Think of 3G and advanced mobile data services such as streaming television and high speed broadband replacement, one of the last countries that comes to mind is Cambodia. But the kingdom's new QB network is promising to deliver these advanced services to a public that has no traditional alternative so to speak, and by doing so leapfrog the competition and bypass a decade of development.
COMMART X-GEN THAILAND 2008
Notebook computers and netbooks based on the newly-launched Intel Atom processor dominated the show floor at Commart X-Gen Thailand 2008 last week where the overall IT spend at the four-day show was over three billion baht, with notebook purchases accounting for over two billion.
NETWORKING
When Cisco's regional data centre chief Andre Smit meets with CIOs he says all they want to talk about today is virtualisation.
Lotus, makers of the once mighty 1-2-3 spreadsheet, has announced its return to the consumer software space with the release of the Lotus Symphony 1.0 office suite which was the centre of attention at Lotusphere 2008, Phuket.
Companies need to change radically to meet the expectations of a new generation that has grown up on the Web and mobile phones, as they are now starting to enter the workplace, according to IDC.
PRINTERS
Having been successful in solving problems caused by refilled ink cartridges with the launch of a 190 baht cartridge called "Save Jung" last year, Epson (Thailand) has followed on by introducing a third generation Save Jung campaign together with four new printers.
EXTENSIONS
Apple's WorldWide Developers Conference opened last week in San Francisco. Steve Jobs began with his keynote speech and pointed out that during the week there would be 147 sessions - 85 on the Mac and 62 on the iPhone. Jobs added that in the afternoon, Bertrand Serlet would outline the next version of OS X, Snow Leopard. He provided no details, although there has been much speculation. A press release added some information.
SOFTWARE PARK
Software Park, with participation from the public and private sectors, will organise the first Software Park Annual Conference at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre next Tuesday.
OPEN THOUGHT
One month with a Nokia N95 has taught me that geotagging is fun, if one has the battery power and the luck to get a satellite lock, that is.
Microsoft has unveiled Silverlight 2, Expression and development aspects of the new Internet Explorer 8 at Remix SEA 2008, held recently in Bangkok with an emphasis on Microsoft's Software and Services strategy which will see Silverlight media served out of Microsoft's data centre as a service.
INTERNET DEVICES
Acer Computer recently announced the Acer Aspire One netbook, powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, and available at the Commart X'Gen Thailand 2008 show with a sales target of 20,000 units in July.
RANDOM NEWSBYTES
Acer is the market leader here for notebook PCs, offering many models in various categories while addressing different markets such as "slim and light," "ultimate gaming" and "mobile traveller," to name just three categories listed on the company's web site.
COMPUTER CURRENTS
Has the mobile phone market hit a wall? When the iPhone hit the streets over a year ago it set a new benchmark in intelligent mobile phones. Since then, mobile phone vendors have responded with, well, with nothing at all. O2 is about the only other touch phone; I include Dopod in the O2 category, which has given us a succession of models with same screen size and in at least one case, less power since the Atom came out.
TRAINING : Aptech Computer Education will hold a series of training courses at its training centre at Phloenchit as follows:
HOME BUILDER
I've just started looking at an in-depth video training course on ASP.NET but more on that next week. This week, finally, we get back to our examination of Web 2.0.
SLOAN RANGERS
One of the common concerns of many Database readers is about processes. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del (Ctrl-Alt-Esc in Vista) and Windows' Task Manager shows dozens or even scores of processes, none of them explained, and some of them mysterious.
LAW BYTES
Recently, negotiators from the European Union and countries including the US, Japan and Canada huddled at the US Mission in Geneva to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The ACTA, which was shrouded in secrecy until a leaked summary of the agreement appeared on the Internet last month, has sparked widespread opposition as many worry about the prospect of a trade deal that could lead to invasive searches of personal computers and increased surveillance of online activities.
HELP DESK
I recently saw an article in Photoshop User, Dec 2007, that said "I believe that images should be stored on CDs and DVDs and never on hard drives." I would like Database's opinion on this. Personally, as a professional photographer, up until a year or two ago, I was backing-up all my images to CD or DVD. However, as the prices of hard drives have fallen dramatically recently, I have been buying external USB drives to back up my images and all my data. Starting at 200GB, then 250GB, 320GB and I just recently splurged on a WD 1TB drive for my new iMac. I would appreciate an expert Database opinion as to which system they think is best, including such variables as longevity, durability and the possibility of new formats or storage options in the future such as online storage, etc. Such an article would be most useful.
APP SHOT
I'm still not sure whether Digi-Annotator falls into the category of useful software for work, or fun software for work and play. So for now, let's say it falls halfway in between.
WORLD REVIEW
If you think sitting by the net at court level at a world tennis championship is hard on the neck, you haven't been watching the Yahoo! matches, particularly the ones pitting CEO Jerry Yang against big-time shareholder and arch-enemy, the always gracious Carl Icahn; Yang served two aces - advert agreements with Wal-Mart and interactive agency Havas Digital; Icahn served, appealed to the judges to stop Yang from trying to block him from buying more shares, grabbed the ball again and hit a scathing screamer that hit Yang square in the groin with a demand to rescind the new Yahoo! by-laws which give millions in severance pay even if Icahn grabs control of the match and tries to sell Yahoo! to Microsoft; Icahn held serve, demanded Yang set a price tag of $49.5 billion on his forehead; Yang, who has already established what he is, said setting a price would be "ill-advised"; the final is scheduled for Aug 1, California time, at the Yahoo! boardroom conference table - and wouldn't you love to have tickets for it?
HOME REVIEW
Your CAT Telecom was so happy with the offer by your TOT to buy its 42 per cent stake in the tiny SuthepNet yuppiephone firm for 2.4 billion baht that it laughed and laughed until it was almost sick; when they recovered, your CAT Telecoms offered to buy your TOT's 58 per cent share of the little Thai Mobile for 3.3 billion baht - simply reversing the offer; TOT was unamused; the counter-offers marked approximately the eleventeenth exchange of buyout demands for Thai Mobile, whose market value is roughly nothing, but which has the inside track on owning 3G licences and the continuing right to skim private companies.
Self-reliance can save you money, and it may even help you to save lives. If your car won't start, if you get lost or if you need to perform CPR or provide first aid, do you know what to do?
