Taylor Swift PUNK'D

A funny Halloween joke by Ellen Degeneres on Taylor Swift.

Web address in different languages

Do you think the web would be better or worse with this?

ICANN okays Chinese, Hindi, other scripts for URL suffixes

SEOUL: The nonprofit body that oversees Internet addresses approved Friday the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on the Latin alphabet in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to allow such scripts in so-called domain names at the conclusion of a week-long meeting in Seoul, South Korea’s capital. The decision follows years of debate and testing.

The decision clears the way for governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names, likely beginning Nov 16.

Internet users could start seeing them in use early next year, particularly in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts in which demand has been among the highest, ICANN officials say.

“This is absolutely delightful news,” said Edward Yu, CEO of Analysys International, an Internet research and consulting firm in Beijing, emphasising that the Internet would become more accessible to users with lower incomes and education. Yu spoke ahead of the approval, which had been widely expected.

Domain names -- the Internet addresses that end in “.com” and other suffixes -- are the key monikers behind every Web site, e-mail address and Twitter post.

Since their creation in the 1980s, domain names have been limited to the 26 characters in the Latin alphabet used in English (A-Z) as well as 10 numerals and the hyphen. Technical tricks have been used to allow portions of the Internet address to use other scripts, but until now, the suffix had to use those 37 characters.

That has meant Internet users with little or no knowledge of English might still have to type in Latin characters to access webpages in Chinese or Arabic. Although search engines can sometimes help users reach those sites, companies still need to include Latin characters on billboards and other advertisements.

Now, ICANN is allowing those same technical tricks to apply to the suffix as well, allowing the Internet to be truly multilingual.

Many of the estimated 1.5 billion people online use languages such as Chinese, Thai, Arabic and Japanese, which have writing systems entirely different from English, French, German, Indonesian, Swahili and others that use Latin characters. -- AP

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/10/30/technology/20091030125744&sec=technology

Kampar Bridge Tragedy :Sorrow

Follow up to the Kampar bridge tragedy which caused the death of 3 students which shows us that good workmanship is a must in building of new structures to prevent anymore tragedy from happening. 

GOPENG: It was an emotional scene at drowned victim V. Divyashree’s home in Taman Changkat Golf here as her father chased away her schoolmates.

The grief-stricken father seemed on the verge of a breakdown as he went on a rampage and yelled for the group of pupils from SJK (T) Gopeng to leave.

”Don’t send children to school. They are all killing them,” K. Vasudevan, 34, a technician in Kuala Lumpur, repeatedly screamed as a few men tried to restrain him and calm him down.

Crying hysterically, the dozen schoolchildren obeyed and waited at a house opposite.

”Her father was very upset to see us. He said that he didn’t want to see anyone wearing school uniforms.

”But then, we only wanted to say our goodbyes to Divyashree,” said one of them.

The children were later ushered into the house when Vasudevan finally calmed down and remained outside the house.

Divyashree’s 41-year-old mother R. Kanakam fainted a few times due to grief. She was briefly warded at the Kampar Hospital earlier after fainting outside its mortuary.

Gopeng MIC branch Wanita chief P. Sarojini, who is a close friend of the family, said the couple could not accept the death of their eldest daughter as they had both been confident that she would return safely.

”They had both believed she was merely lost in some jungle. Day after day, they would wait at the site in Kuala Dipang for her return.

”The truth only hit them at the mortuary when it was confirmed that the body found was of their daughter,” she said.

Sarojini said Divyashree was an intelligent and obedient girl, and that she had been her parent’s hope for a brighter future.

”On her own, she would wake up at 4am in the morning to study. She would always tell me how good it would be if she could get RM100 for every A she obtains in her UPSR examination so that she can give the money to her parents.

”In fact, she was the one who encouraged her parents to take part in the Human Resource Ministry retraining scheme in Kuala Lumpur just so that the family could lead a better life.

”She did not mind being left behind with her younger sister to stay with their neighbour,” Sarojini said.

