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.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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."
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."
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
"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."
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."
Friday, September 25, 2009
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.
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.
Intel CEO looks beyond the PC
Intel Corp rolled out a software developers' platform on Tuesday and stressed it would step up efforts to boost revenue from consumer electronics and other markets beyond its core, maturing personal computer business.
Chief executive Paul Otellini expects personal computer sales volume this year to "likely" at least match 2008's,underscoring growing expectations that consumer spending is driving a mild recovery for the depressed market.
But with analysts expecting much of the fastest future growth for Intel to come from non-PC arenas, Otellini said on Tuesday that cell phones, software and so-called "embedded" chips would be crucial.
"We're flushing out the software side,"Otellini told reporters in a briefing."In these new spaces, in CE (consumer electronics) and in handhelds in particular,and to some extent in netbooks, the Intel side of the world is lacking the viral apps development that you see, say, on the iPhone."
The potential handset market is huge.Mobile phone unit shipments are expected to hit 1.1 billion in 2009 and be worth $217.2 billion, according to IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo.
Intel, which in June announced a mobile partnership with Nokia, is targeting small, Internet-connected devices and handsets with an Atom-based platform code-named "Moorestown", due out in 2010, and another, smaller Atom-based platform code-named "Medfield", due out in 2011.
Otellini on Tuesday also talked about embedded electronics: microchips in everything from car audio and communications systems to refrigerators that can hoop up to and synchronise with computers and smartphones.
Intel says that market represents a $15 billion opportunity.
Otellini said BMW and Daimler would use a version of its Atom chip for invehicle information and entertainment devices beginning 2012.
And the company plans to host a software applications development platform for its lower-end Atom microprocessor, which will allow developers to write programs that work across different devices and operating systems.
Otellini, who said the apps initiative would take more than a year to really get going, said Taiwan's Acer and Asus,and PC maker Dell Inc, would support the platform.
Intel itself has no plans to get into the apps store business. The company instead will provide the framework for developers to write software that can then be sold through others' stores.
But some analysts were sceptical, and said that software was not Intel's core competency.
"The jury's out. The challenge for anyone doing an app store is to get developers to say this is a platform worth developing for, because you've got Apple,you've got Palm, everybody's got an app store and software developers only have so much bandwidth," said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood.
Intel has made 10 software acquisitions over the past two years, including its most recent, June acquisition of Wind River Systems, a company focused on mobile software.
On Intel's core business, Otellini seemed to echo industry expectations of a flat to potentially better 2009 compared with last year, when PC sales fell off a cliff.
He said the PC industry "remains alive and well in the middle of the worst US recession in 70 years, with unit sales seen at flat to slightly higher this year versus last."
Chief executive Paul Otellini expects personal computer sales volume this year to "likely" at least match 2008's,underscoring growing expectations that consumer spending is driving a mild recovery for the depressed market.
But with analysts expecting much of the fastest future growth for Intel to come from non-PC arenas, Otellini said on Tuesday that cell phones, software and so-called "embedded" chips would be crucial.
"We're flushing out the software side,"Otellini told reporters in a briefing."In these new spaces, in CE (consumer electronics) and in handhelds in particular,and to some extent in netbooks, the Intel side of the world is lacking the viral apps development that you see, say, on the iPhone."
The potential handset market is huge.Mobile phone unit shipments are expected to hit 1.1 billion in 2009 and be worth $217.2 billion, according to IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo.
Intel, which in June announced a mobile partnership with Nokia, is targeting small, Internet-connected devices and handsets with an Atom-based platform code-named "Moorestown", due out in 2010, and another, smaller Atom-based platform code-named "Medfield", due out in 2011.
Otellini on Tuesday also talked about embedded electronics: microchips in everything from car audio and communications systems to refrigerators that can hoop up to and synchronise with computers and smartphones.
Intel says that market represents a $15 billion opportunity.
Otellini said BMW and Daimler would use a version of its Atom chip for invehicle information and entertainment devices beginning 2012.
And the company plans to host a software applications development platform for its lower-end Atom microprocessor, which will allow developers to write programs that work across different devices and operating systems.
Otellini, who said the apps initiative would take more than a year to really get going, said Taiwan's Acer and Asus,and PC maker Dell Inc, would support the platform.
Intel itself has no plans to get into the apps store business. The company instead will provide the framework for developers to write software that can then be sold through others' stores.
But some analysts were sceptical, and said that software was not Intel's core competency.
"The jury's out. The challenge for anyone doing an app store is to get developers to say this is a platform worth developing for, because you've got Apple,you've got Palm, everybody's got an app store and software developers only have so much bandwidth," said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood.
Intel has made 10 software acquisitions over the past two years, including its most recent, June acquisition of Wind River Systems, a company focused on mobile software.
On Intel's core business, Otellini seemed to echo industry expectations of a flat to potentially better 2009 compared with last year, when PC sales fell off a cliff.
He said the PC industry "remains alive and well in the middle of the worst US recession in 70 years, with unit sales seen at flat to slightly higher this year versus last."
A piece of the action
And the crowd went wild as Steve "President for Life" Jobs of Apple Computer came out on the stage to emcee the now-annual September music sales pitch, with loads of new stuff; in the biggest news, the iPod Nano got a video camera and FM radio, and Steve showed off the new iTunes Ver 9 management software; he also showed off the iPhone OS 3.1, available for download, which actually recommends apps you might like, has better synching for music and video, and lets you save video from email attachments into your playlist, aka Camera Roll.
Apple cut the prices of its old iPod models just hours ahead of announcing new iPod models; the price of the 32-gigabyte iPod Touch was cut $120 to $279, or 9,500 baht in real money; a 120-gig iPod Classic now costs $229, a $20 cut by the generous folks who run Apple. Palm introduced a smaller,cheaper smartphone than the successful Pre; the Pixi, as it's called, is aimed at younger users; it's slimmer, has a smaller screen, but features a Qwerty keyboard,8GB of memory and a two-megapixel camera.
US President Barack Obama, in a controversial school-time speech to most US children, advised them to be careful about what they put on Facebook and other social networks;"Whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life," he warned.
First Solar of America signed a contract with the Chinese government to build the world's largest solar power plant in Inner Mongolia; assuming it is built, the Ordos City plant will push out 2,000 megawatts of electricity,around four times the size of the projects being built by the US Army in the Mojave Desert and by First Solar in California;the China project isn't near anything much; Ordos City is a coal-producing,eight-year-old, planned low-carbon development with about 1.5 million residents, roughly 800km west of Beijing.
Networking firm Huawei of China,which has suffered a scandal or two in its Thailand work, was stung to the quick by mean stories in the Australian media that it might be tied to the Chinese espionage services; Guo Fulin, managing director of Huawei in Australia, was hurt by the insensitive stories that his company was under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation; Huawei is a public-owned company, he said, and it is unthinkable that any government agency would be using Huawei to conduct spying.
The government of Cuba took a huge security gamble, and authorised post offices to provide Internet access to the public - just in case the Cuban government ever authorises the public to use the Internet at some point in the future; the only public access currently allowed is to an inside-Cuba intranet for email, provided by post offices at a cost of the equivalent of 55 baht an hour, in a country where the average wage is 680 baht a month.
Japan fired an unmanned cargo craft into orbit; the 16.5-tonne unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) is on a mission to re-supply the space station;it will stay up there to continue ferrying stuff to the US shuttle fleet next year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised for the way that people treated World War Two code-breaker and extraordinary computer geek Alan Turing for being gay; Turing was prosecuted for homosexual conduct in 1952,and a mere two years later, he committed suicide;"I am pleased to have the chance how deeply sorry I and we all are," said Mr Brown.
Google , which plans to give away grazillions of books in order to get the (commercial) goods on its customers,offered to let all its opponents have a piece of the action;Amazon.com , which wants to sell grazillions of books to make tonnes of money directly, scoffed.Rupert Murdoch, the American media mogul, began collecting money at the tollgate to his news sites, in an interesting experiment to see if people will actually pay for news on the Net.
IBM, Microsoft, Oracle Corp and Google all responded to a plaintive "Help" from the Newspaper Association of America on how to get money from customers who don't want to pay for news; Randy Bennett, who is the senior president for vice in newspapers, said he's looking over 11 different proposals on how to squeeze money out of you;Google, to no one's surprise, offered to put all newspapers behind one vast,semi-expensive firewall, because that would be so convenient for everyone to just pay one company one time, and then Google would spread the money around; sure, that ought to work.
South African technology firm Unlimited IT dispatched Winston, a pigeon,from its office in Pietermaritzburg, with some data for its main hub in Durban strapped to the bird's leg; it took Winston one hour and eight minutes to fly the data card; meanwhile, Unlimited IT tried to send the same data via the speedchallenged Internet connections provided by leading Internet Telkom , and that download was four percent finished by the time Winston arrived; so it's not only countries that start with "T" that have Internet problems.
T-Mobile of Germany and Orange of France merged their yuppiephone operations in Britain, creating a new $13.5 billion company with 28.4 mobile phone customers; the Deutsche Telekom-France Telecom venture will be the biggest provider in the UK, with a 37 percent market share, larger than O2 of Telefonica.
Apple cut the prices of its old iPod models just hours ahead of announcing new iPod models; the price of the 32-gigabyte iPod Touch was cut $120 to $279, or 9,500 baht in real money; a 120-gig iPod Classic now costs $229, a $20 cut by the generous folks who run Apple. Palm introduced a smaller,cheaper smartphone than the successful Pre; the Pixi, as it's called, is aimed at younger users; it's slimmer, has a smaller screen, but features a Qwerty keyboard,8GB of memory and a two-megapixel camera.
US President Barack Obama, in a controversial school-time speech to most US children, advised them to be careful about what they put on Facebook and other social networks;"Whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life," he warned.
