Supercharge Your iPhone With icloud and 100 GB Storage

icloud, the Online Computer, Today Rolls Out icloud Premium -- a Massive 100 GB of Secure Cloud Storage for Only $39.99 / Year

Everybody Can Now Access All Their Content Anytime and Anywhere

icloud Basic With 3 GB is Available for Free, and Open for Sign-Ups at http://icloud.com

Today's launch of icloud Premium and the 100 GB Super Drive will greatly extend all the amazing capabilities of icloud to the iPhone. The new premium service lets everyone store, access and easily share files through any smart phone or browser. It gives you 100 GB of storage right in your pocket. You will never again feel that you have forgotten to bring important files with you. icloud securely stores files like music, photos, videos, documents, and provides a full management interface and virtual desktop through a browser to organize and share all your content.
icloud launch movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQgdceh66EQ

Daniel Arthursson, icloud's Founder and CEO, says, "Having 100 GB directly accessible in your pocket through an iPhone or smartphone will definitely change how we use and interact with data. With the massive storage of the icloud Super Drive, everything will always be accessible, no need to bring your computer to do a quick PowerPoint presentation, just present it straight out of the cloud."
Facts about the icloud online computer:
* Secure cloud storage with backup accessible from any computer,
iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile phone
* Free basic version includes 50 applications like Office, Mail,
Music, Video, Instant Messaging and Games
* icloud Premium with 100 GB Super Drive now available for $39.99/year
* Community (my.icloud.com) and email @icloud.com
* Zero installation, runs within browsers
* Available worldwide in 26 languages and used in 170 countries
About icloud

Founded in 2001 by Daniel Arthursson, Xcerion provides the free icloud.com service, the world's leading "Cloud OS", a groundbreaking technology with 22 pending patents. Developers have API and tools to build their own cloud applications.

Xcerion is based in Sweden, privately held and funded by Northzone Ventures. Investors include Lou Perazzoli, architect of Windows NT and former Manager Microsoft Core OS and John Connors former CFO Microsoft. Xcerion is a Red Herring Global 100 winner.

Philips re-defines picture performance with its latest LED TV 9000 series (models: 40PFL9704H, 46PFL9704H, 52PFL9704H).

Philips Electronics (Thailand) Ltd., introduces its latest truly LED TV 9000 series, a full HD LCD display, with a 1920x1080p resolution featuring with direct-lit LED backlighting technology and offering pure performance in picture sharpness, motion and contrast and features the latest innovations in LCD technology – including the latest in internet TV.


Consumers enjoy breathtaking pictures and use up to 40% less energy with Philips award winning LED Pro. Over 1000 LED's are operated selectively in a grid as a backlight for the display. They generate brilliant light in bright image areas, and are dimmed completely in dark areas, saving energy. Combined with the powerful Perfect Pixel HD Engine, the result is a stunning picture with extreme contrast, sharpness and vibrant color. With LED Pro black is black and white is bright.

The Perfect Pixel HD engine deliver unrivalled sharpness and detail. It is also the world’s fastest LCD courtesy of 200Hz Clear LCD and an unbeatable 1 millisecond response time which banishes the motion blur problem common with LCD TVs. 200Hz Clear LCD creates extreme motion sharpness for clear and vibrant images even with fast on-screen motion. It results in a powerful dynamic contrast ratio up to 5,000,000:1.

Perfect Colors is the combination of new color sources, advanced color processing for both existing and new sources, and a Wide Color Gamut display. The powerful 17-bit Color Booster technology pumps out a mesmerizing 2,250 trillion colors, producing brilliant life-like images with natural skin and white tones.

Perfect Natural Motion results in smoother and quieter pictures with excellent sharpness surpassing even the motion performance in a cinema.

Philips immersive Ambilight Spectra 3 technology, which accurately identifies dominant on-screen colors and generates accurately-matched ambient lighting from three sides of the screen onto a rear wall.

As pure performance includes both sound quality as well as the picture quality, the 9700 series sports 2x15W high-efficiency speakers. This provides leading sound performance.

Another highlighted feature is Net TV, which enables simple and quick internet access to a wide range of sites from a start page on the TV screen.

It is also equipped with both Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, allowing them to stream data directly from a DLNA-compliant computer. Additional features include give HDMI 1.3 inputs, integrated subwoofers and tweeters, and full 1080p video output.

SEAGATE UNVEILS WORLD’S THINNEST 2.5-INCH HARD DRIVE FOR SLIM LAPTOP COMPUTERS

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the Momentus® Thin drive, the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height – 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives – the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.


Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the affordable, thin storage for netbooks and slim laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market.

“The Momentus® Thin drive promises to help computer makers differentiate on mobile-computing form factor and better compete in the fast-growing markets for thin laptop PCs and netbooks,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “Seagate is committed to helping its OEM and system integrator partners meet market demand for thinner laptop PCs and plans to expand storage capabilities for thin laptops as demand for these slimmer models continues to grow.”

The Momentus Thin drive rivals traditional 2.5-inch laptop drives in performance and power-efficiency, enabling thin-chassis designs in all segments of notebook computing and allowing OEMs both to design in greater value on high-end netbooks for easier upselling and to create a wider value differentiation between consumer and commercial laptop PCs. The Momentus Thin drive features two capacity points – 250GB and 160GB – an 8MB cache, a Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and a 5400RPM spin speed. The drive is scheduled to ship to Seagate’s OEM and integrator partners in January 2010.

The Seagate® Momentus® family now helps laptop makers give home and business users a sweeping upgrade path – from netbooks, often purchased as introductory, low-cost laptop PCs strictly for emailing and Internet surfing, to notebooks offering mainstream business and consumer applications, to feature-rich, high-performance laptops, all in standard-size and the increasingly popular thin models. Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives in the traditional 9.5mm height combine the industry’s broadest feature set – including self-encryption, FIPS 140-2 certification and free-fall sensors – with up to 640GB of capacity, fast 3Gb/second Serial ATA interface speeds, cache sizes as large as 16MB, and among the highest hard drive shock-tolerance, acoustics and reliability specifications for entry-level, mainstream and high-performance laptops.

ASUS Joins Hand with AMD to Launch ASUS Eee PC 1201T with Ultra Thin CPU

Reaching another Level of Performance with Luxury and Stylish Design

ASUS is the world’s first inventor and creator of innovative ASUS Eee PC. Nowadays, ASUS still keeps on developing its performance and design in order to make all models of Eee PC ultramodern and suitable for all lifestyles.


Recently, ASUS unveils ASUS Eee PC 1201T with AMD Congo MV40 Ultra Thin CPU to support high-performance graphics and improved multimedia system use. Also, the ASUS Eee PC 1201T has modern and luxury appearance in order to suit highly-flexible working lifestyle.

Mr. Chukkrit Watcharasaksilp, country manager of AMD Far East Ltd. (Thailand Branch), stated that “AMD always seeks to deliver the most advanced, yet relevant technology to our customer as you can see in our AMD 2nd Generation Ultra Thin (2GUT) platform. Our solution delivers a rich computing experience on a stable, consistent platform and I’m very confident that on ASUS Eee PC 1201T model consumers and businesses running Windows 7 on AMD technology-based PCs can achieve an advanced visually dynamic, powerful, and rich computing experience on a stable and consistent platform. More importantly, we congratulate with ASUS who is one of the first partners to roll out VISION Technology with AMD in Thailand to launch ASUS Eee PC 1201T today.”

At the same time, Mr. Pornthep Watchara-Amnouy, Managing Director of ASUSTek Computer (Thailand) Co., Ltd., commented that “At present, ASUS is able to completely fulfill demands from all level of Thai customers with Eee Pc product line. It contains range of screen sizes from 9-12 inches and prices from Baht 9,900-15,900 within modern, light and thin appearance, such as ASUS Eee Seashell or twistable-touch screen ASUS Eee PC T91T.”