The scene at the home of M. Devatharshini in Taman Diawan, Mambang Diawan here, was relatively calmer.

Her father K. Mageswaran, whose eyes had been swollen from too much crying, said his daughter’s death seemed surreal.

”Sometimes, I have to sit and think if all this is real. I keep wishing that it is just a dream.

”She was our only daughter and I loved her the most,” the father said, breaking down into tears.

The last time he saw his daughter alive was when he had arrived home at noon as Devatharshini was about to leave on her bicycle.

”She had clothes and things packed in her basket. She started crying when she saw me and pleaded with me to allow her to go to the camp.

”Because I loved her, I gave her permission.

”She wrote a letter to her mother and placed it on the altar, begging for her mother’s forgiveness and blessings,” he added.

Mageswaran later received RM3,000 from the nearby Ngan Yin Groundnut Factory Sdn Bhd where his wife, R. Nagaratana works as a packer.

Perak executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, who visited both families, told reporters that the state government would help out the victims’ families with a contribution of RM10,000 each.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/29/nation/20091029182726&sec=nation

Beware of Facial Treatments

A little warning for those who go for beauty treatments.

Model sues over ‘unfair’ treatment

AN aspiring actress and model who wanted to be fairer has ended up with a disfigured face after pigmentation treatment in a popular Mumbai spa.

Gauri Khan, 22, who acted in the yet-unreleased Legend of Mayawati, has sent a legal notice to the spa owners – Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her business partner Chandrakiran Kaur Bawa.

Failed treatment: Before and after pictures of Gauri who sought treatment to become fair at Shetty’s spa in Mumbai.

According to MumbaiMirror.com Gauri paid 38,000 Indian Rupees (RM3,800) for 14 sessions of the “glow and pigmentation” treatment in June last year after watching a TV ad endorsement by Shilpa Shetty.

She said her face was now peeling, wrinkled and covered in ugly dark spots, forcing her to move around with her face covered.

In her legal notice, Gauri, who shares the same name with Bollywood hearththrob Shahrukh Khan’s wife who is also a model, claimed 170,000 Indian Rupees (RM17,000) in compensation.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/29/nation/4999162&sec=nation

Singing and Karaoke

Karaoke.

A leisure activity that usually involves singing using a microphone in front of a small audience with the aid of visual material on TV.

I am sure that anyone who is reading this has known or tried karaoke before. If you are still in the dark, you really have not been paying attention to your surroundings.

Karaoke in Malaysia is now quite popular with the elderly folk in our country. You would be quite surprised that there are quite a number of them who are now turning professional by not depending on the visual aid.


If you have been watching the AEC channel on Astro for the past few years, you will know what I mean as there is a karaoke competition held every year for the elderly and it comes to a surprise as there are quite a following of younger people who are also watching this program.

As I have watched some of the competitions before, all I can say is their singing is on par with professional singers with suitable costumes. I guess you can say they also love dressing up which may be another reason they join. They have also been featured in the newspaper.

If you think that karaoke is just another old people’s past time, then you are wrong. Karaoke is also a favourite leisure activity for the younger generation.

Most modern karaoke places have a huge variety of songs, ranging from pop to classical, in multiple languages which is really helpful especially considering the different types of people who communicate with different languages that make up the diversity of Malaysia.

Anyone who has not tried karaoke before do not know what they are missing. The enjoyment of singing your heart out is an enjoyment and a stress reliever especially in big cities like Kuala Lumpur where you have to deal with stress every day.

If you like karaoke, like most people do, and feel like you are up for a challenge.
You can join the E-karaoke event organized by Hitzfm cruisers at the following places to get your song recorded karaoke style and win CDs.

31st October - Sunway Pyramid

1st November - Lot 10

7th November – KLCC

8th November - Subang Parade

14th November - the Curve

15th November - Pavillion

For more information, check out everyoneconnects.net and keep updated by joining facebook.com/everyoneconnects to know the latest news and fun games in store.