First Solar of America signed a contract with the Chinese government to build the world's largest solar power plant in Inner Mongolia; assuming it is built, the Ordos City plant will push out 2,000 megawatts of electricity,around four times the size of the projects being built by the US Army in the Mojave Desert and by First Solar in California;the China project isn't near anything much; Ordos City is a coal-producing,eight-year-old, planned low-carbon development with about 1.5 million residents, roughly 800km west of Beijing.
Networking firm Huawei of China,which has suffered a scandal or two in its Thailand work, was stung to the quick by mean stories in the Australian media that it might be tied to the Chinese espionage services; Guo Fulin, managing director of Huawei in Australia, was hurt by the insensitive stories that his company was under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation; Huawei is a public-owned company, he said, and it is unthinkable that any government agency would be using Huawei to conduct spying.
The government of Cuba took a huge security gamble, and authorised post offices to provide Internet access to the public - just in case the Cuban government ever authorises the public to use the Internet at some point in the future; the only public access currently allowed is to an inside-Cuba intranet for email, provided by post offices at a cost of the equivalent of 55 baht an hour, in a country where the average wage is 680 baht a month.
Japan fired an unmanned cargo craft into orbit; the 16.5-tonne unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) is on a mission to re-supply the space station;it will stay up there to continue ferrying stuff to the US shuttle fleet next year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised for the way that people treated World War Two code-breaker and extraordinary computer geek Alan Turing for being gay; Turing was prosecuted for homosexual conduct in 1952,and a mere two years later, he committed suicide;"I am pleased to have the chance how deeply sorry I and we all are," said Mr Brown.
Google , which plans to give away grazillions of books in order to get the (commercial) goods on its customers,offered to let all its opponents have a piece of the action;Amazon.com , which wants to sell grazillions of books to make tonnes of money directly, scoffed.Rupert Murdoch, the American media mogul, began collecting money at the tollgate to his news sites, in an interesting experiment to see if people will actually pay for news on the Net.
IBM, Microsoft, Oracle Corp and Google all responded to a plaintive "Help" from the Newspaper Association of America on how to get money from customers who don't want to pay for news; Randy Bennett, who is the senior president for vice in newspapers, said he's looking over 11 different proposals on how to squeeze money out of you;Google, to no one's surprise, offered to put all newspapers behind one vast,semi-expensive firewall, because that would be so convenient for everyone to just pay one company one time, and then Google would spread the money around; sure, that ought to work.
South African technology firm Unlimited IT dispatched Winston, a pigeon,from its office in Pietermaritzburg, with some data for its main hub in Durban strapped to the bird's leg; it took Winston one hour and eight minutes to fly the data card; meanwhile, Unlimited IT tried to send the same data via the speedchallenged Internet connections provided by leading Internet Telkom , and that download was four percent finished by the time Winston arrived; so it's not only countries that start with "T" that have Internet problems.
T-Mobile of Germany and Orange of France merged their yuppiephone operations in Britain, creating a new $13.5 billion company with 28.4 mobile phone customers; the Deutsche Telekom-France Telecom venture will be the biggest provider in the UK, with a 37 percent market share, larger than O2 of Telefonica.
Mac security threats on increase
It all used to be simpler for Mac users:viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them. That is slowly changing."The threats have intensified," says Candid Wuest from anti-virus maker Symantec.
The biggest threat comes from hackers trying to sneak viruses onto computers.OSX.RSPlug.A is the name of one that preys on Mac users. It claims to be a video codec required to watch certain porno films, but in fact tries to redirect the surfer to a website forged to look like an eBay page. An attempt is then made to phish for the access data to the user's real eBay account.
"This trojan hasn't drawn much attention," says Walter Mehl from Germany's Macwelt magazine. That may have to do with the fact that it is spread only through porn sites. It was also shoddily programmed.
Another trojan assumed control of Macs earlier this year, harnessing them into a "Botnet," Wuest says. A botnet is a remote-controlled network of computers employed by hackers to send out spam. Some 10,000 to 20,000 computers have been infected to date. That number,however, pales in comparison with the countless Windows PCs infected by the Conficker worm.
Windows is a more common target for attacks partially because it's the user base is much larger."There is still less malware for the Mac," Mehl says. Yet more and more people are working with the Mac OS and turning up vulnerabilities that have not yet been exploited. The threat potential has grown."That's why I feel that protection software is now important on Mac OS as well."
The biggest threat comes from hackers trying to sneak viruses onto computers.OSX.RSPlug.A is the name of one that preys on Mac users. It claims to be a video codec required to watch certain porno films, but in fact tries to redirect the surfer to a website forged to look like an eBay page. An attempt is then made to phish for the access data to the user's real eBay account.
"This trojan hasn't drawn much attention," says Walter Mehl from Germany's Macwelt magazine. That may have to do with the fact that it is spread only through porn sites. It was also shoddily programmed.
Another trojan assumed control of Macs earlier this year, harnessing them into a "Botnet," Wuest says. A botnet is a remote-controlled network of computers employed by hackers to send out spam. Some 10,000 to 20,000 computers have been infected to date. That number,however, pales in comparison with the countless Windows PCs infected by the Conficker worm.
Windows is a more common target for attacks partially because it's the user base is much larger."There is still less malware for the Mac," Mehl says. Yet more and more people are working with the Mac OS and turning up vulnerabilities that have not yet been exploited. The threat potential has grown."That's why I feel that protection software is now important on Mac OS as well."
Slimline external burners
If there's a bright spot on the balance sheet of computer makers right now,it's the netbook. Some 21.6 million of the extra-small units are expected to have been sold by the end of the year,report German industry consultants IDC.
The mobility and low cost come at a price, though: no bells and whistles. That usually means that no DVD drive or burner is included. There are two options for getting around that missing equipment: burn CDs or DVDs using a network drive, or purchase an external burner.
Slimline models are well suited for netbooks, says Sven Schulz from Germany's Computer Bild magazine. They are very small -"about as large as two or three CD cases stacked on top of one another," he says. And they draw their power from the computer's USB port that means you don't have to carry along an extra power adaptor for them.
External burners draw so little power than the extra consumption will hardly register on the netbook's battery."It won't go empty significantly quicker than normal," Schulz says. Most burners only require a connection to one USB port.
If problems arise with the unit, though,they may be power related. That's because one single port does not necessarily provide enough juice for an external burner."Practically speaking, it's enough for most units," says Schulz, who tested a variety of burners in that class.
Otherwise, try plugging in the Y cable included with many models. It is split to plug into two USB ports at the same time, since many netbooks include USB ports on the right and left sides. In some cases even the Y cable isn't long enough to reach both. In that case, use a USB extender for one side or the other.
Users are advised to test out the interplay between the burner and computer immediately after purchase. That leaves time to return the device if the two don't get along.
The mobility and low cost come at a price, though: no bells and whistles. That usually means that no DVD drive or burner is included. There are two options for getting around that missing equipment: burn CDs or DVDs using a network drive, or purchase an external burner.
Slimline models are well suited for netbooks, says Sven Schulz from Germany's Computer Bild magazine. They are very small -"about as large as two or three CD cases stacked on top of one another," he says. And they draw their power from the computer's USB port that means you don't have to carry along an extra power adaptor for them.
External burners draw so little power than the extra consumption will hardly register on the netbook's battery."It won't go empty significantly quicker than normal," Schulz says. Most burners only require a connection to one USB port.
If problems arise with the unit, though,they may be power related. That's because one single port does not necessarily provide enough juice for an external burner."Practically speaking, it's enough for most units," says Schulz, who tested a variety of burners in that class.
Otherwise, try plugging in the Y cable included with many models. It is split to plug into two USB ports at the same time, since many netbooks include USB ports on the right and left sides. In some cases even the Y cable isn't long enough to reach both. In that case, use a USB extender for one side or the other.
Users are advised to test out the interplay between the burner and computer immediately after purchase. That leaves time to return the device if the two don't get along.
Thailand urged to get tough on pirates
The Business Software Alliance (BSA)has identified Thailand as one of nine priority countries in the fight against piracy, and is encouraging the Government to meet international standards in copyright law.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman told Database that on this year's Asian trip he only visited China and Thailand to show how important it is to the market that the issue of software piracy is tackled.
The BSA, which covers more than 80 countries, identified China, Brazil, Russia,India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Turkey and Thailand as having the highest rates of piracy.
Furthermore, Thailand is a priority also because both its home PC market and business IT usage are experiencing rapid growth.
Even through the Government has made progress in the bid to reduce software piracy over the past few years, its rate of 76 percent of software sold in 2008 being pirated is still higher than the Asia Pacific average of 61 percent.
Moreover, the drop in the value of the dollar is further adding to the losses caused by software piracy, with the 2008 figure rising to $609 million (20.5 billion baht), compared to $468 million (15.8 billion baht) in 2007.
Jeffrey Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director Asia Pacific added that Thailand does have an intellectual property policy but the Government needs to do more to persuade business users to respect the law and to educate them in better software management,to not only protect the local software industry but also promote growth and productivity.
He added that Thailand's Copyright Act should match the international benchmark in keeping with WIPO Treaties to promote online business and digital rights management to protect software available in legitimate form,including new environment distribution platforms such as Cloud Computing.
Moreover, the law should also apply to Internet Service Providers who fail to take action against illegal websites after being notified of them.
Hardee said:"It's important to note Thailand's neighbours, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have already implemented - or are nearing readiness for - solutions to piracy."
Holleyman continued that the plan is for the Asean nations to harmonise their Intellectual Property (IP) laws by 2015, to ensure a free flow of trade in the region and fully implement WIPO Treaties.
The region should learn from the European Union, the world's largest common market, in how it protects software, digital content and e-commerce, as well as battles cyber crime.
The IP issue is growing in importance as social and economic infrastructures including health care and environmental issues are increasingly reliant on software,both nationally and globally.
"The questions that any government should ask is how well we are going to use IT and software to reduce those problems," said Holleyman.
Moreover, the recent announcement of the Creative Thailand initiative shows the value of Intellectual Property rights,as copyrighted products help to build innovation, boost the economy and increase the country's competitiveness internationally.