“Lately, ASUS Eee PC 1201T with AMD CPU chipset is a performance combination of the 2 innovations. It has a bigger screen, which is 12-inch sized, together with AMD Congo MV40 Ultra Thin CPU, which consumes lower energy and work faster, in affordable price. I believe its attribute will reactivate netbook market”

ASUS Eee PC 1201T is developed to be thinner than 1 inch and light at only 1.46 kg for more comfort in portability. It contains a 12.1-inch (1366x768 mm) LED Backlight screen with Color-Shine technology and a Chiclet keyboard to make simple typing as notebook. Moreover, its appearance reflects luxuriousness and original style with 2 selectable colors, black and silver, on glossy surface. In order to support more type of usage, the ASUS Eee PC 1201T is powered by AMD Congo MV40 (1.6GHz) chipset to boast higher capability than any other netbooks, along with Superior HD-based graphics attribute and greater multimedia system than one has ever experience. It is valued-for-money at price Baht 15,900 only.
About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.
About ASUS

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era, with an extensive product portfolio that includes notebooks, netbooks, motherboards, graphics cards, displays, optical drives, desktop PCs, servers, wireless solutions, mobile phones and networking devices. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today's digital home, office and person. ASUS won 3,056 awards in 2008, and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with the Eee PC. With a global staff of more than ten thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company's revenue for 2008 was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among BusinessWeek's InfoTech 100, and has been on the listing for 12 consecutive years.

WD? INTRODUCES NEW MY BOOK? ELITE? EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES WITH CUSTOMIZABLE E-LABEL

E-Label Smart Display Makes Drives Personal

WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new My Book® Elite™ desktop external drives featuring a customizable e-label that’s always visible, even when the drive is unplugged, making it easy to know what’s on the drive and how much space is left. The new My Book Elite also features automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare™ software and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers and shopwd.com, the new My Book Elite drives are offered in capacities of 1 TB, 1.5 TB and 2 TB.


The e-label smart display on the spine of the My Book drives can be changed easily and as often as desired. It utilizes e-paper technology which reads like ink on paper. With the included WD SmartWare software, users can easily create a label to name their drive or remind themselves of its contents. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked via WD SmartWare software’s powerful password protection and hardware-based encryption. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains clearly visible, even when the drive is unplugged, and the customized label can be changed easily as often as desired.

According to research firm Parks Associates, the average U.S. broadband household currently has over 120 GB of digital media and files which is projected to grow to over 1 TB of data by 2013. Many consumers store this content on multiple external drives which often makes it difficult to know what or whose content is on which drive. During the development process, WD researchers visited with consumers and frequently noted a variety of ad hoc solutions to the “what’s on the drive?” or the “whose drive is this?” problems, ranging from hand-written notes to machine printed sticky labels. The e-label smart display was conceived as an elegant and practical solution to address this consumer need.

The new My Book Elite drives come with integrated WD SmartWare software. When the My Book Elite drive is plugged in for the first time, the simple and intuitive first backup process launches automatically. The real-time visual interface of WD SmartWare software gives users a reassuring view of their backup as it happens. After the first backup, users’ files are backed up automatically every time they change or add a file.

My Book Elite drives also feature user-selected password protection combined with 256-bit hardware-based encryption, which scrambles files before they are stored. Typically found only on much more expensive drive systems, the encryption acts as a virtual padlock to keep users’ data safe.

“The new My Book Elite drives’ unique new e-label smart display and integrated WD SmartWare software give consumers an elegant and practical way to organize their content while enjoying the peace of mind that their data is backed up and secure,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group. “Even when the My Book Elite drive is unplugged, consumers can easily see at-a-glance what is stored on their drive, how much capacity is available and whether the drive is locked.”
Price and Availability

The new My Book Elite drives are offered in capacities of 1 TB, 1.5 TB and 2 TB and have a 3-year limited warranty. My Book Elite drives are available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. MSRP for the My Book Elite drives ranges from 4,990 baht depending on
capacity.
My Book Elite
The new WD My Book Elite drives feature:

- Smart display – a customizable e-label that reminds users of what is stored on the drive and provides available capacity and security status at-a-glance even when the drive is unplugged;

- Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design and elegant book-like shape that takes up minimal space and allows multiple My Book drives to nestle together neatly like volumes on a shelf;

- WD SmartWare software that visually present consumers' data in a software control center;

- 256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for peace of mind knowing that data is protected from unauthorized access;

- USB 2.0 interface – for convenience and compatibility among multiple computers;

- WD GreenPower Technology™ lowers internal drive power consumption by up to 30 percent, a sleep mode reduces power during idle times, and a power-saving feature turns the drive on and off with your computer;
- Planet-friendly packaging derived from recycled materials to minimize waste;

- NTFS[1] formatting and are compatible with Windows® XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7;
- 3-year limited warranty.
WD SmartWare Software
WD SmartWare software features:

- Visual backup displays that show content in categories and shows the progress of backup;

- Automatic, continuous data backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file;

- Retrieve valuable data to its original location whether it’s lost data or the file has been overwritten; and,

- Customizable data backup that allows users to set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.
About WD

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company produces reliable, high-performance hard drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications. WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Western Digital, WD, My Book and the WD logo are registered trademarks; My Book Elite, WD GreenPower Technology and WD SmartWare are trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies. All other brand and product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. As used for storage capacity, one gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. One terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.

ELECTRONICS, IT FIRMS GEAR UP FOR RISING DEMAND

       Thai electronics and information-technology firms are planning to expand their businesses as the global economic recovery gathers pace, which will boost the need for higher capacity and more outlets.
       Stars Microelectronics (Thailand), an electronics-maker, plans to invest Bt150 million next year to increase capacity at its two business lines, microelectronic manufacturing assembly (MMA) and integrated circuitry (IC).
       CEO and co-founder Polsak Lertputipinyo yesterday said the company would increase IC capacity from 800 million units per year to around 1.4 billion by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, it will raise MMA production capacity to 90 million units per annum from 80 million units per annum from 80 million this year.
       At present, IC products contribute 20 per cent of Stars' revenue, with the majority generated from MMA products. The company expects revenue from IC products to increase to around 30 per cent next and be on a par with MMA within three years.
       The company aims to maintain revenue growth at around 15 per cent per annum.
       Polsak said the key product driver for the company's IC business was its Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, which the company supplies to leading auto-parts customers around the world. Orders have increased by 60 per cent from last year. Stars plans to raise production capacity to more than 3 million units per month from the current 2 million.
       Regarding the company's MMA business, orders of hard disks for laptop computers have increased by 70 per cent.
       Western Digital, the world's second-largest manufacturer of hard disk drives, has confirmed increased orders of 60 per cent until the middle of next year.
       Stars has also seen a rise in orders from smart-phone manufacturers as worldwide sales climb. The company generated revenue of Bt7.6 billion and net profit of Bt189 million in the first nine months of the year. For this year, it predicts net profit will slightly exceed the Bt210 million reported last year.
       Meanwhile, Supant Mongkolsuthree, CEO of Synex (Thailand), a leading importer and distributor of computers and IT-related equipment, said the company had upped its revenue growth target for this year to 15 per cent from 5 per cent, after signing a contract to become the sole distributor of Seagate's hard disk drives.
       The move was despite industry forecasts that the value of the computer hardware market this year would drop 5 per cent from last year to Bt70 billion.

IBM Thailand launches LotusLive

       IBM Thailand has launched its latest cloud-based offerings called LotusLive that brings web-based email, instant messaging, meetings, collaboration, social networking and project management to users over the Internet while keeping the best of enterprise grade security and privacy.
       Jadesada Kraisingkorn, country manager IBM Software Group in Thailand,explained that IBM is playing at many levels in the cloud, from the actual hardware infrastructure, its CloudBurst management with flexible allocation and the top layer of solutions which is Lotus Live.
       Unlike pure software-as-a-service vendors, IBM Lotus can deliver traditional on-premise,appliance (hardware preloaded with software) or cloud services.
       Lotus Live delivers solutions in three key areas. The first group is messaging (email and instant messaging, called SameTime) and content management;second is communication and social networking, the art of linking people to people within a big organisation not just through work flow; and third is integration with corporate applications.
       IBM stresses that while Lotus Live is not the first cloud email service, it is an enterprise-grade cloud email service with a strong focus on ownership of data,security and integration with the rest of the organisation.
       Lotus Live Engage allows users to log in for meetings over the Internet where they can share screens and dashboards.Engage is a development of IBM's internal BlueHouse which was once showcased as a Facebook for the enterprise.
       One of its strengths is the concept of guests. It is possible to give access to certain pages to outsiders without having to pay if they work on the project where they can share in collaboration and activities related to the project. Engage is integrated into work flow with meeting details kept along with transcripts and to-do lists on what was agreed from the meeting.
       Then there is Lotus Live Events which is more one-way and focused on training and seminars.
       The modules are built around Lotus Live Notes/iNotes which has email and calendaring and is integrate with all the other modules.
       The big difference compared to other web-based office solutions is that Lotus Live has the concept of roles. In a typical organisation, the secretary of the boss will have her boss's password, which is very dangerous. In Lotus Live it is possible to delegate to the secretary such that she can read and create only but cannot delete, and any email sent out will be tagged sent on behalf of.
       Unlike the paid-for competition, Lotus Live does not do data mining on user data and one of the spokespersons urged anyone using a certain free for up to 25 user competitor (clearly Google Apps)to check their fine print.
       In January, IBM announced a partnership with salesforce.com that will turn Lotus Live activities into Salesforce opportunities where the progress of a sales lead can me monitored from Lotus Live's dashboards. Other partnerships exist with Skype for click to call and LinkedIn where files can be shared with people on linked in easily.
       IBM Thailand is aiming the package at SMEs, selling it through partners and offering them IBM technology at an affordable price.