The web in 5 years from today

This is what is going to happen according to Google CEO, Eric Schmidt in 5 years. This really shows how slow the development for broadband in Malaysia as other countries have 100mbps NOW and considering the resources and expertise in this country it's a wonder why we have not advanced at least as much as Singapore.

The web in 5 years from today, according to Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

At the Utah Technology Council’s Hall of Fame event in Salt Lake City on Friday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt described the future sought by Google and other tech companies: 100-megabit broadband and a supercomputer in every pocket.

“A billion people on the planet are carrying supercomputers in their hands,” Schmidt said in a conversation with Fusion-io CEO David Bradford. “Now you think of them as mobile phones, but that’s not what they really are. They’re video cameras. They’re GPS devices. They’re powerful computers. They have powerful screens. They can do many many different things, and oh, by the way, you can talk on them too. That’s what the mobile phone of today is.”

And in the next few years, he said, you’ll see things you can’t even imagine now.

Some of his comments were:

* Five years from now the internet will be dominated by Chinese-language content.
* Today’s teenagers are the model of how the web will work in five years – they jump from app to app to app seamlessly.
* Five years is a factor of ten in Moore’s Law, meaning that computers will be capable of far more by that time than they are today.
* Within five years there will be broadband well above 100MB in performance – and distribution distinctions between TV, radio and the web will go away.
* “We’re starting to make signifigant money off of Youtube”, content will move towards more video.
* “Real time information is just as valuable as all the other information, we want it included in our search results.”
* There are many companies beyond Twitter and Facebook doing real time.
* “We can index real-time info now – but how do we rank it?”
* It’s because of this fundamental shift towards user-generated information that people will listen more to other people than to traditional sources. Learning how to rank that “is the great challenge of the age.” Schmidt believes Google can solve that problem.

http://momento24.com/en/2009/10/28/the-web-in-5-years-from-today-according-to-eric-schmidt-google-ceo/

World's Fastest Wireless Net Connection

I wish we had this here.

ZoomAustralia's Telstra Corporation plans to launch the world's fastest wireless broadband network in the next few months.

According to the company, the Guinness World Records declared that the Telstra Next G network is the world's fastest wireless broadband network, with peak network speeds reaching to 21 megabits per second. Additionally, Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo also unveiled the modem that will actually access the network: the Turbo 21, displaying the device at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Guinness World Records' Chris Sheedy even balked at the sheer awesomeness of the modem's speed, saying that Telstra's achievement was phenomenal and "a real win for everyday Australians and Australian businesses."

"It is great to see an Australian company leading the way globally in the telecommunications industry," Sheedy added. "I've witnessed amazing records around the globe, but this is the first time I've had the honor of announcing a record which delivers such tangible benefits to an entire nation."

Apparently, consumers hooked up to the blazing fast network with the new Turbo 21 modem will experience download speeds ranging from 550 Kbps to 8 Mbps. However, Telstra said that consumers will see peak network downlink speeds increase even further to 42 Mbps on parts of the Telstra Next G network later this year. Many businesses residing in the covered area can expect to pick up the Turbo 21 modem after February 23, with the rest of the business and consumer base able to jump onto the Next G network in the coming months. All interested parties should head here to express an interest.

"These record breaking speeds mean it can take only six seconds to download a two megabyte video from BigPond or four seconds for a song," said Telstra Consumer Executive Director Jenny Young. "These new speeds will also be a boost for Australian business that can use the Turbo 21 modem to help save time, cut costs and increase productivity."

Previously Telstra Corporation set a Guinness World Record for having the fastest national broadband network back in 2007, with speeds recorded up to 14.4 Mbps. However, the new technology will enable speeds up to four times faster than those from other Australian telecommunications companies, depending on network conditions. Opus, the nation's second fastest network, features a maximum speed of 7.2 Mbps; others range around 3.6 Mbps. However, the high velocity comes with a price, costing Telstra subscribers $59 per month for 1GB, whereas Opus offers 6GB download for $60 and 6GB for $40 from Vodefone.