If Thailand can show it is successfully tackling software piracy, the benefits will be felt not only locally but also in terms of its global reputation.
This will make boost recognition for Thailand as an attractive investment destination more than mere advertising, as foreign investors will see strong Intellectual Property protection laws as an asset.
Holleyman concluded:"Although piracy is hard to deal with, it is possible Thailand can significantly reduce piracy rates in a short period and ensure that businesses use legitimate software.
"Some countries have already done this successfully. For example, Russia has reduced its piracy rate by 10 percent in two years, while Italy has reduced by more than 10 percent within one year.
"Even in a recession, I am optimistic that piracy will continue to decrease if the Government and businesses stay focused on the value of clean software."
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman told Database that on this year's Asian trip he only visited China and Thailand to show how important it is to the market that the issue of software piracy is tackled.
The BSA, which covers more than 80 countries, identified China, Brazil, Russia,India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Turkey and Thailand as having the highest rates of piracy.
Furthermore, Thailand is a priority also because both its home PC market and business IT usage are experiencing rapid growth.
Even through the Government has made progress in the bid to reduce software piracy over the past few years, its rate of 76 percent of software sold in 2008 being pirated is still higher than the Asia Pacific average of 61 percent.
Moreover, the drop in the value of the dollar is further adding to the losses caused by software piracy, with the 2008 figure rising to $609 million (20.5 billion baht), compared to $468 million (15.8 billion baht) in 2007.
Jeffrey Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director Asia Pacific added that Thailand does have an intellectual property policy but the Government needs to do more to persuade business users to respect the law and to educate them in better software management,to not only protect the local software industry but also promote growth and productivity.
He added that Thailand's Copyright Act should match the international benchmark in keeping with WIPO Treaties to promote online business and digital rights management to protect software available in legitimate form,including new environment distribution platforms such as Cloud Computing.
Moreover, the law should also apply to Internet Service Providers who fail to take action against illegal websites after being notified of them.
Hardee said:"It's important to note Thailand's neighbours, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have already implemented - or are nearing readiness for - solutions to piracy."
Holleyman continued that the plan is for the Asean nations to harmonise their Intellectual Property (IP) laws by 2015, to ensure a free flow of trade in the region and fully implement WIPO Treaties.
The region should learn from the European Union, the world's largest common market, in how it protects software, digital content and e-commerce, as well as battles cyber crime.
The IP issue is growing in importance as social and economic infrastructures including health care and environmental issues are increasingly reliant on software,both nationally and globally.
"The questions that any government should ask is how well we are going to use IT and software to reduce those problems," said Holleyman.
Moreover, the recent announcement of the Creative Thailand initiative shows the value of Intellectual Property rights,as copyrighted products help to build innovation, boost the economy and increase the country's competitiveness internationally.
If Thailand can show it is successfully tackling software piracy, the benefits will be felt not only locally but also in terms of its global reputation.
This will make boost recognition for Thailand as an attractive investment destination more than mere advertising, as foreign investors will see strong Intellectual Property protection laws as an asset.
Holleyman concluded:"Although piracy is hard to deal with, it is possible Thailand can significantly reduce piracy rates in a short period and ensure that businesses use legitimate software.
"Some countries have already done this successfully. For example, Russia has reduced its piracy rate by 10 percent in two years, while Italy has reduced by more than 10 percent within one year.
"Even in a recession, I am optimistic that piracy will continue to decrease if the Government and businesses stay focused on the value of clean software."
Intel urges PM to boost rural web
ICT is helping the Government in its economic stimulus package by encouraging smarter spending, paving the future for Thailand in a competitive global environment, said Navin Shenoy,Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group and general manager Asia Pacific region, Intel Corporation.
Navin shared his view during a visit from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,during which he praised the stimulus package as a bold and progressive initiative, especially as it has an IT-centric focus in the area of education. Spending on computer usage has been increased,so that there is now a ratio of 20 students per computer, up from the previous average of 40 to 1.
Navin said the Government should consider investing in a nationwide digital infrastructure."Broadband is a basic utility of the 21st century and the future of Thai society and the economy depends on this because 1 percent of broadband penetration drives 1 percent of the GDP," he said. IT creates smarter infrastructure
The executive who used to work as technical assistant to Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, continued that IT can also help the government transform many business sectors.
For example, implementing a wireless network on the railways or modernising the energy distribution system would create a "smart grid" from where electricity waste could be monitored,encouraging consumers to be more efficient in their electric usage at home,bringing down energy consumption and easing the strain on the environment. This could also help modernise heath care services and public hospital facilities.
"I have seen the Chinese and US governments invest in an IT smart grid for health care and I sees opportunities here in Thailand as well," added Navin.Wi-Max crucial for rural development
The digital divide is another important aspect and further investment in IT can aid rural development, which is crucial for Thailand. Getting broadband into rural areas with Wi-Max (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology will help lower the cost of internet usage upcountry.
The National Telecommunication Commission of Thailand said it is important Thailand does not delay because Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have already implemented Wi-Max, while Vietnam and Indonesia are working on it.
Several countries offer funding and tax incentive to accelerate use of IT in rural areas. For example, China offers tax rebates to farmers who buy computers, while India has set a target to bring Internet access to 6,000 villages within three years.
Navin continued:"Intel invests in forms of equity in service operators in many countries like Malaysia, Japan,Russia and USA. There are many issues to consider, including government commitment, return on investment and size of the market.
"At this stage, Thailand's first priority should be to make frequency available and then open it to auction, with a vision to have five million broadband users by the end of 2010."ICT rebound back on track
The Vice President also anticipates that a recovery in the global economy and a more stable political environment in Thailand will boost confidence and encourage IT spending.
Over the next 12 months, many businesses are expected to renew their existing computers to reduce their manageability costs and increase security.
Navin said:"We think that 4 or 5 years is the optimal cycle for PCs because maintenance costs in the fifth year and beyond can hit $1,000(34,000 baht), which is more than the cost of buying a new computer.
"The laptop market in Thailand has grown 25 percent this year, which shows the continuing demand for computers and ICT despite economic difficulties."
Navin shared his view during a visit from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,during which he praised the stimulus package as a bold and progressive initiative, especially as it has an IT-centric focus in the area of education. Spending on computer usage has been increased,so that there is now a ratio of 20 students per computer, up from the previous average of 40 to 1.
Navin said the Government should consider investing in a nationwide digital infrastructure."Broadband is a basic utility of the 21st century and the future of Thai society and the economy depends on this because 1 percent of broadband penetration drives 1 percent of the GDP," he said. IT creates smarter infrastructure
The executive who used to work as technical assistant to Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, continued that IT can also help the government transform many business sectors.
For example, implementing a wireless network on the railways or modernising the energy distribution system would create a "smart grid" from where electricity waste could be monitored,encouraging consumers to be more efficient in their electric usage at home,bringing down energy consumption and easing the strain on the environment. This could also help modernise heath care services and public hospital facilities.
"I have seen the Chinese and US governments invest in an IT smart grid for health care and I sees opportunities here in Thailand as well," added Navin.Wi-Max crucial for rural development
The digital divide is another important aspect and further investment in IT can aid rural development, which is crucial for Thailand. Getting broadband into rural areas with Wi-Max (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology will help lower the cost of internet usage upcountry.
The National Telecommunication Commission of Thailand said it is important Thailand does not delay because Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have already implemented Wi-Max, while Vietnam and Indonesia are working on it.
Several countries offer funding and tax incentive to accelerate use of IT in rural areas. For example, China offers tax rebates to farmers who buy computers, while India has set a target to bring Internet access to 6,000 villages within three years.
Navin continued:"Intel invests in forms of equity in service operators in many countries like Malaysia, Japan,Russia and USA. There are many issues to consider, including government commitment, return on investment and size of the market.
"At this stage, Thailand's first priority should be to make frequency available and then open it to auction, with a vision to have five million broadband users by the end of 2010."ICT rebound back on track
The Vice President also anticipates that a recovery in the global economy and a more stable political environment in Thailand will boost confidence and encourage IT spending.
Over the next 12 months, many businesses are expected to renew their existing computers to reduce their manageability costs and increase security.
Navin said:"We think that 4 or 5 years is the optimal cycle for PCs because maintenance costs in the fifth year and beyond can hit $1,000(34,000 baht), which is more than the cost of buying a new computer.
"The laptop market in Thailand has grown 25 percent this year, which shows the continuing demand for computers and ICT despite economic difficulties."
Extra-long battery life
Acer used the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin to present a new laptop that features an extra-long battery life.
The Aspire Timeline 1810T offers over eight hours of unplugged operation in an 11.6 inch package, the manufacturer reports. The device is one of a group of computers outfitted with an ultra-low voltage processor that permits a comparably long battery life and a flat construction.
The Timeline 1810T is no more than 30 millimetres thick. The laptop weighs 1.4 kilograms, including the six cell battery, and offers up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive.
The Aspire Timeline 1810T offers over eight hours of unplugged operation in an 11.6 inch package, the manufacturer reports. The device is one of a group of computers outfitted with an ultra-low voltage processor that permits a comparably long battery life and a flat construction.
The Timeline 1810T is no more than 30 millimetres thick. The laptop weighs 1.4 kilograms, including the six cell battery, and offers up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive.
Plan to accelerate open source usage
The next three years will be a golden time for open source providers while users will have viable applications and certified Linux-Open Office users will help create an economic impact by reducing imported software with local related business worth at least 1.5 billion baht.
With the approval of economic stimulus package 2 to open source worth 180 million baht over the next three years,this will help to accelerate open source usage in Thailand, contributing between 1.2 to 1.5 billion baht, representing an increase of four to five times from the average 300 million baht each year, according to Dr Virach Sornlertlamvanich,Assistant Executive Director of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre.
The agency will push more aggressive mode expanding adoption of "Ecolonux"modification Linux operating system from Ubuntu in Thai context for bundling in local brand PCs which currently includes five companies - D Computer,SVOA, Synnex, IT Bakery and Powell.
