starts at $225, and for around $350, you can get one set up with preloaded with Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003-both software packages specially configured to fit onto the tiny 2GB flash hard drive (larger versions may be available in the future). Using 900MHz Intel Celeron M CPU, it was surprising to see Windows XP run so smoothly on a system with only 256MB of RAM. Surfing the Web was a breeze, but opening multiple Web pages and office documents at the same time finally slowed the system down a bit.
While the Classmate isn't currently available to individual consumers, the technologies reflected here will likely filter down to consumer systems, leading to cheaper, smaller laptops for everyone, although likely not directly from Intel, which wants to stay out of the system-selling business.
The Classmate PC looks more like a toy than a laptop computer, with a thick, plastic chassis with rounded corners that's clearly designed to keep important parts far from the outer edges of the machine. The keyboard is water-resistant, and the entire body felt solid and unyielding. Even the back of the lid, which is covered with a thin, flimsy piece of plastic on many laptops, felt rugged. The system has a removable snap-on cover, made of thick leather, which doubles as a handle. Our cover was a pinkish orange, but we've seen them in blue and white as well.
We found its diminutive keyboard to be similar to the one on the Asus Eee, with the letter keys slightly narrower but deeper. Typing will be more comfortable for little hands than those of a grown adult. The round touch pad is unusual but easy to use-at least until we realized you couldn't use the edge as a scroll zone.
Besides versions of Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003, specially tweaked to fit on the small hard drive with at least a little room left over for user files (about 500MB, in our case), the system includes custom software designed for classroom use. The Classmate PCs come with the client software, while a teacher with a full-featured laptop runs the host software.
From the host laptop, the teacher can monitor the students' work, send text messages directly to the Classmate PCs, transfer work on one student's screen to all the other systems on the local network, or even remotely "silence" the Classmates, turning off their screens. While the e-Learning software is interesting, we especially liked that the Classmate can provide kids with the chance to get accustomed to the actual Microsoft software they're likely to encounter later in life.
The 7-inch display, again like the Asus Eee, has a resolution of 800x480-which means there's not a lot of screen real estate to spare. Text and icons were readable, but at 800 pixels wide, many Web pages are too wide for the screen and require horizontal scrolling. The thick bezel makes the screen look even smaller, but we understand the need to build in a protective buffer for the display.
Unlike the Eee, there's no Webcam or speakers next to the display (small, tinny speakers sit right above the keyboard).
Ports and connections are spare on the Classmate. You get two USB ports, an Ethernet jack, headphone and mic jacks, and that's about it. On a low-cost specialized system like this, we don't mind not having FireWire or even a VGA output. At first we thought the Classmate lacked an SD card slot (as found on the Asus Eee) to augment the meager built-in flash hard drive, but there actually is one on the back panel, hidden behind the leather cover.
While most of the standard benchmark tests we use wouldn't run on the Classmate, thanks to its 2GB hard drive, we did manage to run our iTunes encoding test.
We were able to use the system for about 3 hours while running a light mix of tasks-Web browsing, working on a Word document, and playing MP3 files-which was in line with Intel's battery life claims. That sounds fine for a portable laptop, especially an inexpensive one like this, but we wonder if that's long enough for the schoolchildren who are the Classmate's intended audience, and who may not always have easy access to electricity.
[[Comments on Intel Classmate PC]]
June 28, 2007, 9:23AM EST
Is getting computers to poor kids charity—or big business?
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2007/gb20070628_140912.htm?
by Bruce Einhorn
Middle school #156 in Malinalco, an hour and a half drive from Mexico City, is so strapped for cash that it can't even keep the lavatories stocked with toilet paper. Nearly half of the school's 211 students live below the poverty line. But on this June morning, 30 eighth graders are hunched over their desks, tapping on the keyboards of pint-size laptops donated by Intel Corp. (INTC) Chemistry teacher Martina Rosas is giving the students a crash course on Web searching. "The kids participate more in class and are much more interested in reading and investigating online," says Rosas, who herself recently completed 60 hours of computer training.
Intel wants to bridge the Digital Divide and pioneer a whole new market by filling classrooms in poor countries around the world with low-cost PCs. Priced at about $320 each, the new Classmate laptops on the desks in Malinalco are still too expensive for governments in most developing countries to purchase. Even so, they have allowed the chipmaker to steal a march on Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas Negroponte, whose foundation, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), is on a mission to build easy-to-use, energy-efficient computers that will eventually sell for $100 or less. While Negroponte's OLPC is still trying to work out all the kinks in its XO laptop, now projected to cost $175, thousands of Intel Classmate machines have been rolling off the production line since March at a Chinese factory owned by Taiwanese manufacturer Elitegroup Computer Systems Co. (ECS). Intel already has trials under way in more than 10 countries, with 25 planned by yearend.
