Apple iPad

Apple today has announced Apple iPad 2 which will be available to the market on March 11 and 25 other countries by March 25. The technical specification as noted during the presentation is:

• Wi-Fi + 3G model: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi + 3G for Verizon model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
• 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
• Back camera: Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still camera with 5x digital zoom
• Front camera: Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio; VGA-quality still camera
• Tap to control exposure for video or stills
• Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi
• Built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using 3G data network
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
• Three-axis gyro
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor
• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS
• Cellular
• Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (cables sold separately)

Apple iPad 2

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 RTMs are now available on MSDN. The Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 is packed with new and enhanced features that simplify the entire development process from design to deployment.

Visual Studio 2010 Express Editions:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/

Visual Studio 2010 90 days Free Trial:

• Visual Studio 2010 Professional

  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5414e4c0-c1f8-473e-8e9d-a1a7be786141&displaylang=en

• Visual Studio 2010 Premium

  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f81412a2-d48e-4040-9b32-27eaf771c5db&displaylang=en

• Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate

  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=06a32b1c-80e9-41df-ba0c-79d56cb823f7&displaylang=en

Visual Studio 2010 RTM available for MSDN Subscribers are:

• Visual Studio 2010 Professional (x86) – DVD (English)
  en_visual_studio_2010_professional_x86_dvd_509727.iso
• Visual Studio 2010 Premium (x86) – DVD (English)
  en_visual_studio_2010_premium_x86_dvd_509357.iso
• Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate (x86) – DVD (English)
  en_visual_studio_2010_ultimate_x86_dvd_509116.iso

iPad from the side

One of the first things you’ll notice about the iPad is how thin and light it is. With only just 1.5 lbs and 0.5 inches thin, it’s slightly smaller than a magazine and it’s easy to carry and use anywhere. There’s also a slight curve to the back. Which makes it easy to pick up and comfortable to hold.

iPad has a large 9.7 inch, measured diagonally, high resolution LED-Backlit IPS display that makes it perfect for web browsing, watching movies, or showing off photos.  Just like iPod Touch and iPhone, the iPad can operate in any orientation – portrait or landscape.  The IPS technology allows an amazing 17.8° viewing angle that allows you to hold it at any angle and yet still able to view the display with excellent color and contrast.

iPad from the front

The Multi-Touch screen is something that is to be expected and it uses the same technology as the iPod Touch or iPhone.  The only difference is that it has been customized for a larger screen and much precise and responsive. My finger is now itch to flick photos and Google Maps on it.

Battery is what concerns me the most when the iPad was announced as it has a huge screen that will likely consume a lot of power.  However the iPad is packed with a lithium polymer battery just like on the Macbook and Apple says that this thing will operate up to 10 hours while web surfing on Wi-Fi, watching videos or listening to music.

As this is a connected device, iPad will come with built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and also Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR so that you can listen to music wirelessly with your stereo bluetooth headset or headphones. In addition, some iPad models will also has an integrated 3G modem that supports up to 7.2 Mbps.

Can’t wait for this device to be available on the Apple Store. Should I pick this up or should I just wait for the next Macbook Pro with Intel Core i7?

What is interesting about this business is that Multistrada as local manufacturer had to deal with global brands such as Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Dunlop, Toyo Tire and Pirelli. However, Multistrada had caused quite a stir and grab the market. Achilles, Multistrada ‘s flagship product, like the ancient Greek mythology, “muscle” Achilles was so strong. In fact, Achilles has been successful in foreign countries. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer, PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk., smiles broadly as to record net sales of Rp. 1.3 trillion in 2008 and maybe another surprise for 2009 when the financial result is released.

One of the key success factor for Multistrada is from its low price as compared to the “Big Boy” such as Michellin, Bridgestone, Continental, Pirelli and Goodyear. The price for Achilles is way down there. “If the Big Boy sells 17 inch for US$ 150, then I will sell for $50. But, I am already satisfied because the margin is big enough,” J. Sukarman, Operational Director of PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk. said. Pricing is only one of the strategy and as in Achilles’s case, Multistrada has created a number of innovation by providing fashionable tire concept with size that is larger than that is available in the market.

This is only the begining of Multistrada’s success story as they continue to improve their product to strive not only to produce world class product but also to be globally recognized brand.

Desain baru Facebook 2010

Facebook tampaknya mulai menggelarkan desain situs baru ke beberapa orang walaupun saya sendiri masih belum dapat menikmatinya. Desain baru ini juga pernah ditampilkan oleh GigaOM pada tanggal 27 Desember 2009.

Facebook pernah mengumumkan pada bulan Oktober bahwa applikasi Facebook memiliki hit paling tinggi. Panel pencarian telah dipindahkan dari kanan ke kiri-tengah dan bar navigasi disederhanakan. Khususnya Facebook telah menghapus link ke profil Anda yang saat ini ada dua . Setting dan login/logout telah digabungkan menjadi satu “account” drop-down.

Tidak ada yang patut dibenci pada perubahan ini tapi biasanya pengguna sering mencemari perubahan apapun pada situs ini. Kita nantikan saja =).