Moreover, there is a plan to target some user groups through joint partnerships with education institutions.Starting with Silpakorn University which has expertise in open source 2D and 3D animation to train local businesses such as printing service companies, Maejo University in Chiang Mai will offer Learn Square, an open source learning system from Nectec.
Prince of Songkla University will focus on open source mobile development like Android and iPhone.
In addition, the agency will encourage more flagship open source business solutions. Apart from healthcare solution "Hospital OS", financial solutions also have potential.
Meanwhile, Nectec will develop local certified Linux operating system at administerial and users levels for both advanced and standard degrees and certified Open Office users to create open source career paths and reduce expenses from international certified as well as increase confidence from businesses for available human resources who can support open source usage.
It expects to have 4,000 local certified users within three years from the overall 27,000 participating trainees and 60 open source providers.
Paitoon Butri, Software Industry Promotion Agency's open-source software manager, said this Government fiscal year which started in September, the agency will get a 35 million baht budget to promote open source - up from 26 million baht last year.
The agency will allocate 25 million baht funding to develop Opensource in Enterprise Resource Planning by select Kernel from Compiere, Open ERP and Apache Open For Business (OFBiz) to customise for Thailand.
"This is not redundancy with existing market because it will address companies which have 50-100 million baht revenue per year but local Thai ERP today address companies with revenue less than 50 million baht and global ERP vendor focus customers who has revenue of one billion baht."
However, SIPA still not finalise whether it will use bidding or joint-venture model to allow local open source providers to develop this open source ERP as a National ERP to help small medium sized to use ERP solution to improve business productivity and open more opportunity in implementation service for open source providers.
SIPA also promotes Open Office and graphic tools like Inkscape, GIMP,Blender to specific user groups like the Thai Printing Association and the Federation of Thai Industries.
With the approval of economic stimulus package 2 to open source worth 180 million baht over the next three years,this will help to accelerate open source usage in Thailand, contributing between 1.2 to 1.5 billion baht, representing an increase of four to five times from the average 300 million baht each year, according to Dr Virach Sornlertlamvanich,Assistant Executive Director of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre.
The agency will push more aggressive mode expanding adoption of "Ecolonux"modification Linux operating system from Ubuntu in Thai context for bundling in local brand PCs which currently includes five companies - D Computer,SVOA, Synnex, IT Bakery and Powell.
Moreover, there is a plan to target some user groups through joint partnerships with education institutions.Starting with Silpakorn University which has expertise in open source 2D and 3D animation to train local businesses such as printing service companies, Maejo University in Chiang Mai will offer Learn Square, an open source learning system from Nectec.
Prince of Songkla University will focus on open source mobile development like Android and iPhone.
In addition, the agency will encourage more flagship open source business solutions. Apart from healthcare solution "Hospital OS", financial solutions also have potential.
Meanwhile, Nectec will develop local certified Linux operating system at administerial and users levels for both advanced and standard degrees and certified Open Office users to create open source career paths and reduce expenses from international certified as well as increase confidence from businesses for available human resources who can support open source usage.
It expects to have 4,000 local certified users within three years from the overall 27,000 participating trainees and 60 open source providers.
Paitoon Butri, Software Industry Promotion Agency's open-source software manager, said this Government fiscal year which started in September, the agency will get a 35 million baht budget to promote open source - up from 26 million baht last year.
The agency will allocate 25 million baht funding to develop Opensource in Enterprise Resource Planning by select Kernel from Compiere, Open ERP and Apache Open For Business (OFBiz) to customise for Thailand.
"This is not redundancy with existing market because it will address companies which have 50-100 million baht revenue per year but local Thai ERP today address companies with revenue less than 50 million baht and global ERP vendor focus customers who has revenue of one billion baht."
However, SIPA still not finalise whether it will use bidding or joint-venture model to allow local open source providers to develop this open source ERP as a National ERP to help small medium sized to use ERP solution to improve business productivity and open more opportunity in implementation service for open source providers.
SIPA also promotes Open Office and graphic tools like Inkscape, GIMP,Blender to specific user groups like the Thai Printing Association and the Federation of Thai Industries.
Sourcefire offers new services
Cyber security firm Sourcefire is moving security into virtualisation while preparing to offer a core base pricing model to capture new opportunities in cloud computing.
Seeing a green field market in the virtualisation environment driving the company's latest update Enterprise Threat Management solution which is coming out in the fourth quarter,"Sourcefire 3D System 4.9" can run on VMware Hypervisor, according to Tom McDonough, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sourcefire which is a Snort creator and a leader in cyber security.
The product will have the same functionality with a look and feel similar to the traditional product that run on Intel base platform and it can help lower customers' additional hardware costs. The price point will be lower by approximately 10-15 percent.
This can help business customers implement security as part of their virtualisation and cloud computing strategy.Moreover, it still maintains its unique advantage technology as a holistic solution that integrates Intrusion Prevention System, Real time Network Awareness and Real time User Awareness to reduce the total cost of ownership and increase productivity.
For example, one of big customers in Fortune 100 migrated from Snort open source, which was invented by Sourcefire's founder, to commercial product 3D solution which helped to reduce track events from 21 million down to 2,000 events and reduced the number of security people from nine to two people to allocate staff in other security areas.
This unique technology helped it grow faster in the IPS market by around 2.5 times. In a recent revenue announcement, the company reported growth of 28 percent compared with IPS market growth of 15-16 percent.
Meanwhile the company is in the process of offering a new pricing model called "Core base pricing" to charge depending on the number of core CPUs which will help to maximise benefits for customers. The new pricing model is an alternative to existing models which charge by line speed of the network.
"We see this as a new market. Currently, many companies focus on moving their applications on virtualisation computing but for security issues are still not in the top of their mind like in clientserver days when everyone moved applications out of mainframe until it caused security problems. This pricing model will make security go with the virtualisation environment,"McDonough said.
Mark Nakrop Niamnamtham, Managing Director for nForce Security, an exclusive Sourcefire distributor in Thailand, added that the company is in discussion with some Internet data centre providers as partners to security products under the new core base pricing model.
Seeing a green field market in the virtualisation environment driving the company's latest update Enterprise Threat Management solution which is coming out in the fourth quarter,"Sourcefire 3D System 4.9" can run on VMware Hypervisor, according to Tom McDonough, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sourcefire which is a Snort creator and a leader in cyber security.
The product will have the same functionality with a look and feel similar to the traditional product that run on Intel base platform and it can help lower customers' additional hardware costs. The price point will be lower by approximately 10-15 percent.
This can help business customers implement security as part of their virtualisation and cloud computing strategy.Moreover, it still maintains its unique advantage technology as a holistic solution that integrates Intrusion Prevention System, Real time Network Awareness and Real time User Awareness to reduce the total cost of ownership and increase productivity.
For example, one of big customers in Fortune 100 migrated from Snort open source, which was invented by Sourcefire's founder, to commercial product 3D solution which helped to reduce track events from 21 million down to 2,000 events and reduced the number of security people from nine to two people to allocate staff in other security areas.
This unique technology helped it grow faster in the IPS market by around 2.5 times. In a recent revenue announcement, the company reported growth of 28 percent compared with IPS market growth of 15-16 percent.
Meanwhile the company is in the process of offering a new pricing model called "Core base pricing" to charge depending on the number of core CPUs which will help to maximise benefits for customers. The new pricing model is an alternative to existing models which charge by line speed of the network.
"We see this as a new market. Currently, many companies focus on moving their applications on virtualisation computing but for security issues are still not in the top of their mind like in clientserver days when everyone moved applications out of mainframe until it caused security problems. This pricing model will make security go with the virtualisation environment,"McDonough said.
Mark Nakrop Niamnamtham, Managing Director for nForce Security, an exclusive Sourcefire distributor in Thailand, added that the company is in discussion with some Internet data centre providers as partners to security products under the new core base pricing model.
DELL TO BUY PEROT FOR $3.9 BN
Wants to expand beyond the PC business and compete more aggressively with rival HP
Dell Inc plans to buy technology-serives company Perot Systems Corp for about US$3.9 billion (Bt131.2 billion) as it tries to expand beyond the PC business and compete more agressively with Hewlett-Packard, which also recently picked up a tech-services company founded by H Ross Perot.
Dell said on Monday that it would offer $30 per share in cash for Perot Systems - a 68-per-cent premium over its closing price on Friday. Perot Systems' shares rose $11.69, or 65 per cent, to $29.60 in afternoon trading.
Dell shares fell 67 cents, or 4 per cent, to $16.01.
Former presidential candidate H Ross Perot Sr, now 79, serves as chairman emeritus of Perot Systems, which he founded in 1988.
He had already made a fortune from founding Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962 and selling the company 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 offering and diversify beyond hardware.
In a conference call with analysts, Dell's founder and CEO Michael Dell said the deal will serve as an "anchor" acquisition for a global information-technology services business.
Plano, Texas-based Perot Systems would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers in a wide range of sectors; about 48 per cent of its revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25 per cent from government. Its customers include the US Department of Homeland Security and the military. Last year Perot Systems earned $117 million on sales of $2.8 billion.
Dell's services business is more basic than those of its larger competitors; Perot Systems would add more lucrative consulting and systems-integration services to Dell's line-up.
"This would, at least from a product standpoint, make them definitely more competitive with HP and IBM," said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu. "It's a step in the right direction."
Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot System's customers, while Dell's broader services line may look more attractive to more customers. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
However, Dell's tech-services business would still be relatively small; EDS had revenue of $21 billion before HP bought it. IBM's services revenue was $59 billion last year.
Analysts have been expecting acquisitions from Round Rock, Texas-based Dell, which hired IBM's former mergers and acquisitions chief this year and has raised almost $1 billion by selling debt securities since March.
The company's revenue comes mainly from the hard-hit PC business, while competitors such as HP have a wider set of products and services. As a result Dell's profits have been slumping, down 23 per cent in the second quarter.