The contest between Intel and OLPC has been an odd one, not least because the two sides are so unevenly matched. In one corner stands one of the world's most powerful tech giants, and in the other, a tiny philanthropy that has drummed up modest backing from the likes of Google, eBay, News Corp., and Advanced Micro Devices. (AMC) Negroponte has repeatedly criticized Intel for what he considers its hardball tactics. And yet the rivals may be ready to bury the hatchet: BusinessWeek has learned that Intel and OLPC executives are in talks regarding how they can work together.
It's unclear what the cooperation might involve. It's also not certain the two programs—either individually or in some kind of joint venture—will improve education or succeed in spreading useful technology through the developing world. But the race already has shed important light on how Intel plans to grapple with sluggish growth in the global PC market. The company's swift response to Negroponte also reveals how nimbly Intel can maneuver when necessary.
Under CEO Paul S. Otellini, Intel has been going through a painful transition. Its microprocessors still dominate the PC landscape, but the world of cell phones and other mobile gadgets is expanding much faster. Such products consume more chips than PCs do, perform many of the same functions, and are more popular throughout much of the world.
`NEXT BILLION'
A marginal player in cellular markets, Intel must find a way to sell to the "next billion," industry lingo for consumers in the developing world who don't yet have easy access to the Internet. The education market—and products such as the Classmate—presents a major opportunity, says Martin Gilliland, Asia-Pacific research director for Gartner Inc. (IT), because even if Intel's margins on such devices are razor-thin, volumes could soar into the hundreds of millions. Intel could expand the PC user base "not by fractions, but by high double-digit percentages," Gilliland says.
The first big challenge for Intel is bringing down the Classmate's costs. Unlike Negroponte's XO device, whose specially designed user interface aimed at first-time computer users is a deliberate break from the world of Intel chips and Microsoft software, Intel's machines are largely stripped-down versions of today's "Wintel" PCs.
Intel's formidable clout with Asian parts suppliers lets it buy key components practically at cost, allowing it to shoot for a sub-$300 price tag. "We have chosen to ride on the existing technology curve and drive down the cost that way," says Michael T. Zhang, Intel's general manager working on the project in Shanghai.
So far, the approach seems to be working. Intel was able to move the Classmate PC from the drawing boards into production in less than 18 months. In early June, the company announced that it had enlisted Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. to make another laptop based on the Classmate design, but priced even lower, at $200. "This is what we do for a living," says L. Wilton Agatstein, the Intel vice-president in charge of the Classmate initiative. Perhaps more important, the project has forced Intel to expand its frame of reference beyond hardware. In Mexico and elsewhere, Intel bundles its Classmates with education software and teacher-training support. "That's something Intel needs to be credited for," says Gartner's Gilliland. "They have stretched beyond their normal area of interest without treading on anyone's toes."
Negroponte has said that he has no intention of ceding Mexico and other struggling nations to Intel. He has met with Mexican President Felipe Calderón and has sought out Mexico's richest man, telecom billionaire Carlos Slim, who says he's interested in helping OLPC. But there is one obvious obstacle: Negroponte still has no commercial laptops to put into the kids' hands, whereas Intel has signed up with a local distributor and launched two trials for the Classmate, in Guadalajara and Malinalco. The company plans to have ECS, its Taiwanese partner, produce over 1 million Classmates by the end of the year.
In the past, Negroponte has accused Intel of trying to crush his nonprofit, in part because OLPC buys its most important chips from Intel rival AMD. He also has complained that Intel is using its laptop program to pump up demand for its microprocessors in developing countries. "They look at it as a market," he says. "But primary education in the developing world is not a market, it's a human right. And I don't think Intel is in the human-rights business."
Collaboration, clearly, would erase some of the ill will. And a framework for this already exists. In earlier interviews, Intel's Agatstein has said he gets along well with Negroponte and that the two talk regularly. Agatstein has praised the way Negroponte works with Linux software developers to come up with applications for his laptop. "We have learned from Nicholas," he says. In a best-case scenario, a collaboration between Intel and Negroponte would greatly improve access to advanced technology in countries around the world.
But not everyone agrees laptops are the best way to go. "The phone itself is going to be the low-cost computer," argues Irwin Jacobs, chairman of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), the San Diego designer of chips for handsets.
OBSOLESCENCE
For a California company called NComputing Inc., the solution to the world's Digital Divide lies in "collective computing." NComputing CEO Stephen A. Dukker boasts that, for as little as $11 per user, schools or governments can deploy a network of "thin clients"—desktop machines that have no central processing units but are connected to a server, solving the problem of servicing laptops when they break down. "You require a complete, well-thought-out ecosystem to avoid winding up with stacks of these machines with broken screens, just collecting dust," Dukker says.
Still others argue that attention to computers distracts from bigger problems, such as poor school infrastructure, student nutrition, and chronic teacher shortages. "Would one computer per child help? If there's a lot of guidance and a lot of good content, yes," says Barbara Mair, a former president of Compaq's Mexico subsidiary and co