NY ATTORNEY-GENERAL FILES SUIT AGAINST INTEL

       The attorney - general of New York state filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel on Wednesday alleging the US computer chip giant engaged in illegal practices to dominate the market.
       "Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," attorney - General Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
       "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices," Cuomo said.
       "These illegal tactics must stop and competition must be restored to this vital marketplace," he added.
       The lawsuit acused Intel of engaging in "a systematic worldwide campaign of illegal, exclusionary conduct to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for x86 microprocessors", the "brains" of personal computers.
       It accusedc the company of "exacting exclusive or near-exclusive agreements from large computer makers in exchange for payments totalling billions of dollars" and threat ening retaliation against firms that did not fall into line.
       REtaliatory threats allegedly included cutting off payments from Intel, funding competitors, and ending joint development ventures.
       To obtain exclusive agreements, Intel was accused of paying so-called "rebates" to computer makers of billions of dollars in some years.
       "These rebates were actually just payoffs with no legitimate business purpose that Intel invented to disguise their anti-competitive nature," the Cuomo statement said.
       The lawsuit accused Intel of paying US computer maker Dell nearly $2 billion (Bt66.9 billion) in "rebates" in 2006.
       Another US computer maker Hewlett Packard, was allegedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates in return for an agreement to cap HP's sales of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)-based products at five per cent of its business desktop personal computers.
       US computer giant IBM was allegedly paid $130 million not to launch an AMD-based computer server product, according to the lawsuit.
       EU antitrust regulators fined Intel a record 1.06 billion(Bt52.5 billion) in May, claiming the company abused its stranglehold on the semiconductor market to crush AMD.
       Intel spokesman Chuck Molloy rejected the latest allegations.
       "We disagree with the New York attorney-general," he said. "Neither consumers, who have consistently benefited from lower prices and innovation, nor justice are being served by a decision to file a case now."

GPS to save time - and the world

       GPS is helping to save the world with its latest innovation, ecoRoute, which helps drivers find more fuel-efficient routes and be more aware of fuel consumption.
       The latest Garmin Nuvi 1460 GPS announced by ESRI (Thailand) comes with an updated database and new features,including ecoRoute, which calculates fuel use and the driver's carbon footprint.
       The ecoRoute program helps improve driver behaviour because the driver is likely to compete with himself to achieve better "scores", said Channarong Teerarojanarat, the company's telematics department manager.
       It helps optimise drivers' fuel economy and boost their green score, he said.This figure considers factors including acceleration, deceleration and speed and is marked out of 100- the higher the score, the better.
       ESRI (Thailand) general manager Krairop Luanguthai said the Nuvi 1460 comes with a Thai keyboard, 2GB flash and Bluetooth wireless.
       It is preloaded with the latest ESRI detail map TSM (Thailand Street Map)version10, including more than 1,000 junction views in Bangkok with additional views to indicate proper lane directions.The program also shows speed limits and notifies the driver when they are exceeded.
       There are five selectable Thai voices and a new point of interest page, up to 10 route plans, and automatic routing to show the most direct journey.
       Meanwhile, the company also announced the Garmin Oregon 550, which combines rugged outdoor touchscreen navigation with a 3.2-megapixel digital camera. The Oregon 550 features add high-sensitivity GPS, barometric altimeter, 3-axis electronic compass and microSD card slot.
       Krairop added that the company and its partners have been testing the TMC (Traffic Messaging Centre) system which reports traffic conditions and known accidents. The TMC service is expected to be launched next year.
       Channarong noted that the GPS market this year increased by 50 percent and the company expects to see 500 million baht of sales revenue.
       He noted that the company will launch a website, www.gpssociety.com, a community for GPS users that encompasses dynamic features and information."This will encourage users to take part in more activities as there are also route recommendations for special festivals."
       Recently, ASUS allies with Garmin announced, Novifone, a navigator phone under the brand garmin-asus.
       garmin-asus Nuvifone M20 is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, LBS (Location Based Services), mobile web browser, and navigation tools.
       The phone features call function,search function and view map function which comes with preloaded Thai map.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

Microsoft hopes new OS will boost phone share

       The rebranded Windows Phone will be made available in the Thai market, with 16 models from eight global brands on offer as Microsoft attempts to retain its share in the smart phone market.
       Lisa Lam, Business & Marketing Organisation Director, Microsoft (Thailand), said the company has rebranded Windows Mobile as Windows Phone to build consistency and common experience in using the world's foremost operating system, whether on PC, server or phone.
       Moreover, the company has also launched its handset OS Windows Mobile 6.5 in conjunction with several global brand manufacturers.
       By the end of this year, the company expects to have eight mobile phone brands running Windows 6.5, with HTC,Samsung, Acer, Asus, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba on board, offering 16 models covering a variety of styles and price ranges to fit customer needs.
       Windows Phone has been designed to be interoperable with many device brands and platforms to respond to the different needs and demands of users, for both work and play, and creating experiences through a variety of hardware, applications and services.
       "Choice is a big differentiating factor when considering competitors which offer a limited range of models, and this has helped us sell more than 35 million Windows Mobiles from 140 Top OEMs," said Lam.
       She continued that Windows Mobile 6.5's key features include a newlydesigned home screen, an improved touch-sensitive user interface and Mobile Internet Explorer with built in Adobe Flash Lite, which enables websites to be displayed on phones in the same way they appear on a PC. Outlook Mo-bile/Exchange sync will be available at no additional charge if users hold an Exchange corporate license.
       In addition, Windows Phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the web; and Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which will offer over 30,000 applications. Popular mobile internet applications such as Facebook,MySpace, Netflix, Twikini, WunderRadio and Zagat will be available alongside a selection of games.
       According to IDC, the smart phone market in 2009 is estimated at around 197 million units worldwide, and is expected to reach 350 million unit by 2012. This is a growth rate of 77 percent,which is higher than that of feature phones, which have grown around 13 percent year-on-year.
       According to Gartner, in the smart phone operating system (OS) market,Symbian held s 51 percent share, down from 57 percent a year ago, while RIM and Apple shares grew year-on-year.
       Android's share was just under 2 per cent of the market and more Androidbased devices will come to market in the fourth quarter of 2009, intensifying competition in the smart phone OS market, particularly for Symbian and Windows.
       Microsoft's share continued to drop year-on-year to account for 9 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2009.
       Recently, HTC (Thailand) introduced HTC Touch2, the first model built on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform available in the Thai Market. The phone supports 3.5G, Wi-Fi and GPS, including a 3.2 MP camera at 16,900 baht.
       Meanwhile, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Curve 8520 smart phone has a touch-sensitive trackpad and is the first BlackBerry to feature dedicated media keys, giving customers greater control of their music and videos.
       Advance Info Service offers the product, which will be available next month,at 13,900 baht.