Following the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of January, Perot Systems would become Dell's service unit. Dell said it expects additional acquisitions to expand on the business but emphasised that it is looking to hold on to Perot management, including CEO Peter Altabef.
Ross Perot Jr, the chairman of Perot's board, will be considered for a director slot at Dell, the company said.
AT A GLANCE
- Dell said it would offer $30 per share in cash for Perot Systems - a 68% premium over its closing price on Friday. Perot System's shares rose $11.69, or 65%, to $29.60 in afternoon trading.
Dell shares fell 67 cents, or 4%, to $16.01.
- Perot Systems would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers in a wide range of sectors; about 48% of its revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25% from government.
- Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot Systems' customers, while Dell's broader services line may look more attractive to more customers. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
Dell Inc plans to buy technology-serives company Perot Systems Corp for about US$3.9 billion (Bt131.2 billion) as it tries to expand beyond the PC business and compete more agressively with Hewlett-Packard, which also recently picked up a tech-services company founded by H Ross Perot.
Dell said on Monday that it would offer $30 per share in cash for Perot Systems - a 68-per-cent premium over its closing price on Friday. Perot Systems' shares rose $11.69, or 65 per cent, to $29.60 in afternoon trading.
Dell shares fell 67 cents, or 4 per cent, to $16.01.
Former presidential candidate H Ross Perot Sr, now 79, serves as chairman emeritus of Perot Systems, which he founded in 1988.
He had already made a fortune from founding Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962 and selling the company 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 offering and diversify beyond hardware.
In a conference call with analysts, Dell's founder and CEO Michael Dell said the deal will serve as an "anchor" acquisition for a global information-technology services business.
Plano, Texas-based Perot Systems would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers in a wide range of sectors; about 48 per cent of its revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25 per cent from government. Its customers include the US Department of Homeland Security and the military. Last year Perot Systems earned $117 million on sales of $2.8 billion.
Dell's services business is more basic than those of its larger competitors; Perot Systems would add more lucrative consulting and systems-integration services to Dell's line-up.
"This would, at least from a product standpoint, make them definitely more competitive with HP and IBM," said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu. "It's a step in the right direction."
Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot System's customers, while Dell's broader services line may look more attractive to more customers. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
However, Dell's tech-services business would still be relatively small; EDS had revenue of $21 billion before HP bought it. IBM's services revenue was $59 billion last year.
Analysts have been expecting acquisitions from Round Rock, Texas-based Dell, which hired IBM's former mergers and acquisitions chief this year and has raised almost $1 billion by selling debt securities since March.
The company's revenue comes mainly from the hard-hit PC business, while competitors such as HP have a wider set of products and services. As a result Dell's profits have been slumping, down 23 per cent in the second quarter.
Following the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of January, Perot Systems would become Dell's service unit. Dell said it expects additional acquisitions to expand on the business but emphasised that it is looking to hold on to Perot management, including CEO Peter Altabef.
Ross Perot Jr, the chairman of Perot's board, will be considered for a director slot at Dell, the company said.
AT A GLANCE
- Dell said it would offer $30 per share in cash for Perot Systems - a 68% premium over its closing price on Friday. Perot System's shares rose $11.69, or 65%, to $29.60 in afternoon trading.
Dell shares fell 67 cents, or 4%, to $16.01.
- Perot Systems would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers in a wide range of sectors; about 48% of its revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25% from government.
- Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot Systems' customers, while Dell's broader services line may look more attractive to more customers. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
HP launches sixth server generation
Hewlett-Packard Thailand has launched its sixth generation of servers that for the first time brings enterprise class management to the SMB market in an easy to use, easy to understand way.
Ekkarat Klinbubpa, product marketing manager for industry standard servers at HP Thailand said the Proliant 100 series used to be aimed at competing with no-name, white-box servers at the SMB (small to medium business) end of the market and lacked the sophistication of the 300-series servers. However, with SMBs becoming more advanced and using more IT not just for back office processing but front office productivity advances, that segment now needs management features to keep the business going even when the CIO is out of town.
The G6 Proliant 100 series has three features that is not present in the typical white box commodity server: An easy setup CD, the Proliant On-board Administrator chip and SNMP support.
Most Thai people think they can do without a Setup CD, but when it comes to Servers, things can be a bit different from desktops. Most servers do not use SATA (Serial ATA), but SAS (serial attached SCSI) for storage and each vendor has its own drivers. Only half the users know how to press F6 at the right time in Windows Setup to install the driver.The rest spend three days fumbling before they give up and call Technical Support.With the easy setup CD and the Windows CD, all you do is fill in the fields and keep clicking next, he said.
Apart from easing the pain of setting up Windows Server and its drivers, the CD can be used to re-do RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks) groups when new drives are added or to wipe the machine totally before handing it over to someone else. It also lists support for each OS and version that HP officially supports. He said that in the enterprise space, the choice of OS can affect the warranty status of the server.
The second feature, the HP Proliant On-board Administration is what Ekkarat described as a ghost on your shoulder looking after your every move and taking control of you when needed.
It consists of the ILO 100(Integrated Lights Out) chip on the motherboard that is a small computer contained in itself with its own separate LAN port at the back of the server. By logging in, not only can a remote user power on and off a server, they can look at the system's vital signs, myriad of heat and voltage sensors (such as one temperature sensor each after each memory slot). The OA can also remote-control the system and even install a new OS remotely with the remote CD or USB drive attached over the Internet as if it was a local drive. It has text mode for going into the BIOS or Linux and can even capture and replay the boot screen to find any errors.
Most of the features are standard except the virtual graphical console and remote virtual media that costs extra.
Finally, the G6 Proliant 100 series now supports SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for the first time. Many small companies already use SNMP to control and log their network switches and router and thus are familiar and now they can monitor their servers with the same tools too.
Ekkarat said that IDC puts the total server market at around 8,000 units this year. HP Thailand is pinning its hopes on the public sector and the SMB market for a recovery as the rest of the economy is still weary about resuming spending.
Ekkarat Klinbubpa, product marketing manager for industry standard servers at HP Thailand said the Proliant 100 series used to be aimed at competing with no-name, white-box servers at the SMB (small to medium business) end of the market and lacked the sophistication of the 300-series servers. However, with SMBs becoming more advanced and using more IT not just for back office processing but front office productivity advances, that segment now needs management features to keep the business going even when the CIO is out of town.
The G6 Proliant 100 series has three features that is not present in the typical white box commodity server: An easy setup CD, the Proliant On-board Administrator chip and SNMP support.
Most Thai people think they can do without a Setup CD, but when it comes to Servers, things can be a bit different from desktops. Most servers do not use SATA (Serial ATA), but SAS (serial attached SCSI) for storage and each vendor has its own drivers. Only half the users know how to press F6 at the right time in Windows Setup to install the driver.The rest spend three days fumbling before they give up and call Technical Support.With the easy setup CD and the Windows CD, all you do is fill in the fields and keep clicking next, he said.
Apart from easing the pain of setting up Windows Server and its drivers, the CD can be used to re-do RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks) groups when new drives are added or to wipe the machine totally before handing it over to someone else. It also lists support for each OS and version that HP officially supports. He said that in the enterprise space, the choice of OS can affect the warranty status of the server.
The second feature, the HP Proliant On-board Administration is what Ekkarat described as a ghost on your shoulder looking after your every move and taking control of you when needed.
It consists of the ILO 100(Integrated Lights Out) chip on the motherboard that is a small computer contained in itself with its own separate LAN port at the back of the server. By logging in, not only can a remote user power on and off a server, they can look at the system's vital signs, myriad of heat and voltage sensors (such as one temperature sensor each after each memory slot). The OA can also remote-control the system and even install a new OS remotely with the remote CD or USB drive attached over the Internet as if it was a local drive. It has text mode for going into the BIOS or Linux and can even capture and replay the boot screen to find any errors.
Most of the features are standard except the virtual graphical console and remote virtual media that costs extra.
Finally, the G6 Proliant 100 series now supports SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for the first time. Many small companies already use SNMP to control and log their network switches and router and thus are familiar and now they can monitor their servers with the same tools too.
Ekkarat said that IDC puts the total server market at around 8,000 units this year. HP Thailand is pinning its hopes on the public sector and the SMB market for a recovery as the rest of the economy is still weary about resuming spending.
A picture speaks a thousand text-only search results?
Microsoft unveiled a twist on the Internet search experience last week with a new feature which allows web surfers to search using image galleries instead of text links.
Microsoft, which teamed up with Yahoo! in July in a bid to challenge Google,rolled out a beta version of the feature at the TechCrunch50 technology con-ference in San Francisco.
Microsoft senior vice president Yusuf Mehdi described "Visual Search", which is being built into the company's search engine Bing, as a "more graphical way to search and discover information".
"Visual Search" allows users to conduct certain searches faster than the traditional image search offered by rival Google and other search engines.
Microsoft said a study found that consumers can process results with images 20 percent faster than text-only results.
"It's like searching through a large online catalogue," Microsoft said.
The feature currently offers galleries in nearly 50 categories from consumer products to holidays to movies to music.
A search at bing.com/visualsearch for "digital cameras," for example, returns a gallery of thumbnails of digital cameras which can then be filtered by manufacturer or price.
A search for books displays an image gallery which can be refined with filters such as author or category.
Google is the overwhelming leader in a web search and advertising market which the research firm Forrester estimates will grow by 15 percent a year to more than 30 billion dollars in 2014 in the United States alone.
But with their tie-up announced in July, Microsoft and Yahoo! are hoping to steal market share - and advertising dollars - from Google.
Microsoft, which teamed up with Yahoo! in July in a bid to challenge Google,rolled out a beta version of the feature at the TechCrunch50 technology con-ference in San Francisco.
Microsoft senior vice president Yusuf Mehdi described "Visual Search", which is being built into the company's search engine Bing, as a "more graphical way to search and discover information".