Still, despite the hefty pricetag for the limited 1GB download limit, Telstra Networks and Services Group Managing Director Michael Rocca seemed rather elated over the Next G network and the speeds it achieves. "We've supercharged the Next G™ network to a peak network speed of 21 Mbps using HSPA+ technology but this is just the beginning."

According to the BigPond website, the planned availability date for the BigPond Wireless Broadband 21 USB Mobile Card--which runs on the Telstra Next G network- is midApril, 2009.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Wireless-Broadband-Network,news-3488.html

Something Nice Happened Today.

Today is quite a stressful day for me as I have two exam papers to finish at college. I’m taking GCE A Levels by the way which many are saying is getting easier every year. I agree that the amount we have to study is getting lesser but the questions are the ones which throw you off guard.

It is in the same sense as underestimating your opponent in a Judo match. It feels good if you manage to throw your opponent to the ground which is the same answering the question correctly but with one wrong move, you will feel the consequences. As most of the questions are linked together, getting wrong the first time can really hurt. Ouch!

The first paper for today is Pure Maths and the second one is Biology paper 4 which considering that the syllabus is under A2 is a whole bunch of stuff we have to memorize.

“Just memorize only mah. Piece of cake only”

Memorizing sure is a piece of cake but after scoring marks which are almost the same in every test (average in the class). There surely is something wrong in the way I perceive most questions.

Yet I still feel happier today. One of it is because I manage to finish the papers above, leaving more time to study other subjects. Another thing is that the singer to the song I heard last week has been finally revealed. If I’m not mistaken it is supposed to be Bunkface.

Forgive me for being a noob on my last post. I’m sincerely sorry for those sites which I have spammed (kenwooi.com and nuffnang.com).

The song which is being said is Through My Window and I finally found the site where you can have the song and lyrics which is Everyoneconnects.net.

Upon further inspection since I still have some time before my next paper, I found that that site has a Facebook and Frienster fan page. And also not forgetting a twitter site in which you can follow. It seems that I am not the only one who got intoxicated with the song as there are quite number of fans on the social sites. You can be a fan and follow the updates if you want by clicking on the highlighted words. And don’t worry as I do not link to any malicious sites.

For those who have yet to listen to the song, which I doubt as there are already TV ads screening,(caught a glimpse of it) you can download it at Everyoneconnects.net as it is free and there is no virus so you do not have to worry.

(PS. There seems to be some event going on the fan pages. Be sure to check it out when you are free.)

1 dead, 2 missing, 19 safe after falling into Sg Kampar

The MACC should check this out.

Ironically, the iron-cable bridge, suspended about 3 meters over the river, was built recently to replace an old one that had fallen apart with age.

KAMPAR: One girl is dead, two pupils are still missing and nineteen have been found safe after 22 students fell into Sungai Kampar.

The pupils, on a camping trip, tumbled into the river when the suspension bridge they were crossing broke near Kuala Dipang, Kampar, at about 10pm on Monday.

Police divers searching for 2 missing pupils who had fallen off the suspension bridge at Sungai Kampar in Kuala Dipang on Monday night.

The dead girl was identified as Dina Deve Nathan, 11, from SK Tamil Mambang Diawan. Rescuers found her at Kampung Pasir, about 2km downstream from the broken bridge, at about 8.40am Tuesday. Her body was sent to the Kampar Hospital.

Police said twenty other pupils, who were not on the bridge, escaped unscathed.

Some pupils jumped and shook the bridge

According to one of the survivors, Mohd Azid Teng, 12, from SKJC Bemban near Kampar, the pupils had had supper at SK Kuala Dipang and were crossing the bridge to get to the camping site when a few of the pupils started jumping and shaking the bridge.

A man walking near the ill-fated suspension bridge at Sungai Kampar which collapsed when a group of primary school pupils, who were camping near the river, tried to cross it last night. SAIFUL BAHRI/The Star

The bridge then gave way and he found himself falling into the river along with the other screaming pupils.