Facebook New Privacy Announcement

Today, Facebook has rolled out privacy setting upgrade which they claim to give more control to the users of how their information is shared.  With the new features:

Facebook Share Control

• You can now control who can see every post you share, from status updates to photo albums.
• Regional networks (like London or Australia) have been removed.
• A common set of information for all users is now publicly available.
• Facebook-enhanced applications and websites now have access to a limited set of information when you use and interact with them: your publicly available information and information you’ve made visible to Everyone.
• No changes whatsoever to ads on Facebook. We do not give—and have never given—anyone’s data or personally identifiable information to advertisers.

Facebook Levels of Privacy

The facebook level of privacy has been divided into three levels: Friends, Friends of Friends and Everyone.  All Users will be guided to the Facebook Security Upgrade Wizard to ensure that everyone has update their own security setting..  However, Facebook users should check their privacy setting once again and make sure that no sensitive information such as email and phone number to be published to everyone.  More information about the new privacy setting can be read here.

Facebook Privacy Update Wizard

Below are some of example pictures after the hot pixel is mapped (click on the image to find the original version):

Wayang Semarang

Pool at Cansebu Resort

Michael Smith giving a talk on internet trend

Michael then goes on talking about the what’s available on the Yahoo Developer Network.  Some of the examples that he mentioned was Yahoo Blueprint for mobile, Yahoo Query Language or YQL in short Yahoo User Interface best known as YUI.  I have personally used the Yahoo Blueprint and YUI for my development and I can say that they are awesome.

Anyway I’ve also talked to them about an issue that have been occurring to legal websites whereby emails sent to Yahoo emails are being marked as a spam.  Indonesia is one of the country where email spamming is the norm and they do take that seriously.  The easiest and hardest thing to do is to get into their “white list”, just like Facebook and many others, to ensure that all emails are being delivered.

Michael Smith showing an online demo on Indonesian's slow internet connection.

There is a network guy as well, his name is Adam, and he came all the way from Sunnyvale to Indonesia to meet some of the major players in international networks to talk about how to improve Yahoo services to Indonesia.  There are a lot of challenges that he mentioned such as hardware issues, languages, technology and list goes on. For me I just hope they have a mirroring or at least direct peering with most major players in the network.

Not to forget I also met guys from WayToDeal.com, OgahRugi.com, Urbanesia.com, AdaDiskon.com & CariPromo.com

For those who are interested in joining Open Hack Day can register here

Bubur Barito

Oh, and after the event my colleague and I went to Bubur Barito for dinner as it was 9 at night we have not eaten yet. Yummmmmyyyyyy…..

Anyway here are the voice recordings for those who are interested:

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 1 – kpk-polri-versi1.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 2 – kpk-polri-versi2.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 3 – kpk-polri-versi3.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 4 – kpk-polri-versi4.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 5 – kpk-polri-versi5.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 6 – kpk-polri-versi6.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 7 – kpk-polri-versi7.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 8 – kpk-polri-versi8.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 9 – kpk-polri-versi9.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 10 – kpk-polri-versi10.mp3

KPK Polri Voice Recording Version 11 – kpk-polri-versi11.mp3

PS: I do not guarantee the accuracy or quality of the recording

Indonesia Monthly Blackberry Traffic Growth

I have actually seen BlackBerry since 2003 and it is being used widely by enterprises in Canada back when it was only has black & white screen.  It was a popular device among enterprise users as they have their email pushed to their mobile device rather than having to check their inboxes using a PC or laptop which decreases response time.  Advanced by the highly secured RSA encryption makes it a natural choice for company that do not want to be eavesdropped by packet sniffers.

In the event I had the chance to hear the experience, thoughts, insights sharing from people like:

• Agung Wijanarko (Indosat) – A self proclaimed BlackBerry evangelist, one of a few people following BlackBerry steps in Indonesia since its infancy.  He shows us how the BlackBerry has been growing in Indonesia and there are a lot of potential as the price of such device is dropping rapidly
• Willson Cuaca (Foyage) – Founder of XSago.com which has developed Foyage, the Location Based Service (LBS) application.  Willson and the team developed an application that works like a radar where it shows information that is in close proximity to the device.
• Fahmi Gustiawan (Pravina) – whose company help the implementation of BlackBerry-based m-Gov in DKI… also featuring our special guest from Bappeda DKI.  His company developed an application that helps government officials to monitor progress and updates through BlackBerry handset in real time.
• Deddy Avianto (id-berry) – experience businessman in BlackBerry specific content & applications…. “Theme” is his middle name.  Deddy have made many out-of-the-box themes which many have been reviewed globally and seems to be profitable.
• Ronald Ishak (Domikado) – cool and popular lifestyle apps – Indonesian made.  The thing I like about Domikado is that it has a very sleek user interface which also works on my BlackBerry Storm 9530.  It has a bunch of information and features such news, foreign exchange and stock index.  The only concern I have about this is it is very general and it seems to be another Viigo.
• Mark Hanusz (Jakarta Globe) – Founder Equinox Publishing.  Mark Hanusz team has developed a news application that works on BlackBerry and can be downloaded on http://www.globedm.com/ as of yesterday.
• Michael Smith (Yahoo!) – Michael appearance was a surprise as I wasn’t informed that anyone from Yahoo! will be coming to the event.  He is the Director of the Yahoo Developer Network for South East Asia and he is coming to launch the first Open Hack Day in South East Asia on November 21st and 22nd, 2009.  Those who are interested can register for Open Hack Day here.