"Visual Search" allows users to conduct certain searches faster than the traditional image search offered by rival Google and other search engines.
Microsoft said a study found that consumers can process results with images 20 percent faster than text-only results.
"It's like searching through a large online catalogue," Microsoft said.
The feature currently offers galleries in nearly 50 categories from consumer products to holidays to movies to music.
A search at bing.com/visualsearch for "digital cameras," for example, returns a gallery of thumbnails of digital cameras which can then be filtered by manufacturer or price.
A search for books displays an image gallery which can be refined with filters such as author or category.
Google is the overwhelming leader in a web search and advertising market which the research firm Forrester estimates will grow by 15 percent a year to more than 30 billion dollars in 2014 in the United States alone.
But with their tie-up announced in July, Microsoft and Yahoo! are hoping to steal market share - and advertising dollars - from Google.
Web users to help digitise faded books
Google has acquired a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off that seeks to cut down on spam and fraud at websites while digitising books.
ReCAPTCHA offers simple word puzzles that users must solve when registering at a website or completing an online purchase.
Computers can't decipher the twisted letters and numbers, ensuring that real people and not automated programs are at the keyboard.
Unlike other word puzzles, however,ReCAPTCHA's text comes from actual books, letting the system create a digitised version in the process.
Google Inc is already behind a major project to digitise books and put them online, mostly by scanning pages and using optical character recognition, or OCR, to make the texts searchable.
OCR doesn't always work on text that is older, faded or distorted. In such cases,often the only way to digitise the works is to manually type them in.
ReCAPTCHA provides an alternative.Snippets that the computer doesn't recognize are split up into single words that can be used as human tests at sites all over the Internet.
The ReCAPTCHA system reassembles the text of the book from those responses.
Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Luis von Ahn, who developed the tool and launched the ReCAPTCHA company in 2008 said:"From the start,people assumed the project was connected to Google, so it only makes sense that ReCAPTCHA Inc ultimately would find a home within Google."
ReCAPTCHA offers simple word puzzles that users must solve when registering at a website or completing an online purchase.
Computers can't decipher the twisted letters and numbers, ensuring that real people and not automated programs are at the keyboard.
Unlike other word puzzles, however,ReCAPTCHA's text comes from actual books, letting the system create a digitised version in the process.
Google Inc is already behind a major project to digitise books and put them online, mostly by scanning pages and using optical character recognition, or OCR, to make the texts searchable.
OCR doesn't always work on text that is older, faded or distorted. In such cases,often the only way to digitise the works is to manually type them in.
ReCAPTCHA provides an alternative.Snippets that the computer doesn't recognize are split up into single words that can be used as human tests at sites all over the Internet.
The ReCAPTCHA system reassembles the text of the book from those responses.
Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Luis von Ahn, who developed the tool and launched the ReCAPTCHA company in 2008 said:"From the start,people assumed the project was connected to Google, so it only makes sense that ReCAPTCHA Inc ultimately would find a home within Google."
Digitising Thailand's cultural attractions
System aims to ease access to treasures and boost tourism, reports Sasiwimon Boonruang
This will empower villagers to generate revenue
Wandering through cultural attractions and museums will become more rewarding once you are able to view items and locations over the web to aid trip-planning.
The Culture Ministry and Science and Technology Ministry have collaborated to digitise cultural and art content to enhance access to and preservation of cultural heritage resources.
Ayutthaya is the first province in which the Culture Ministry has integrated historical information and presented it to visitors, in both still photographs and videos.
Visitors can also look around the surrounding area via geographical information system (GIS) over the Internet, by computer or mobile phone. The website will be launched soon.
At the Chao Sam Praya museum, in stead of receiving a conventional paper ticket, visitors will get a wristband with radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to identify the registered visitors.
The RFID-embedded wristband also guides the visitors by presenting information on exhibits and proposing further interesting visitor destinations in the area.
The province can keep a database of which tourist destinations these people have visited, as well as the route they used to get there.
"This information will benefit the province as it will be able to provide information and promote destinations to the prospective visitors," said Virach Sornlertlamvanich, assistant executive director of National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec).
For the Museum, RFID has been used to systematically manage the items in the museum so that the position of each visitor can be identified so as to keep track of what they have and have not yet seen, as well as to help prevent the loss of any items or exhibits.
Culture Ministry deputy permanent secretary Somchai Seanglai said there are some 120,000 digital files of the cultural and art content which the ministry will transfer to video clips, with Nectec's help.
The digital files have been developed and added to Google Maps of popular places in Ayutthaya province, such as Wat Yai Chaimongkol.
"We will collect places of national and religious importance, along with descriptions of what styles of architecture they are, and the Buddha styles," Somchai said.
Collecting information for the pilot project has taken three months.
The Culture Ministry has added to the digital archives system information on Khon, the Thai classical dance.
The software program, developed by Chulalongkorn University, has simulated the Khon costume to help shortcut the production process, as the designer and tailors can view the costume model before choosing materials, patterns and styles according to their requirements.
This reduces the time and total cost of tailoring as they can reduce material waste.
It is therefore anticipated that the software program will save the Fine Art Department a great deal of money.
The museum management system supports the maintenance and borrowing system of the Khon costume, reducing deterioration and the risk of loss or theft.
The digital archives system also promotes sustainable education and development of Khon.
The Khon knowledge dissemination via computer network should ease educational access as the persons and experts involved with the performance can collect and develop it more efficiently, while the public and academics can use the same information for reference.
While Ayutthaya Historical Park is the highlight of Ayutthaya, the living culture of Suphan Buri will be the next province to benefit from the digitisation of its arts and cultural content.
Suphan Buri has the most complete mapping system in Thailand, as the province has already collected its data in a co-ordinates system, the deputy permanent secretary said, noting that the its premier visitor attractions include Wat Pra Noan and Wat Pai Rong Wua.
The Culture Ministry will integrate cultural collections of digitised resources and improve access for the wider public.
"This will also empower the villagers and small community groups to share their local wisdom and heritage, such as the design patterns of clothes, and from this they can generate revenue due to tourism, homestays and the sale of handicrafts," Somchai said.
He added that this can help the communities to further develop businesses,for example in the visual arts, by giving artists an opportunity to showcase their works in an e-gallery or e-marketplace.
"There will be information of the local performance such as Li-Kae , the musical folk drama and Lam-Tad , the performing art, with information and contact details of the bands," Somchai said, noting that the current target audience is Thai, although the ministry plans to translate the content into English and Chinese.
Citing the Tourism Authority of Thailand, he said only 24 percent of foreign tourists visit the kingdom for cultural purposes, so this initiative intends to encourage greater numbers of cultural tourists to the country.
He noted that the Route E-sarn (the Northeastern course) promotion, which features World Heritage locations such as Phu Phrabat Historical Park in Udon Thani, will be the next project for digital archive.
In addition, the ministry will present the living culture of eight Northern provinces including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,Lampang, Lamphun, Phayao, Phrae,Nan and Mae Hong Son and historical and religious places.
"It takes time for the process of digitising data and most of the budget has gone towards the data collection," he said.
Virach said Nectec has set up the infrastructure and web portal for communities to collect photographs, video files, captions and keywords for searching.
"We have designed the system to allows users, data owners and communities to simply deliver the data based on the social networking pattern," he said.
The community database is comparable with a live encyclopedia that promotes cultural traditions, local wisdom and tourism and also presents crucial information about the communities in both of quantitative and comparative styles.
Nectec has also developed the "Fiesta on Mobile" application that provides information on Thai festivals and other cultural events to users via mobile phone.
The application helps users to search for information in various modes, such as automatic search, search with picture and search with GPS.
The application can also define the locations and help guide users to the events.
This information service will cover all five regions of Thailand, with Ayutthaya being the pilot project which is now is at the data-testing stage.
"There are lists of popular tourist attractions such as Wat Yai Chaimongkol and local museums, as Nectec has developed the application to show tourists the top-hit spots by ranking," said Virach.
All this technology will be showcased at Nectec's Annual Conference and Exhibition during September 23-25 at Science Park in Phatum Thani.
According to Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, Science and Technology minister, the ultimate goal of the cooperative venture is to use science and technology capabilities as tools to enable people to easily access knowledge and information resources.
It also strengthens the education,economic and social aspects of the country, she said.
Culture minister Teera Slukpetch said the cultural content digitisation is a key strategy of the ministry in adding value to the cultural capital, as it has supported the creative economy and promoted cultural tourism at national and international level.
The cultural information centre will collect the knowledge and wisdom of the rural communities and villages, and turn it into educational and economic resources.
Based on the collaboration for cultural capital development, science and technology has been applied to public services such as libraries, civic halls,archeological sites, museums, historical parks, contemporary cultural arts, Thai performing arts and musical dance.
This will empower villagers to generate revenue
Wandering through cultural attractions and museums will become more rewarding once you are able to view items and locations over the web to aid trip-planning.
The Culture Ministry and Science and Technology Ministry have collaborated to digitise cultural and art content to enhance access to and preservation of cultural heritage resources.
Ayutthaya is the first province in which the Culture Ministry has integrated historical information and presented it to visitors, in both still photographs and videos.
Visitors can also look around the surrounding area via geographical information system (GIS) over the Internet, by computer or mobile phone. The website will be launched soon.
At the Chao Sam Praya museum, in stead of receiving a conventional paper ticket, visitors will get a wristband with radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to identify the registered visitors.
The RFID-embedded wristband also guides the visitors by presenting information on exhibits and proposing further interesting visitor destinations in the area.
The province can keep a database of which tourist destinations these people have visited, as well as the route they used to get there.
"This information will benefit the province as it will be able to provide information and promote destinations to the prospective visitors," said Virach Sornlertlamvanich, assistant executive director of National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec).
For the Museum, RFID has been used to systematically manage the items in the museum so that the position of each visitor can be identified so as to keep track of what they have and have not yet seen, as well as to help prevent the loss of any items or exhibits.