Fortunately, he fell into shallow waters and waded out.

Rescuers retrieving the body of Dina Deve Nathan, 11, from SK Tamil Mambang Diawan at 8.40am on October 27.

The pupils were among 298 from 60 primary schools from Kampar, Tronoh and Batu Gajah who were attending a 1Malaysia Camp co-curriculum activity organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Department there.

Teacher saves several pupils

A teacher, Mohd Safri Abdul Rafar, said he was not far from the bridge when it collapsed and quickly jumped over a fence and dove into the river in the attempt to rescue the pupils, Bernama reported.

"I managed to pull out three or four pupils. The current was swift and I almost got dragged away," he said.

Safri, who is from Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Tronoh, said he went into the river again and pulled out five more pupils.

Safri said he was sad that he could not rescue a pupil who had be clinging to a metal cable before being dragged away by the current.

Twenty-three teachers are involved in the camp, the second to be organised by the Kinta Selatan district education department after the first one at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Raya last week.

Similar camps were to be held simultaneously Tuesday in the Larut, Matang and Selama as well as Manjung districts, said Safri, adding that the pupils were from all races and the aim of the camp was to foster unity and interaction through activities such as traditional cooking, culture and games.

Newly built bridge

Ironically, the iron-cable bridge, about 30 feet (9 meters) over the river was built recently to replace an old one that had fallen apart with age.

In Putrajaya, Fire and Rescue Services Department director-general Datuk Hamzah Abu Bakar said that initial investigations revealed that the anchor for the bridge’s cable failed, The Star’s Dharmender Singh reported.

The anchor was pulled out and the bridge gave way. But why it gave way is yet to be ascertained, he said.

The river level late Monday had been relatively low but the current was strong as it had been raining upstream and this could have carried the missing children further away, he said.

He said the department had sent in aluminium rescue boats, three dogs from its Canine Unit and a helicopter to help with the search activities.

“We have also put a few members of out scuba team on standby at the site in case the missing children are trapped and need help in freeing them,” he said.

Perak MB orders probe into bridge collapse

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir visited the scene soon after news of the bridge collapse reached him and ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident, Bernama reported.

"The suspension bridge was newly built. We want to know if it was built to specifications as it collapsed after a metal pillar got ripped off the ground," he said.

A metal pillar and its concrete block foundation got ripped off the ground in the incident and part of the bridge walkway was afloat on the river.

The Kampar River is known for extreme water sports. The part of the river where the bridge collapsed is about 1.5 metres deep.

Villagers have joined in the search and rescue operation mounted by 222 personnel from the police, Royal Malaysian Navy, Fire & Rescue Department, People's Volunteer Corps (Rela), Civil Defence Department and other agencies.

Meanwhile, at 11.15am Tuesday, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran filed an emergency motion with the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to discuss the collapse of the bridge, Lee Yuk Peng of The Star reported.

Later, the Dewan Rakyat extended its sympathies and condolences to the families of pupils who fell into the river.

Education Ministry sets up probe team; RM10,000 aid to dead Dina's family

Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was at the scene Tuesday, said that a team, headed by Education Ministry Director-General Tan Sri Ali Muddin Md Dom, has been set up to investigate the bridge collapse, The Star's Sylvia Looi reported.

The ministry would give RM10,000 in aid to Dina's family, said Muhyiddin who is also the Deputy Prime Minister

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/27/nation/20091027085329&sec=nation

Teoh Beng Hock to be exhumed

Let's hope that he may find peace when the truth is found out...

KLANG: The family of deceased political aide Teoh Beng Hock filed an application at the Shah Alam Coroner’s court on Tuesday to seek permission to exhume his remains for a second autopsy.

His younger sister Teoh Lee Lan said the family decided to seek the order to exhume Teoh’s remains in order to seek the truth.

She said the family believed exhuming his remains would help to validate renowned Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand’s expert opinion.