Amazon takes Kindle global

       Amazon.com Inc is introducing Kindle, its wireless electronic reader, for over 100 countries, including China and most of Europe, intensifying a battle for the burgeoning digital book market.
       The move, announced on Tuesday,gives the world's largest online retailer the widest global reach among its competitors, including chief rival Sony Corp.
       The Kindle will sell for $279 in other countries.
       Amazon also said it would cut prices for its US-only Kindle by 13% to $259 from $299, bringing its cost closer to its rivals. The new price is $100 lower than it was a year ago.
       Amazon - which regards the Kindle as a pivotal growth driver - said over 200,000 English-language books from a host of publishers as well as more than 85 international and US newspapers and magazines would be available on the international device, which begins shipping October 19.
       "Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed, in print or out of print, in every language, all available within 60 seconds," chief executive Jeff Bezos told Reuters.
       "That's a multi-decade vision," he said.
       Analysts have pondered the likelihood of Amazon developing the Kindle into a tablet-like device for tasks like e-mailing,texting and surfing the Web, thus competing with devices reportedly being developed by Apple Inc.
       But Bezos reiterated his intention to optimise the reading experience, saying the company rejected compromise,whether it be a touchscreen that affects legibility or computer displays that eat up too much power.
       At the same time, Amazon is working on making Kindle digital books available on more devices. Besides the Kindle,those books can now be accessed on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
       "We want you to read your Kindle books on laptops and smartphones, anything with an installed base," Bezos said.
       The Amazon CEO said he was not "in principle" against making the works available on rival devices like Sony's,but was focused on platforms with "large installed bases."
       E-readers are expected by some to be the hottest gadget this holiday season and Bezos said he had "a lot of confidence" that it would be a "great holiday quarter for Kindle."
       Forrester Research estimated three million e-reader devices would be sold in the United States in 2009, up from an earlier estimate of two million. That could double in 2010, bringing cumulative sales to 10 million by end-2010.
       The research group predicts that Amazon will take 60% market share in 2009,followed by Sony at 35%.
       Amazon, which introduced the Kindle in 2007, has until now made it only available in the United States, where it sold a basic version for $299 and a larger one geared toward newspapers for $489.The Kindle is only sold on Amazon.com.
       The international version includes technology allowing it to operate in each market, but is otherwise identical to the second iteration of the Kindle - which can store up to 1,500 books, has a textto-speech feature, and can read PDF files and allow users to make annotations.
       "There is a big demand for English language books all over the world," said Bezos, adding that it would be available in every continent except Antarctica.
       "We apologise for that omission. We'll work on that."

Low price notebooks challenge Microsoft

       High competition in the low cost notebook market has forced global computer vendors to stop offering notebooks with genuine Microsoft Vista operating systems to reduce prices. Such a move may become the next challenge for Microsoft to gain ground for its new OS.
       Prasert Charoonpaisal General Manager, Personal Systems Group (PSG) HP Thailand, said that every Pavilion notebook is preloaded with Microsoft software but the Presario notebook, which is priced below 20,000 baht, may not have preinstalled software.
       This segment contributes 25 percent of the overall HP revenue and has fierce competition when combined with software priced around 3,000 baht, which is a significant amount to consumers who have limited budgets.
       The sum of 3,000 baht which is equivalent to $100 is not much in the US but in Thailand, which has an average per capita income of 8,000 baht per month,it is significant. If Microsoft would like to address this market when it launches Windows 7 the price should be more attractive and consumers should be educated about the difference between Vista and Windows 7.
       Meanwhile senior marketing manager for Acer Thailand, Nitipat Praweenwongwuthia said that Acer will not preinstall Windows in notebook models under 20,000 baht for quite a long time because this segment is price-sensitive. If it offers preinstalled software while other competitors offer it at the same price but add more hardware specifications without preinstalled software, consumers will tend to buy better hardware features.
       The answer is to boost the use of genuine software in this segment depending on how well Microsoft can educate consumers about the benefits of Windows 7 and make most vendors preload software.
       Another source from the industry said if Microsoft would like to regain the market in the segment below 25,000 baht it should price the Windows 7 Home Basic or Premium at no more 1,500 baht per licence.
       Consumers do not prefer Windows Starter Edition and today the under-25,000 baht notebook segment contributes between 30-40 percent of the overall notebook market.
       Pairoj Amatamahutana, vice president at IT City, said preloading software in notebooks will help Microsoft to boost its value lost to piracy because big players in the market do not preload software in entry level notebook models to offer more attractive price and make it more price competitive.
       Conversion of software costs around 3,000-4,000 baht which is a significant percentage of the total unit cost.
       He estimates that currently, in the retail market Microsoft product has a piracy rate of around 80 percent. If the company can reduce this ratio with more attractive pricing which is suitable for the country's per capita income it will help to reduce the problem.
       Over the last few days Microsoft and IT City have offered Microsoft Office Home & Student Edition at only 2,690 baht with three license users which has helped to boost sales by three to four times.
       "If consumers buy more genuine software this will help us to reduce the problem of maintaining the computer because 80 percent of computer problems come from pirated software which makes it hard for us to handle or fix the problem.Moreover, when users start to buy genuine OS software it will persuade them to buy more antivirus software or others,"he said.
       The company will also take part in the official launch of Windows 7 in on October 31, offering Home Premium edition of Windows 7 at 2,777 baht for the first 777 people.

Intel profit lifts industry hopes

       Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, offered further evidence on Tuesday that the global economy was indeed on the mend.
       The company reported a third-quarter profit that easily surpassed Wall Street's estimates, and its revenue was well ahead of the projection that Intel offered investors at the end of August.
       "The current quarter looks promising as well," Intel said, and the company lifted its revenue forecast to about $500 million above analysts' estimates.
       Intel is a bellwether for trends in the technology industry and the economy as a whole. Its computer chips are the logic engines in most personal computers and in larger computers in data centers that power e-mail, electronic commerce and the Internet.
       So Intel's performance suggests that economic prospects are brightening,analysts said.
       "Technology should benefit first and foremost in a global economic recovery,"said Edward Yardeni, an independent economist and investment strategist.
       Intel, based in Santa Clara, California,reported third-quarter revenue of $9.4 billion, well ahead of the analysts' consensus of $9 billion, as compiled by Thomson Reuters. Still, Intel's sales remained 8% below last year.
       Yet Intel executives emphasised the unfolding trend. The third quarter's revenue was 17% higher than in the second quarter, the largest rate of improvement over those quarters in more than 30 years.
       Net income was nearly $1.9 billion,or 33 cents a share. The Wall Street estimate was 28 cents a share, and that was after analysts had steadily lifted their earnings forecasts in recent months. In July, the consensus estimate was 15 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.In the year-earlier quarter, Intel reported earnings of $2 billion, or 35 cents a share.
       Intel's recovery has been most robust in fast-growing, developing economies like China. But even the mature economies of the United States and Western Europe are showing signs of real improvement, with America slightly ahead of Europe, Stacy J. Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, said in an interview.
       "The personal computer market is decisively recovering, although con-sumers, not companies, are doing most of the buying," Smith noted.
       The upbeat third-quarter report is the latest evidence of growing optimism at the big chip maker. In July, Intel reported that its second-quarter results were stronger than it had expected, even though sales were down 15% from the previous year.
       Yet the downward trend seemed to be broken, cheering both Wall Street and the technology industry.
       Then, at the end of August, Intel pointed to stronger demand for its microprocessors and chipsets and raised its revenue projection for the third quarter by $500 million, to about $9 billion.
       Investors anticipate that technology companies, led by Intel, will lead the way out of the recovery. Earnings estimates for all the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index are projected to be down 25% in the third quarter,compared with a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters. But technology company profits are expected to be down only 14%.
       In July, analysts had expected technology sector profits to be off 20% in the third quarter.

Electronics sector to change strategy

       The electric and electronics industry wil use the Bt4-billion budget proposed under the government's second stimulus package to enhance its competitiveness by upgrading from original-equipment to original-design manufacturing.
       The three-year model scheme starting next year will concentrate on developing four important areas, which are product design, the supply chain, design-skilled staff and infrastructure, Katiya Greigarn, president of the Thai Association of Electrical and Electronics Industries, said yesterday.
       To do original-design manufacturing,the industry needs to adopt advanced technology and improve the skills of its workforce to create high-value and differentiated products.
       The industry normally requires 10,000 new workers per year, assuming annual growth of 10 per cent.
       "We have to avoid the tough competition in common products because our wages are not cheap anymore. However, the government's support is needed to encourage manufacturers to do their own research and develoment as well as train skillled workers to support leading-edge technology," he said.
       The association will collaborate with the National Electronics and Comuter Technology Centre and universitie to help local manufacturers conduct R&D to serve three main functions-user-centre desig n, universal design and eco-design.
       Forming a cluster for the industry will help reduce maufacturers' logistics costs and facilitate their developing the necessary infrastructure together including modern laboratories.
       Without state support ffor the industry's development, it will be difficult to maintain exports like now because of the tough global competition, he said.
       "These steps require time. If we still do notheing, I can't see how we can survive in the futrue," he added.

STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE

       New Asus notebook rouses the tech style council By Richard Mcleish
       There has been no shortage of ultra thin notebooks on shop shelves lately, and Asus has joined the action with the release of the UX50V. With its strong emphasis on style, the model shakes up the low-voltage class of notebooks, jostling competitively with Acer's Timelines and Lenovo's ThinkPads. Asus seems to be upping the style ante, but the question remains as to whether this is what consumers want. Let's take a closer look at the new offering.
       Visually, the unit seduces on first sight.Its clean piano-black lines taper to a pinch around the edges, making it appear more svelte than its 33mm thickness, and at 2.6kg, it's like a bulkier version of the recently released Asus Eee PC 1005HC netbook. The glossy top screams "fingerprints", even before it is taken out of the box. The matt bottom half might have been a less stylish, but more practical option for the whole case.
       Inside, however, the unit is less dazzling.The Intel Core2 Solo mobile SU3500 processor brags low-voltage usage but barely pips the Atom processors found in newer netbooks, and is considerably less powerful than Core2 Duo processors.
       The 15.6-inch LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio is very watchable, especially for movies, bettering 15.4-inch models that offer a 16:10 ratio.
       The model gains ground with the inclusion of an nVidia Geforce G 105M graphics card that offers smooth 1080p HD playback, but a Blu-ray drive is not included. The benefit of a discrete GPU is that it can be switched off in the system tray to save battery life, but it seems out of place among this model's other more midrange components.
       WORKING
       There's no denying the slick usability of the model. The full-size "MosaicGlow"keyboard has a nice big Enter key and a full numeric pad, and illuminates in lowlight.
       The well-designed hinge holds the screen in position nicely, but the glossy finish can make it hard to read with the reflections it picks up, especially during outdoor daytime usage.
       The large touchpad easily facilitates vertical and horizontal scrolling, making web browsing and document editing simple.The good looking button below the touchpad is badly positioned and hard to press,which is disappointing considering the calibre of the design elsewhere on the unit. The drive release button and the WiFi on/off are also a little tacky and detracting.
       Connectivity ports are largely housed at the rear of the unit, maintaining the clean tapered lines. A memory card port and USB socket are hidden under a flexible plastic lid on the left for easy access, but a headphone jack would be useful there,or even better still, at the front.
       The Altec Lansing SRS speakers offer decent sound in a small room, coping with both the bass of electro and the soaring treble of classical music.
       The press kit claims the unit has six hours of battery life on low energy settings,which comes closer to four with more normal usage, below standard netbook battery life. The extended battery life that would justify the choice of the low-voltage CPU is non-existant, tilting the performance to cost ratio out of favour. The unit stays cool, and runs quietly, which is important for users in tropical locations.
       CONCLUSION
       With an optimistic asking price of just under 40,000 baht, the unit is targeted at standard home users who are willing to pay extra for good design. That said, the clean lines and slick black finish are quite seductive. However, when compared with other models in its class, even the MacBook Air, it wanes in the performance stakes. If aesthetics are your weakness, the UX50V may well entice you, but the rest of us may keep our wallets in our pockets.
       The Asus UX50V, priced at 39,900 baht, is available from Hardware House, Pantip Plaza, Phetchaburi Road,call 02-685-8936.

THAI IT SECTOR SLIPS IN COMPLETITIVENESS RANKINGS

       Thailand's IT industry slipped to 49th in the 2009 IT Industry Competitiveness Index from 42nd last year, due to declines in both its foreign-investment policy ranking and PC ownership ranking, which are heavily weighted indicators.
       Within Asia, Thailand ranked 11th, behind India, 44th in the world, and ahead of the Philippines, 51st, and Vietnam, 56th.
       In the study issued by the Economist Intelligence Unit on a BSA sponsorship, Thailand's foreign-investment policy ranking dipped to 35th, from 29th last year. Despite an improvement in personal computer ownership, its relative ranking declined five places, from 47th in 2008 to 52nd this year.
       Thailand's overall business environment was ranked 30th in the world, a slight drop from 28th last year. Thailand is ranked 29th in the world on support for IT development. The ranking for IT human capital moved up from 46th to 43rd, while the R&D environment ranking also rose from 59th to 58th.
       However, the ranking for legal environment dropped from 56th to 57th.
       Australia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are among the top 20 countries globally for having the most competitive IT industries, according to the study.
       "In today's economic climate, it is critical that governments in Asia-Pacific continue to support the growth of a strong technology sector. The IT sector remains an important engine of economic growth, and economies in the region that are supporting innovation and taking steps to stimulate technology sector output are placing themselves in a strong position to accelerate economic recovery," Carlo Parlade, BSA's director of software policy for Asia-Pacific, said yesterday.
       "The study shows that economies that have strong legal frameworks for the protection of intellectual property [IP] are generally the IT leaders and score higher in the index.
       "In contrast, economies where IP protection has not been well enforced are not traditionally seen as innovators. Some rely instead on their low-cost labour markets to remain competitive but this is hard to sustain over time.
       "By improving on the factors that contribute to IT competitiveness, Asian economies will not only improve their ranking but also generate long-term economic growth."

       "The study shows that economies that have strong legal frameworks for the protection of intellectual property [IP] are generally the IT leaders and score higher in the index."

Consult the sommelier in your pocket

       Shopping for wine is a lot like parenting a teenager. You feel stupid when you're in the middle of it,and when you finally emerge, you're desperately ready for a drink.
       There is, alas, no app for raising teenagers. But mobile software developers have begun aiming at oenophiles, and in so doing, they have established one of the more useful categories of wireless apps.
       Appropriately enough, choosing the right one can be puzzling and tedious.Some of the refined entries in the current vintage include Cor.kz, Wine Enthusiast Guide, Nat Decants Food & Wine Matcher and Pair It!. I'd give them a rating of 85,with an asterisk. They're fairly good now,and they should age nicely.
       Before digging into the details, though,consider the overall value of these services for a moment. Let's say you're at your favourite wine shop with about 15 minutes to spare, and you want a bottle that will make your dinner guests coo,without maxing out your credit card.
       The shop owner is helping someone near the Mouton Rothschild, and the other employees are 23-year-olds with extensive beer-stocking skills. Rather than choosing a random bottle or asking the beer guys, you can now just reach for the sommelier in your cell phone.
       From there you have a couple of options. Some apps, like Wine Enthusiast,let you find the most highly rated wines at specific price levels, so you can quickly browse the store - or, if you're in a restaurant, the wine list - for suitable matches.
       If you have Cor.kz or, to a lesser extent,Nat Decants, you can reverse the process,and look through the wine list or shelves until you find a promising label. Then it's a matter of doing a quick check on its rating.
       The second approach has limits, simply because it takes too long to type in,say,"2003 Hochheimer Koenigin Victoriaberg Riesling Beerenauslese," to say nothing of the time it might take to click through the ratings and then move onto another bottle.
       Smartphone mavens are already wondering why you can't just use the phone's camera to scan the bottle's bar code and have the app display the wine's rating? In the coming weeks, you'll be able to get fairly close to that bit of grape-soaked geekery, thanks to a new feature from Cor.kz.
       But first, more about the core features of this app, which will soon be available to BlackBerry users and owners of Android devices like T-Mobile's MyTouch 3G.
       Cor.kz stands on the shoulders of an Internet giant, cellartracker.com, which houses more than a million reviews by roughly 82,000 wine aficionados. Cor.kz can also help users manage their wine cellar inventory, but it is perhaps best used by those who just want to buy more intelligently.
       Type in the name of the wine you are considering - Del Dotto, say - and Cor.kz retrieves everything in CellarTracker's data base about the wine.
       This can be a blessing and a curse.Wines from Del Dotto, a small but muchbeloved vintner in Napa Valley, California, yield 581 tasting notes. If you type something more specific into your iPhone, like "2005 Del Dotto Cabernet,"Cor.kz returns 95 matches.
       Some of these results include a numerical rating. To save yourself wasted clicks, choose those listings. The rating represents the average from CellarTracker's reviewers, and those entries will also include detailed reviews and retail prices.