Culture Ministry deputy permanent secretary Somchai Seanglai said there are some 120,000 digital files of the cultural and art content which the ministry will transfer to video clips, with Nectec's help.
The digital files have been developed and added to Google Maps of popular places in Ayutthaya province, such as Wat Yai Chaimongkol.
"We will collect places of national and religious importance, along with descriptions of what styles of architecture they are, and the Buddha styles," Somchai said.
Collecting information for the pilot project has taken three months.
The Culture Ministry has added to the digital archives system information on Khon, the Thai classical dance.
The software program, developed by Chulalongkorn University, has simulated the Khon costume to help shortcut the production process, as the designer and tailors can view the costume model before choosing materials, patterns and styles according to their requirements.
This reduces the time and total cost of tailoring as they can reduce material waste.
It is therefore anticipated that the software program will save the Fine Art Department a great deal of money.
The museum management system supports the maintenance and borrowing system of the Khon costume, reducing deterioration and the risk of loss or theft.
The digital archives system also promotes sustainable education and development of Khon.
The Khon knowledge dissemination via computer network should ease educational access as the persons and experts involved with the performance can collect and develop it more efficiently, while the public and academics can use the same information for reference.
While Ayutthaya Historical Park is the highlight of Ayutthaya, the living culture of Suphan Buri will be the next province to benefit from the digitisation of its arts and cultural content.
Suphan Buri has the most complete mapping system in Thailand, as the province has already collected its data in a co-ordinates system, the deputy permanent secretary said, noting that the its premier visitor attractions include Wat Pra Noan and Wat Pai Rong Wua.
The Culture Ministry will integrate cultural collections of digitised resources and improve access for the wider public.
"This will also empower the villagers and small community groups to share their local wisdom and heritage, such as the design patterns of clothes, and from this they can generate revenue due to tourism, homestays and the sale of handicrafts," Somchai said.
He added that this can help the communities to further develop businesses,for example in the visual arts, by giving artists an opportunity to showcase their works in an e-gallery or e-marketplace.
"There will be information of the local performance such as Li-Kae , the musical folk drama and Lam-Tad , the performing art, with information and contact details of the bands," Somchai said, noting that the current target audience is Thai, although the ministry plans to translate the content into English and Chinese.
Citing the Tourism Authority of Thailand, he said only 24 percent of foreign tourists visit the kingdom for cultural purposes, so this initiative intends to encourage greater numbers of cultural tourists to the country.
He noted that the Route E-sarn (the Northeastern course) promotion, which features World Heritage locations such as Phu Phrabat Historical Park in Udon Thani, will be the next project for digital archive.
In addition, the ministry will present the living culture of eight Northern provinces including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,Lampang, Lamphun, Phayao, Phrae,Nan and Mae Hong Son and historical and religious places.
"It takes time for the process of digitising data and most of the budget has gone towards the data collection," he said.
Virach said Nectec has set up the infrastructure and web portal for communities to collect photographs, video files, captions and keywords for searching.
"We have designed the system to allows users, data owners and communities to simply deliver the data based on the social networking pattern," he said.
The community database is comparable with a live encyclopedia that promotes cultural traditions, local wisdom and tourism and also presents crucial information about the communities in both of quantitative and comparative styles.
Nectec has also developed the "Fiesta on Mobile" application that provides information on Thai festivals and other cultural events to users via mobile phone.
The application helps users to search for information in various modes, such as automatic search, search with picture and search with GPS.
The application can also define the locations and help guide users to the events.
This information service will cover all five regions of Thailand, with Ayutthaya being the pilot project which is now is at the data-testing stage.
"There are lists of popular tourist attractions such as Wat Yai Chaimongkol and local museums, as Nectec has developed the application to show tourists the top-hit spots by ranking," said Virach.
All this technology will be showcased at Nectec's Annual Conference and Exhibition during September 23-25 at Science Park in Phatum Thani.
According to Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, Science and Technology minister, the ultimate goal of the cooperative venture is to use science and technology capabilities as tools to enable people to easily access knowledge and information resources.
It also strengthens the education,economic and social aspects of the country, she said.
Culture minister Teera Slukpetch said the cultural content digitisation is a key strategy of the ministry in adding value to the cultural capital, as it has supported the creative economy and promoted cultural tourism at national and international level.
The cultural information centre will collect the knowledge and wisdom of the rural communities and villages, and turn it into educational and economic resources.
Based on the collaboration for cultural capital development, science and technology has been applied to public services such as libraries, civic halls,archeological sites, museums, historical parks, contemporary cultural arts, Thai performing arts and musical dance.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
INTEL'S ADVICE FOR FOSTERING GROWTH IN FIELD OF ICT
Giant US-based chipmaker Intel sent a senior executive to meet Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last week, to urge the Thai government to pay more attention to the improvement of information-and communications-technology education, digital-infrastructure investment and spending on WiMax to bridge the country's digital divide.
Navin Shenoy, general manger for the Asia-Pacific, proposed the expenditure be sourced from the Thai Khemkhaeng project.
He said the government should invest "smartly" in education to allow children throughout the country to have equal access to ICT, to enhance their learning experience.
An improvement in the national digital infrastructure would help to bridge the digital divide by giving people living in rural areas an equal chance to access knowledge.
Shenoy said WiMax, short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, was a technology suitable for current investment that would help Thailand to move forward quickly.
He said the government's new infrastructure investment should include investment in ICT infrastructure at the same time.
Thailand could also benefit from lower WiMax-investment costs because many countries in the region have been investing in the technology, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. This will bring the cost of WiMax infrastructure and equiopment down dramatically, he said.
"Rural broadband is a fundamental need for the country's improvement as a whole, and WiMax can play a key role in bringing broadband to the rural areas of Thailand with effective investment," Shenoy said.
However, to make rural broadband a reality, the government first had to make the WiMax spectrum available, with a clear directive. Then, private organisations could build business plans.
"WiMax could be a key factor to drive an increase in Thailand's broadband penetration rate. Every 1 per cent of broadbank penetration equals one per cent of gross-domestic-product growth. Broadband will deliver the utilities [services] that everyone deserves," Shenoy said, adding that the country's economy will be larger if a WiMax infrastructure is laid down throughout rural areas.
"There is an opportunity gap upcountry, and you can see it in the fact the most PC growth is upcountry," he said.
Shenoy suggested that the Thai government could play an important role in making a rural broadband network available in the not-too-distant future by introducing policies, tax incentives and government purchases.
"The availability of broadband infrastructure both in the cities and rural areas would improve Thailand's eduction by giving students equal access to ICT, would improve the country's competitiveness and bridge the digital divide."
To get things moving, Intel has launched a mission it calls "5 by 10", aimed at pushing Thailand to achieve 5 million broadband ports by the end of next year. That goal is consistent with the government's goal to increase the PC penetration rate for students from 40:1 to 20:1 in the next three years.
Shenoy said Intel would support the government's investments with its knowledge, experience and technology transfer. It is not yet committed to any financial investments.
To date, Intel Capital has invested in WiMax in four Asia-Pacitic countries: Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. Its investment totals US$ 20 million to $50 million (Bt676 million to Bt1.69 billion).
Navin Shenoy, general manger for the Asia-Pacific, proposed the expenditure be sourced from the Thai Khemkhaeng project.
He said the government should invest "smartly" in education to allow children throughout the country to have equal access to ICT, to enhance their learning experience.
An improvement in the national digital infrastructure would help to bridge the digital divide by giving people living in rural areas an equal chance to access knowledge.
Shenoy said WiMax, short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, was a technology suitable for current investment that would help Thailand to move forward quickly.
He said the government's new infrastructure investment should include investment in ICT infrastructure at the same time.
Thailand could also benefit from lower WiMax-investment costs because many countries in the region have been investing in the technology, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. This will bring the cost of WiMax infrastructure and equiopment down dramatically, he said.
"Rural broadband is a fundamental need for the country's improvement as a whole, and WiMax can play a key role in bringing broadband to the rural areas of Thailand with effective investment," Shenoy said.
However, to make rural broadband a reality, the government first had to make the WiMax spectrum available, with a clear directive. Then, private organisations could build business plans.
"WiMax could be a key factor to drive an increase in Thailand's broadband penetration rate. Every 1 per cent of broadbank penetration equals one per cent of gross-domestic-product growth. Broadband will deliver the utilities [services] that everyone deserves," Shenoy said, adding that the country's economy will be larger if a WiMax infrastructure is laid down throughout rural areas.
"There is an opportunity gap upcountry, and you can see it in the fact the most PC growth is upcountry," he said.
Shenoy suggested that the Thai government could play an important role in making a rural broadband network available in the not-too-distant future by introducing policies, tax incentives and government purchases.
"The availability of broadband infrastructure both in the cities and rural areas would improve Thailand's eduction by giving students equal access to ICT, would improve the country's competitiveness and bridge the digital divide."
To get things moving, Intel has launched a mission it calls "5 by 10", aimed at pushing Thailand to achieve 5 million broadband ports by the end of next year. That goal is consistent with the government's goal to increase the PC penetration rate for students from 40:1 to 20:1 in the next three years.
Shenoy said Intel would support the government's investments with its knowledge, experience and technology transfer. It is not yet committed to any financial investments.
To date, Intel Capital has invested in WiMax in four Asia-Pacitic countries: Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. Its investment totals US$ 20 million to $50 million (Bt676 million to Bt1.69 billion).
Accurate reading with IBM
Students may find reading lessons more enjoyable than before as IBM Thailand recently launched an online web-based reading programme,named "Reading Companion".
The company has granted the programme to two schools: Chulalongkorn University Demonstration (CUD) Elementary School and Kasetsart University Laboratory School Center for Educational Research and Development (KUS).
For Thais to be successful at the international level, it is important that they master their English-language skills, according to Thanwa Laohasiriwong, country general manager at IBM Thailand.However, many Thais are still facing the English-language barrier. This has led to the company initiating the use of its technology to advance the oral communicative excellence of Thai students. Features
"Reading Companion" is an online virtual library, which currently offers over 200 books online. Users can read the reading materials aloud into the microphone and the programme will provide immediate audio comments on the accuracy of the pronunciation via its proprietary speech-recognition technology.