Dr Pornthip had testified last week at the inquest into Teoh’s death that she believed there was an 80% chance his death was due to homicide, and not due to suicide as argued by two experts appointed by the Government.

“We want a second post-mortem to strengthen Dr Pornthip’s opinion,” said Lee Lan.

She said she and her eldest brother Meng Kee filed the application accompanied by their family counsel Gobind Singh Deo.

Dr Pornthip, who is the director-general of the Thai Ministry of Justice’s Central Institute of Forensic Science, had told coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas that she was willing to conduct a second post-mortem on Teoh’s remains.

She had added that she would be able to come up with a more concise and detailed analysis if she could examine the remains.

Dr Pornthip, who was engaged by the Selangor state government to give her expert opinion at the inquest into Teoh’s death, had said that the wound in Teoh’s anal region appeared as if something had been shoved up his anus.

She had said that he may have also been strangled given the finger marks around his neck.

When questioned by Gobind at the inquest last week, Dr Pornthip said she would still be able to conduct the post-mortem in spite of the deceased having been buried almost four months ago.

Meanwhile, Lee Lan added that the family will fix a date to offer prayers at Teoh’s grave in Semenyih pending exhumation once they had obtained the court order.

Teoh, who was the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, had been summoned to the state Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam here for questioning on July 15.

He was found dead at the building’s fifth floor service apartment the following day.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/27/nation/20091027145114&sec=nation

Teenager followed bogus cops because she has police record

This is the follow up news to Ka Chuan rescues rape victim at highway rest area.

Shows that you should not belive anyone whom you just met. 

GEORGE TOWN: The teenager, who was allegedly abducted and raped by two bogus policemen, was earlier detained along with a group of teenagers reported missing by their parents in Johor in the middle of this year.

It was due to this previous detention that led to the victim, 19, into following the “policemen” as she thought her assistance was still needed over the missing persons investigations.

State deputy CID chief Supt Nashir Ya said the victim followed the duo, aged 19 and 36, without suspecting anything amiss when they turned up at her hotel room in Jalan Trang here.

“Initial investigation revealed that it was just a coincidence that they bumped into the victim who had previous police records. She just followed them without questioning their identity.”

In May this year, five teenagers - three girls and two boys - all aged 16, were found in an apartment unit on Macallum Street Ghaut here after being reported missing in Johor Baru by their parents.

The victim and her three other friends, aged between 16 and 21, were subsequently arrested for allegedly abducting the teenagers.

However, police investigation showed they were cleared of any wrongdoing as they were merely acting as good Samaritans by offering the five teenagers a place to stay.

On Thursday, the victim was rescued by Tanjung Malim MP Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan at the North-South Expressway’s Slim River rest area, who drove her to the Slim River police station to lodge a report.

The girl’s ordeal began after midnight on Wednesday when two men who claimed to be policemen went to her hotel room in Trang Road here where she was staying with her two sisters and two male friends.

The men took her away after claiming the girl was needed to help in an investigation. However, they drove her to a hotel in Alor Setar where she alleged she was raped.

Meanwhile, George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said the two suspects had since been remanded until Monday to facilitate investigation over the matter.

“Once the remand order expires, we will hand them over to our counterpart in Kedah as the alleged rape was said to have taken place in Alor Setar,” he said.

He said the victim had since been sent to the Penang Hospital for a medical check-up.

“We are still waiting for the report. An identification parade will be held soon,” he said when contacted.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/24/nation/20091024171929&sec=nation

Mandarin to be taught in Kelantan religious schools

It won't be long before we can say "Ni hao?" tothe people of Kelantan.

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan government plans to introduce Mandarin as a subject in schools under the Kelantan Islamic Foundation (YIK) soon, said State Islamic Development, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah Saturday.