CLARIFICATION OF INCONSISTENT INFORMATION ORDERED

       The Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday ordered Solution Corner (1998), or SLC, to provide more information regarding the takeover of its shares by an information-technology business group.
       The company initially informed the SET it had not been contacted by any group regarding the takeover but later said its major shareholders had agreed to sell all of their shares, amounting to a 65-per-cent stake, to Derake Vongchinsri on Wednesday. The two major shareholders are Nitat and Wantanee Maneesilasan, who are also managing director and deputy managing director, respectively.
       The SET therefore ordered SLC, which is listed with the Market for Alternative Investment, to provide additional details and strictly comply with disclosure guidelines. SLC's stock yesterday was posted with an "Alert" sign, warning investors the company was required to provide sufficient information.
       Later, SLC said the shares were sold to three investors instead of a single buyer, details of which were shown in the SET Market Analysis and Reporting Tool on Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday.
       The information disclosed to the SET and investors was inconsistent, with significant details changed in a short period of time. As the information regarding the takeover is considered significant information and can have a significant effect on the share price and investors' decisions, a listed company and its management team have a duty and responsibility to disclose correct, complete and sufficient information to investors.
       In order for shareholders and investors to have more information regarding a takeover, the SET is requiring SLC to provide more details by next Thursday, as follows:
       First, why SLC informed the SET on Monday that it had not been contacted by any group regarding a takeover but then later informed the SET that Nitat and Wantanee had agreed to sell all of their shares, equal to 65 per cent of paid-up capital, to Derake.
       Second, why SLC informed the SET on Wednesday that Derake was the only buyer of SLC shares from the Maneesilasan Group but then yesterday said there were three buyers: Thanapan Vongchinsri, Thanaporn Piyavetvirat and Polasit Pumiwasana.
       The SET wants SLC to explain this in case SLC changed material information in a short time and to understand why SLC did not disclose all of the information to the SET at one time.
       Third, SLC informed the SET that Thanaporn was a dermatologist at Asoke Skin Hospital and Polasit Pumiwasana was self-employed as a golf-equipment trader. However, the SET has learned Polasit is actually a director and executive at Aqua, a subsidiary of Sunshine.
       The SET wants clear information about the occupations, professional experience and job positions of the aforementioned investors.
       Fourth, SLC informed the SET that all three buyers were independent and not connected persons. However, the SET has found that Derake and Thanapan, both surnamed Vongchinsri, may be related to Sunshine's major shareholder and executive, who is also a major shareholder in Aqua, where Polasit is a director and executive.
       The SET wants SLC to confirm that all three buyers are independent and not connected.
       Fifth, SLC informed the SET that after the disposition of shares, the major shareholders would continue with the company in the same positions. However, SLC later disclosed that these shareholders had agreed to continue in their management positions at SLC for not less than three months, for the sake of an orderly transfer of work to the new management.
       The SET wants SLC to explain why it disclosed incomplete and inconsistent information and clarify who the new management team will be or which group of shareholders the new management team will represent.
       SLC yesterday closed at Bt5.30, up 6 per cent from Wednesday.

Take utmost care with BIOS update

       Lurking deep in the motherboard of every PC is a small program known as the Basic Input Output System (BIOS), a vital component to the computer's ability to boot up.
       Before any computer can run an operating system, it needs to first run BIOS.It's commonplace these days to update standard operating systems, but fairly rare to do anything of the sort with BIOS.
       However, there are times when a BIOS update is needed: for example, if your computer isn't capable of recognising hardware additions. But that upgrade comes with risks. If done incorrectly, it can wipe a motherboard.
       Thus, a BIOS update should only be undertaken after careful consideration and in certain circumstances, such as when there are hardware problems or compatibility issues between a computer's energy-saving mode and a new operating system, says Christian Helmiss ofPC Welt magazine.Gigabyte, a Germany-based motherboard manufacturer, recommends approaching any update carefully and never interrupting one once started. The update involves overwriting information fundamental to the computer's ability to start. If things go wrong, the computer may no longer be able to boot up.
       That will happen if an update is interrupted and the new BIOS program is only partially written onto the computer,says Thomas Littschwager of Chip magazine. If that happens, a computer user needs to send the motherboard back to the manufacturer so the BIOS chip can be swapped out.
       To avoid that problem, make sure a computer has a steady power supply before starting any BIOS upgrade and never shut down while the upgrade is underway.
       Another basic: pick the right version of BIOS to download. Helmiss says the exact model number is usually needed to pick out the right upgrade. That number can usually be found in the motherboard's handbook or on the hardware itself. During the boot-up process, computers usually display information about the manufacturer, the model number and the BIOS version in use.
       Updates themselves are usually available from either the computer or motherboard manufacturer.
       Littschwager says conducting the update using old-fashioned DOS is the only tried and true method. Using Windows runs the risk of a setting not matching and the whole process going awry.
       Helmiss recommends backing up a computer's memory and storing all data on external drives before a BIOS upgrade.A mistake might not lose all a computer's stored data, but could make it inaccessible.

IT markets encouraged despite low GDP growth

       Although Thailand's slumping economy means it is currently experiencing the lowest GDP growth in the Asean region, its purchasing power remains strong, with the kingdom ranking second behind only Malaysia, according toGFK Retail and Technology (Thailand) Country Manager Chaiyarit Piyabootr.
       Chaiyarit said Thai consumer spending on IT remains strong because of the market size and quick adoption of new technology.
       However consumers remain cautious about spending while they wait to see if the economy will improve.This is expected to begin in this year's fourth quarter and the government's stimulus package should boost consumer spending confidence.
       In the first seven months of this year, compared with 2009, sales of IT products in the retail channel declined 13 percent, while prices have increased 9.5 percent. The price rises have failed to offset the dip in sales, leading to a sales value decrease of 4.7 percent.
       But in the same time frame, the notebook in retail market did enjoy growth - the only IT product to do so.Sales increased 14.9 percent in January to July of this year, compared to the same period in 2008, although the sales value growth was just 3.2 percent, due to a 10.1 percent price drop as a result of fierce competition.
       Veerasak Chaiyaroj, Division Manager, IT Division at GFK, added that this year, for the overall Mobile PC market (Retail + B to B+ Event sale) is about 800,000 units. This is a growth of 7 percent in unit terms and 5percent in value terms, with the best-selling low-end models retailing for 20,000-22,000 baht.
       Last year, the mobile computer market grew 20 percent, which shows the extent of the economic decline.
       The situation, while unpredictable,is expected to see a modest improvement next year, with a projected 10 percent growth in unit sales.
       Veerasak continued that in the first six months of 2010, netbooks should make up 20 percent of the overall mobile computer market.
       However unit prices for netbooks are now overlapping with budget notebook models, at around 13,000 to 14,000 baht, which is expected to reduce the overall market share of mobile computers to 15 percent.
       The desktop market, meanwhile, remains stable.
       Unit sales are expected to grow 1 percent next year, with a negative sales value growth of 2 to 3 percent.
       In January-July in retail outlets, compared with the same period in 2008,desktop sales value declined 5.9 percent, while units sales dropped 5.3 percent and prices reduced 0.5 percent.
       The price plunge was due to fierce competition, with some models available for as little as 5,900 to 6,900 baht without monitors. However the average selling price was 15,000 baht.
       For the total Desktop PC market demand 2009(Retail + B to B + Event sale) is about 1,010,000 units. Growth 1 percent in unit terms and -2 percent in value terms.
       Veerasak said:"We believe there is still a demand for desktops from upcountry users and in schools.
       "Furthermore, new technology and developments such as Windows 7 will help create momentum, leading to market growth in the first quarter of 2010."