He said the move was prompted by the positive response to the Mandarin Club set up at seven YIK schools, comprising the Maahad Muhammadi, Maktab Pengajian Islam, Maahad Arabiah Pasir Mas, Maahad Tahfiz al Quran in Pulai Chondong, Maahad Tahfiz Sains Tanah Merah and Sekolah Menengah Ugama (Arab) Tarbiah Mardhiah, Panchor.

“Mandarin classes for the club members, totalling 250 students, are held on weekends and public holidays,” he added.

In a related development, Mohd Amar said four students from the Sultan Ismail Petra International Islamic College were sent to China for further studies. -- Bernama

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/24/nation/20091024132551&sec=nation

Digi has 3G now!

I'm not kidding. It is confirmed to be usable from today.

I just checked this out at Lowyat.net forum and their 3G coverage website.

So make the change!

High Speed Broadband at last?

Rejoice as TM will (finally) increase the speed of internet access for us at the middle of next year.(why so long?)


High-speed broadband to be deployed in 2010

2009/10/22

The country's high-speed broadband is expected to be deployed by middle of next year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said at the moment the system was being tested at four exchanges in the Klang Valley namely Bangsar, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Telekom Malaysia, he said, had also started physical work at 22 other exchanges nationwide.

"The network access will provide high-speed broadband via 1.3 million premises in the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and in several economic and industrial zones in Malaysia.


"The comprehensive test is to be completed this year and the service will come on stream by middle of next year," he said in reply to Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR-Machang) during question time.

He said that apart from last mile access, the joint venture project between the government and Telekom Malaysia would also cover core network and international gateway which was currently under preparation.

"Most of the domestic core network has been installed and is being tested. As for the international gateway, the existing American-Asia Gateway undersea cable system is being enhanced and expected to be completed by end of this year," he said. - Bernama

http://www.nst.com.my/articles/20091022130157/Article/index_html

Streamyx Beware

Hurray for those who hate their internet connection as the government*coughs*
[long overdue}*cough* has finally decided to take action.

CYBERJAYA: The Government has directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) to study the reasons behind the high cost of providing Information Technology (IT) services in the country.

Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said there were numerous complaints on how expensive it was to obtain IT services here, while the quality -- particularly connection availability and speed -- was not up to expectation.

“The Government would also like to know why the cost for IT services is high in Malaysia. Consumers’ main grouse is that they are charged more compared with users in other countries but the quality of service is not up to mark.

“We want to know how it (the cost) can be brought down and at the same time improve on the quality,” he told reporters after a briefing at the SKMM on Wednesday.

Rais said SKMM must also see to it that providers deliver what they promised consumers, adding that if a provider promised Internet surfing speeds of 10Mb (megabits) per second, the public should not be experiencing a “slow as tortoise service at one or two megabits.”

He said providers whose services failed to meet expectation must be dealt with, adding this was where the Commission, as the enforcement authority, should play its role to ensure the public was not shortchaged,

Rais said efforts must be taken to close the digital gap between rural and urban areas, adding that fixed telephone line providers must expedite the laying of optical fibre cables so that people in districts and kampungs (villages) could also enjoy Internet service.

On another matter, the minister said 11 cases related to violations committed in cyberspace had been to court, adding the nature of cases included sending lewd and vulgar SMSes and e-mail, and comments insulting the Sultan of Perak.

He said there were a “good number of cases” that had been brought to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Commission would leave it to the A-G to decide whether or not prosecute the offenders.

Rais reminded the Commission of its responsibility to ensure that all cyberspace users in the country follow laws and regulations, adding it should not hesitate to take action against violators.

“I must however stress that we are not practising censorship but there are laws that need to be respected and adhered to.

“The public’s interest and safety, as well as the country’s security, need to be looked after and that is why the Commission must do its job to see to it that users follow guidelines,” he said.

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/10/21/technology/20091021153435&sec=technology

Latest Facebook and Twitter Security warning

The latest security update to Twitter and Facebook users.