More users getting the instant message

       Thailand is the world's seventh-ranked user of Windows Live Messenger, which points to high revenue potential for the mobile version once 3G is fully rolled out.
       The ranking relates to the number of instant messages sent per month, per user, with Thais sending an average of 839 messages each month through Windows Live Messenger, said Craig LawSmith, Southeast Asia Marketing Director,Online Service Group at Microsoft.
       The six countries ahead of Thailand are Mexico, where users send an average of 978 messages per month, followed by Brazil with 963 messages, Taiwan (927),Spain (903), Netherlands (867) and Italy (846).
       Microsoft was quick to localise Windows Live Messenger in Thailand,offering geographically relevant content on top of continuing worldwide innovations such as the nudge - introduced with MSN Messenger 7.0 in 2005- enabling users to get the attention of, and interact with, their favourite chat partners.
       Law-Smith noted that Windows Live Messenger already has 5.3 million subscribers, and this figure is growing at a rate of 25 percent year-on-year.
       "As of May, on average, each Windows Live user spends 533 minutes per month using the programme. This shows a high user engagement.
       "High-engagement users with mass volume will help us monetise by offering a better return on investment foradvertisers.
       Furthermore, once 3G is up and running in Thailand, an increase in people using Windows Live Messenger on there mobiles is expected, bringing yet more revenue from advertising and network operators.
       Competition among operators and handset manufacturers should lower prices for consumers, which in turn will help make Messenger more affordable and thus accessible.
       "In Jakarta, more and more people are using Messenger on their mobiles as a cheaper alternative to the normal short message service [SMS]," said LawSmith.
       He continued that the growth of social networking sites - which help people to connect and share photos, videos,music, documents, links and so on has increased the amount of channels and accounts requiring login, so integration between instant messaging and social networking is attractive.
       Already Windows Live Messenger has more than 20 web partners, including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Flickr, and others. Data shows that Facebook notifications account for 3 percent of all Hotmail messages.
       "To survive in this business, we have to add value for users and integrate with other web partners to simplify connections for customers," said Law-Smith.
       "This goes beyond instant messaging or emailing or social networking; it's about making everything as simple as possible for consumers.
       "Even in the economic crisis, the users also use IM more to connect with their friends and family or for finding jobs, so it show how IM plays an important role for communication tools."

Intel boss confident of market rise

       The worldwide personal computer market is pulling out of its slump quickly and could defy predictions by growing this year, Intel Corp CEO Paul Otellini said last week.
       Otellini's comments were more bullish than many analysts. Market research firms IDC and Gartner have both predicted a year-over-year decline in PC shipments in 2009, which would be the first such drop since 2001.
       The market has been hindered by a clampdown in corporate spending on new PCs, and some computer companies are already looking to next year for an upturn. Sales of cheap netbook computers have been a bright spot, but those machines ring up low profits for PC and chip makers. Intel is the world's top maker of microprocessors.
       Otellini said he expects PC sales to be "flat to slightly up" this year from last.He said the rebound is fueled by the fact computers are "indispensable; something people need in their daily lives."
       "I think that the market is poised for a resurgence," he said.
       Researchers at Gartner Inc predict a 2 percent decline in PC shipments for 2009, though that's better than a few months ago, when the group was forecasting a drop of 6 percent.
       "Things are looking much better in the second half," Gartner research director George Shiffler said.
       But Shiffler wasn't quite willing to go as far as Otellini did. He expects secondhalf shipments to be flat from last year,not strong enough to push the entire year into positive territory.
       "It wouldn't surprise me if we did see positive growth, but that's not our call at the moment," Shiffler said."I think that's more of a best-case scenario."
       The October arrival of Windows 7 is one wild card that could push PC shipments higher than expected. Retailers could see a surge of interest in Microsoft's updated operating system. The improving economy may also bolster the PC industry over the next few months.
       In either case, stronger PC shipments may mean fewer bargains for consumers than during last year's dire holiday season, Shiffler said. But deals won't disappear altogether. Rival manufacturer still slash prices to stay competitive.
       Intel shares rose 8c to $19.62 in afternoon trading. Shares of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc gained 30 cents,5.2 percent, to $6.11.
       Among PC makers, Dell Inc fell 28 cents,1.8 percent, to $15.73, while Hewlett-Packard Co. gained 68 cents,1.5 percent, to $47.03.
       Since Otellini proclaimed in April that PC sales had "bottomed out" after a miserable holiday season, he has been more aggressive in his forecasts than even Intel's biggest customers. This has raised questions about how much of the recovery in Intel's sales has been caused by computer makers restocking depleted chip supplies and how much has come from end users buying more machines.
       Still, Otellini's remarks Tuesday help explain Intel's decision last month to raise its third-quarter revenue guidance to $8.8 billion (296 billion baht) to $9.2 billion (309 billion baht). The previous range was $8.1 billion (272 billion baht)to $8.9 billion (299 billion baht).
       Otellini also used his presentation at the Intel Developers' Forum to show off chips built on so-called 22-nanometer technology, which refers to the evershrinking size of circuitry on the most advanced chips.
       Those chips are still being developed in Intel's factories and won't go into production until 2011.

Smart city makes sci-fi fantasies come true

       LifeinIncheon, South Korea, embraces technology to the fullest, creating a more efficient and environmentally-friendly society. Story and pictures by Borisuthiboun Dasaneyavaja
       If you have ever watched the sci-fi movies, no doubt you will have seen visions of life where all technology is put to use with a single remote control. But such scenes may no longer be the stuff of movies, especially if you live in Incheon city.
       Incheon, the newly-built Korea city,offers its residents a high-tech lifestyle with online community services, hightech schools and green energy.
       Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Sang-Soo Ahn said:"Future cities that operate with cutting-edge IT will improve public safety and security, commerce,healthcare, manufacturing and education and benefit consumers.
       "We are certain that this initiative will significantly enhance the quality of people's lives, build a stronger governance model and attract more business and investment to Incheon."
       To fulfil this dream, Incheon has teamed up with Cisco to lay out its IT infrastructure network and implement Cisco Smart+Connected Communities solutions that helped utilise the network and its devices capabilities accordingly.
       In transforming the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), Cisco has provided its experience, expertise and networking technologies for the globalisation of Incheon Metropolitan City.
       A key element of the project was the development of advanced "u-City" technologies, designed to create a unified,common Internet Protocol (IP) network platform for the project.
       In order to carry out this initiative, a Cisco u-City Global Centre will be established in Songdo. This service centre also offers comprehensive integrated solutions to help citizens experience a technology-enabled lifestyle in work,health care, education and at home.
       Cisco has deployed video networking technology and energy management software tools city-wide and melded municipal systems, such as education, health care, transportation and hospitality, into a common network.
       Its Smart+Connected Communities software has been used to address the growing need for sustainable energy by providing a network-enabled blueprint for successful, smart cities of the future that run on networked information, according to a Cisco executive who gave a brief tour of the fully equipped the Founder's Club, a penthouse apartment in Songdo.
       He added that one of the key components of the solutions was Smart Connected Buildings that provided the intelligence to interconnect and enable building systems such as heating, ven-tilation and cooling (HVAC), lighting,electrical, security, and renewables over the IP network to build smart and energyefficient buildings of the future.
       This provides operators and owners of these buildings with new ways of managing how energy is used.
       Smart buildings are equipped with an integrated array of sensors that can also monitor such things as the amount of sunlight coming into a room and adjust indoor lighting accordingly. It can turn on the appropriate lights, equipment and environmental controls.
       Residents will be able to chat with their children's teachers, consult doctors and apply for city permits and licenses via monitors in their apartments.
       Besides smart buildings, the Songdo International School also offers a smart school. Children will be offered Internet and tele-present solutions and the locations of the students will be known at all times as part of the school's safety and security policy - although.Old city vs new city
       As Incheon is a new city, the data network and IT infrastructure should be easy to implement and install - which would not be the case for an old city like Bangkok, said Metropolis secretary-general Josep Roig.
       However, he said old cities could still be smart but they would require collaboration between the city council and private sector to study and utilise existing IT networks.
       He added:"Information technology has become the fourth utility in cities.
       "City leaders and urban planners need to consider the critical contribution that information and communication technology provides to the solution of urban challenges.
       "The products and services are in place; the challenge is to get people to use them."The future city
       Wim Elfrink, chief globalisation officer and executive vice president,
       Cisco Services,said:"The Internet is quickly expanding from mobile devices and computers as it begins to encompass not only the consumer and business internet,but now the industrialisation of the Internet.
       "Cities that are run on information will transform the quality of life for citizens, drive economic growth and improve city services and management.
       "Particularly in these tough economic times, cities that use the network to accelerate and multiply their infrastructure investments will be those who not only survive challenges,but thrive and lead into the future."
       Elfrink added:"The network is also key to addressing one of the 21st century's most significant issues environmental sustainability.
       "While technology contributes to about 2 percent of the world's carbon emissions, it can be a substantial part of the solution.
       "It is estimated that technology can reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent by 2020; an environmental savings of 1 ton of CO2 per capita that translates into $946 billion (31.8 trillion baht) in financial savings.
       "Additionally, cities that run on information can improve energy efficiency by 30 percent in 20 years."