The Facebook Viruses saga is not over yet, and it’s definitely not going to end soon. I’ve said it many times: Facebook is the most popular social networking website in the world and like Windows is the most popular platform in the world therefore hackers and attackers will always try to unleash their evil into the world via these two options. The latest in a huge series of Facebook viruses is called News44.org which is posting fake stories on users’ walls and status updates.

The news44.org virus is also claiming Twitter chatter and is misleading users into thinking that they can make money easily on the Internet. At the moment Facebook officials didn’t make any official comments, like usually I must say. They’re not doing anything to prevent things like this from happening and we’re definitely going to see more News44.org-like Facebook viruses. Meantime I advise you not to click on links with news44.org and not only for the moment: please do not click on any links that you do not trust!

http://www.softsailor.com/news/9575-news44-org-virus-is-just-the-latest-in-a-long-series-of-facebook-glitches.html

Rebates for new Sony Ericsson Phones

Get your hands on the latest Sony Ericsson handphones.


KUALA LUMPUR: Fifty lucky people will enjoy rebates of up to RM1,000 each on the long awaited Sony-Ericsson Satio, Aino and Yari mobile phones that will be launched this Thursday.

The rebates will apply to those who line up to buy the phones on launch day at the Kuala Lumpur Life Centre.

Sony-Ericsson Malaysia said the RM1,000 rebate will apply to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth customer in the line.

Those in the sixth to 50th places will enjoy rebates of between RM800 and RM400.

A spokesman for Sony-Ericsson told In.Tech the phones are expected to be on the market by end month. Prices have not been confirmed yet but are expected to be between RM1,100 and RM2,500.

The phone maker said its new line blends the best in communication, imaging, music, and gaming capabilities to offer unlimited mobile entertainment to users.

The gem among the trio is the Satio, which sports a 3.5in high-definition widescreen-format display and a 12.1-megapixel camera. It is also a fully touchscreen device that runs on the Symbian S60 operating system.

Next is the Aino which can access the Sony PlayStation3 console for games, pictures, movies and music. It also features an 8.1-megapixel camera and an intuitive, full-touch media menu.

The final phone in the trio, the Yari, features gesture-and-motion games and a 5-megapixel camera. You can also share music while talking on this phone using its Music Call feature.

“With the launch of the Satio, Aino and Yari, we hope to provide Malaysians with devices that not only bring together rich content and best-in-class integrated entertainment experiences but also allow them to share those experiences,” said Alex Wong, general manager of Sony-Ericsson Malaysia.

For more detailed product information, go to www.sonyericsson.com.

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/10/20/technology/20091020101114&sec=technology

Nice Song but Dunno by Who?

Sorry for bothering you guys but I need help for a song. Please bear with me and read my blog post.

It is now more than a week since classes ended and I was trying to study for my A level exam which is creeping closer and closer everyday.

It was a typical day for me today.

With my routine of waking up and doing revisions on my study table.

My maths paper is coming up this week.Haiz.

After a while of dy/dx, complex numbers and other mathemathical equations, I got bored.

It seems that I can’t concentrate well in the morning.

So, I turned on my computer and used Drewbuzz Radio which is a freeware that I found.

After tinkering around, I found that Hitz.fm suited my taste.

You would think that it was weird for someone to listen to the radio through the computer but it was a bit cumbersome to go back and forth from the radio and computer.

After listening for a while, there seemed to be a new song that I have not heard before.

I was already used to most of the songs that are repeated but this one is different.

I have only heard it once but it immediately got me hooked.

I tried to do a Google search on the song which is Through My Window but I end up with a lot of links asking the same question.

There wasn’t any other detail regarding the song besides the title.

Could they have at least listed down the artist who performed?

I guess this was a fairly new song and it would take a while for Google to search up the latest details.

After a while, I had a thought and tried Tunatic but to no avail as there is no such song in their database. (Why me?!)

It’s either I have bad memory or my singing sucks.

The only part I remember is:

“……now’s there me and you….through my window…when we are not alone…”

But still, who is the singer?

Is there anyone out there who knows?

Please comment and tell me.