Tariff cut to spark new investment in 2010

       Thailand is in line for more investment in the electrical and electronics industry early next year, when Southeast Asian economies are due to become a single production base.
       The elimination of import tariffs within the region and trade facilitation under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) will allow freer flows of electrical and electronic parts and components, said Charuek Hengrasmee, the president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute.
       "The Thai industry has already been strong in products such as hard disk drives (HDD) and several home appliances," said Mr Charuek.
       "(International) players will look at Asean as a single production base with Thailand positioned as the manufacturing centre of the region."
       Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, agreed but said Thai officials must work with Asean counterparts to simplify standards and eliminate non-tariff barriers.
       For instance, exports of electronic and electrical products to Singapore face about 100 industrial standards, he said.
       "Certainly, Asean integration into a sole production base will benefit Thailand, especially for products we are competitive in - HDD, air-conditioners, refrigerators and microwaves," said Dr Katiya.
       Asean has become the second-largest export market for Thai-made electrical and electronic goods - after Europe replacing the US and Japan, which have seen shipments plunge, he added.
       Meanwhile, the Board of Investment (BoI) has outlined strategies to propel Thailand as a parts provider for Asean by launching initiatives such as networking, business matching and trade show subsidies, said Chanin Khaochan, director of the BoI Unit for Industrial Linkage Development (Build).
       "[But] local producers should be more active in building their reputation and expanding marketing networks with Asean. The expansion would increase their customer base and develop strengths to be the region's top player,"he said."Our weakness is insufficient R&D and limited co-operation with education institutions for human resource development."
       The sector has recovered from a steep slump, when demand sank by 70%.
       "Capacity utilisation now averages 50-60%. We hope to see further improvement next year from inventory restocking,the improving global economy and effects of the government's economic stimulus package," said Mr Chanin.
       New investment is expected to arrive with the improving business environment. The industry generally attracts more than 100 billion baht a year, but investment has dipped to 30 billion this year to date.
       The stronger yen will encourage Japanese companies to invest abroad - including in Thailand, where production is cheaper, he added.
       About 150 Japanese manufacturers are expected to join Metalex 2009 from Nov 19-22 at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre.

Xerox makes a big services bet

       Xerox Corp has agreed to buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc for about $5.75 billion in cash and stock, the companies announced yesterday.
       The deal calls for Xerox to pay $63.11 for each ACS shares and will create a $22-billion business that will mesh both printing and copying services with the information technology and outsourcing components of Dallas-based ACS.
       "Acquiring ACS helps us expand our business and benefit from stronger revenue and earnings growth," Xerox CEO Ursula Burns said in a statement.
       ACS, a $6.5 billion company, had fiscal 2009 revenue growth of 6%and new business signings of $1 billion in annual recurring revenue.
       ACS stockholders will receive $18.60 per share in cash plus 4.935 Xerox shares for each ACS share they own.
       Xerox, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, will also take on $2 billion of ACS's debt and issue $300 million of convertible preferred stock to ACS's Class B shareholders.

Hewlett-Packard dumps EDS brand

       The US computer giant Hewlett-Packard announced on Wednesday that business services titan EDS, which it acquired a year ago, has been renamed HP Enterprise Services.
       "The name change marks the next major step in a year-long integration of EDS into HP and emphasises the growing global role of enterprise technology services in HP's portfolio," HP said.
       HP also said its Technology Solutions Group, responsible for servers, storage,software, networking and technology services for businesses and government organisations, would be renamed the HP Enterprise Business.
       HP bought the Texas-based business services outsourcing giant EDS in August as part of a $13.9 billion deal aimed at creating a global powerhouse in the computer services sector to compete against IBM.

New rules a boost to tech companies

       US accounting rule makers approved a change in reporting regulations on Wednesday that might benefit technology companies such as Apple Inc, allowing them to recognise more revenue when products are sold.
       The change, which analysts expect to provide a more accurate financial snapshot of companies such as Apple, Palm Inc and Cisco Systems Inc, was approved in a 5-0 vote by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
       The change relates to the way revenue is recognised for products - such as smartphones - that combine hardware and software. Previously, such devices were governed by accounting rules that applied to software.
       Under accounting guidelines for software, revenue is recorded over a product's expected life cycle, typically years.
       "If you had a product that had both a hardware element to it and a software element ... if the software was critical to it, then you had to follow the software rules," said Brian Minnihan, a partner in the technology practice of accounting firm BDO Seidman.
       The change takes effect for fiscal years beginning on or after June 15,2010, but earlier application is permitted.
       Minnihan said some companies might choose adopt the new rule as early as the current quarter.
       Analysts say the accounting change will likely have the most impact on Apple,whose sales of the popular iPhone has not been fully reflected in its quarterly results.
       Under existing rules, Apple booked sales of the iPhone over two years. Similar treatment was used for Apple TV.
       But Apple had begun reporting nonGAAP results to provide a better picture of its sales and profit. For example, in the June quarter, the company reported GAAP revenue of $8.3 billion and nonGAAP revenue of $9.7 billion. It reported a GAAP profit of $1.35 a share and a non-GAAP profit of $2.14 a share.
       Apple, which supported the rule change, declined to comment. But analysts expect the new guidelines to allow Apple to recognise far more revenue from the iPhone.
       "I don't know if we're going to get 100%, but it's certainly going to be higher than it is now," said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu.
       But he does not expect the rule change to significantly impact the valuation of the company."Most professional investors were already valuing this thing off non-GAAP or free cash flow."

DELL EXPANDS INTO TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

       Giant computer-maker Dell will spend US$3.9 billion (Bt131 billion) to acquire technology-services company Perot Systems in a bid to expand beyond the PC business and compete more aggressively with Hewlett-Packard, which recently bought another tech-services company founded by Texas billionaire H Ross Perot.
       Dell on Monday said it would offer $30 a share in cash for Perot Systems, a 68-per-cent premium over its closing prices last Friday.
       Former presidential candidate H Ross Perot Sr, 79, serves as chairman emeritus of Perot Systems, which he founded in 1988. An April regulatory filing showed Perot and related trusts controlled at least 25 per cent of the company's stock, although the beneficiary of those shares was not clear. The company did not respond to a request for comment on Perot's stake.
       Perot made a fortune from founding Electronic Data Systems in 1962 and selling it to General Motors in a 1984 deal worth $2.5 billion. Hewlett-Packard bought EDS last year for $13.9 billion as it, too, tried to augment its services offerings and diversity beyond hardware.
       In a conference call with analysts, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell said Perot Systems would serve as an "anchor" acquisition for a global informationa-technology-services business.
       Perot Systems, which is based in Texas, would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers, including the United States military and the Homeland Security Department. About 48 per cent of Perot Systems' revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25 per cent from the government. Last year, Perot Systems earned $117 million from sales totalling $2.8 billion.
       Dell's services business is more basic than those of its larher competitors, and its revenue comes mainly from the hard-hit PC business. As a result, Dell's profits have been slumping and were down 23 per cent year on year in the second quarter.
       Perot Systems would add consulting and other kinds of computing services, such as "systems integration", to Dell's line-up.
       "This would, at least from a product standpoint, make them definitely more competitive with HP and IBM," said Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu. "It's a step in the right direction."
       Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot Systems' customers seeking one provider for multiple technology needs. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
       However, Dell's technical services business would still be relatively small; EDS has revenue of $21 billion before HP bought it, while IBM's services revenue was $59 billion last year.