Accurate readers receive positive reinforcement while readers who have difficulties will be provided with gentle reminders and corrections and are encouraged to read again. Readers can also listen to reading samples of the texts.
As it is a online programme, users can access the programme at any time and place. All that is needed is an internet connection and a headset.
The programme also enables teachers to create and add their own content to the library. It also generates an evaluation report on each reader's progress on the website for teachers and students to follow up on progress and achievements. Pilot schools
"Initially, we will use the programme in Prathom 5 and 6(Grades 5 and 6) as a free elective course. Later, the application will be expanded to Prathom 3 and 4 students (Grades 3 and 4)," commented Assoc Prof Supranee Jiranarong,principal of CUD Elementary School.
The programme will also be used by students who have difficulties in English reading and pronunciation, as well as by the teachers themselves, Prof Supranee added.
"This is an interesting programme because after we read aloud, the system will respond back immediately. This is like an immediate evaluation, which students really like, unlike other assignments where teachers have to spend days checking the answers," she said.
Assoc Prof Dr Daranee Utairatanakit,principle of KUS, said the programme will help students with pronunciation and sentence structure.
"Although the programme does not provide comprehension features, students can hear correct pronunciations and see proper sentence structures. By repeating phrases while reading and learning pronunciation, students will create their own learning process, which they can apply to other lessons," Prof Daranee added.
"Today, we encourage students to take a self-learning approach. This programme will inculcate more confidence in students to pursue their education through self-learning and to spur them to seek knowledge by themselves," she continued.
KUS will apply the programme to gifted, average and weak students and conduct research on how the programme contributes to academic success among these three student groups. Teachers who seek to improve their English are also welcome to use the programme,according to Prof Daranee.
IBM invites other schools to apply to participate in the programme.
According to On-uma V. Rerkpattanapipat, IBM Thailand's country mar-keting and communications manager,the approved schools are required to put the programme into real use, and the company conducts an evaluation exercise every six months. Prospective schools that are interested to take part in the programme would need to have a sound lab and teachers with some English and computer skills.
Schools that are interested in participating in IBM's 'Reading Companion' project are invited to contact IBM Thailand at 02-273-4633 or for more information, visit www.readingcompanion.org.
The company has granted the programme to two schools: Chulalongkorn University Demonstration (CUD) Elementary School and Kasetsart University Laboratory School Center for Educational Research and Development (KUS).
For Thais to be successful at the international level, it is important that they master their English-language skills, according to Thanwa Laohasiriwong, country general manager at IBM Thailand.However, many Thais are still facing the English-language barrier. This has led to the company initiating the use of its technology to advance the oral communicative excellence of Thai students. Features
"Reading Companion" is an online virtual library, which currently offers over 200 books online. Users can read the reading materials aloud into the microphone and the programme will provide immediate audio comments on the accuracy of the pronunciation via its proprietary speech-recognition technology.
Accurate readers receive positive reinforcement while readers who have difficulties will be provided with gentle reminders and corrections and are encouraged to read again. Readers can also listen to reading samples of the texts.
As it is a online programme, users can access the programme at any time and place. All that is needed is an internet connection and a headset.
The programme also enables teachers to create and add their own content to the library. It also generates an evaluation report on each reader's progress on the website for teachers and students to follow up on progress and achievements. Pilot schools
"Initially, we will use the programme in Prathom 5 and 6(Grades 5 and 6) as a free elective course. Later, the application will be expanded to Prathom 3 and 4 students (Grades 3 and 4)," commented Assoc Prof Supranee Jiranarong,principal of CUD Elementary School.
The programme will also be used by students who have difficulties in English reading and pronunciation, as well as by the teachers themselves, Prof Supranee added.
"This is an interesting programme because after we read aloud, the system will respond back immediately. This is like an immediate evaluation, which students really like, unlike other assignments where teachers have to spend days checking the answers," she said.
Assoc Prof Dr Daranee Utairatanakit,principle of KUS, said the programme will help students with pronunciation and sentence structure.
"Although the programme does not provide comprehension features, students can hear correct pronunciations and see proper sentence structures. By repeating phrases while reading and learning pronunciation, students will create their own learning process, which they can apply to other lessons," Prof Daranee added.
"Today, we encourage students to take a self-learning approach. This programme will inculcate more confidence in students to pursue their education through self-learning and to spur them to seek knowledge by themselves," she continued.
KUS will apply the programme to gifted, average and weak students and conduct research on how the programme contributes to academic success among these three student groups. Teachers who seek to improve their English are also welcome to use the programme,according to Prof Daranee.
IBM invites other schools to apply to participate in the programme.
According to On-uma V. Rerkpattanapipat, IBM Thailand's country mar-keting and communications manager,the approved schools are required to put the programme into real use, and the company conducts an evaluation exercise every six months. Prospective schools that are interested to take part in the programme would need to have a sound lab and teachers with some English and computer skills.
Schools that are interested in participating in IBM's 'Reading Companion' project are invited to contact IBM Thailand at 02-273-4633 or for more information, visit www.readingcompanion.org.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A HERO'S WELCOME
The latest offering from HTC, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of portable devices that's going from strength to strength, is the Hero smartphone. It's the third in the company's A Series, and is a big jump from the recent Dream and Magic (which it replaces) models in terms of design - both internally and externally. But can it rival the iPhone and the Palm Pre in the Thai smartphone market? Let's take a closer look.
Visually, the model is instantly appealing with its chiselled clean lines and bevelled edges. It appears modern, stylish and durable; quite a jump from previous HTC models. The distinguishing feature is the angled base, or "chin", which has drawn both criticism and praise from gadget fondlers worldwide. While ruining the contoured flatness of the phone, it also protects the screen and tracking ball from scratching when you drop the phone or place it "flat" on its face. It also enables the phone to nestle nicely in the palm of your hand, and its robust 135g gives an overall feeling of strength.
In terms of usability, the dimensions of the model enable single-handed operation. However, bad positioning of the back and search buttons will give right-handers thumb cramps or worse. The four buttons across the top of the chin are well placed, but could be a little bigger. Also on the chin is the slightly undersized but effective track ball that flashes nicely when you receive a call or text message.
Feature-wise, the impressive 3.2-inch, 320x480 HVGA screen has an oleophobic coating, the same as its iPhone 3GS rival, that deters fingerprint smudging. It is also nicely sensitive, requiring only a light touch to activate. Although it boasts five megapixels, the camera takes dull and grainy photos, and the track ball works as a slippery shutter button. The speaker is adequate for a phone of this level, but falls short of the Nokia N97's speaker, although - finally - a 3.5mm headphone jack is included. The 1,350mAh battery requires daily charging without excessive usage - a similar performance to the iPhone 3GS but worse than the Palm Pre after battery tweaks.
Inside, the specs of the Hero are almost the same as those of the model it replaces - the big difference is the software upgrade. HTC has stayed committed to open source software and has come up with Android 1.5, which it calls HTC Sense. The new and vastly improved operating system supports Adobe Flash and is compatible with social networks - namely Facebook, Twitter and Flickr - which are well integrated into the software and multimedia features of the phone. The keyboard is easy to use in landscape mode, and the predictive text function makes typing and web browsing very manageable, however, users must open and close the keyboard themselves. Searching for contacts is fast and intuitive, and the widgets are easy to manage and use, especially the toggle controls for network connectivity, which gets a big tick. The seven-panel homescreen might perhaps be a little excessive with the hardware limitations, but time will tell, as a firmware update has been promised. Another aspect that has been thrown around is the lag issue, which was apparent in the demo model, but others have reported much less lag.
Overall, the HTC Hero is a wake-up call to major phone manufacturers who have enjoyed an oligopoly on the market for too long. The battle for phone operating systems is heating up, and Apple has traditionally dominated this with its iPhone software. But as the Android OS draws level, only the hardware in the models of the other manufacturers such as HTC holds them back now. With better hardware specs, the Hero could have gone ahead of the pack here, but it's still a strong sign of things to come from the HTC camp.
The HTC Hero, priced at 22,900 baht, is available from Hardware House, Pantip Plaza, Phetchaburi Road, call 02-685-8936.
Visually, the model is instantly appealing with its chiselled clean lines and bevelled edges. It appears modern, stylish and durable; quite a jump from previous HTC models. The distinguishing feature is the angled base, or "chin", which has drawn both criticism and praise from gadget fondlers worldwide. While ruining the contoured flatness of the phone, it also protects the screen and tracking ball from scratching when you drop the phone or place it "flat" on its face. It also enables the phone to nestle nicely in the palm of your hand, and its robust 135g gives an overall feeling of strength.
In terms of usability, the dimensions of the model enable single-handed operation. However, bad positioning of the back and search buttons will give right-handers thumb cramps or worse. The four buttons across the top of the chin are well placed, but could be a little bigger. Also on the chin is the slightly undersized but effective track ball that flashes nicely when you receive a call or text message.
Feature-wise, the impressive 3.2-inch, 320x480 HVGA screen has an oleophobic coating, the same as its iPhone 3GS rival, that deters fingerprint smudging. It is also nicely sensitive, requiring only a light touch to activate. Although it boasts five megapixels, the camera takes dull and grainy photos, and the track ball works as a slippery shutter button. The speaker is adequate for a phone of this level, but falls short of the Nokia N97's speaker, although - finally - a 3.5mm headphone jack is included. The 1,350mAh battery requires daily charging without excessive usage - a similar performance to the iPhone 3GS but worse than the Palm Pre after battery tweaks.
Inside, the specs of the Hero are almost the same as those of the model it replaces - the big difference is the software upgrade. HTC has stayed committed to open source software and has come up with Android 1.5, which it calls HTC Sense. The new and vastly improved operating system supports Adobe Flash and is compatible with social networks - namely Facebook, Twitter and Flickr - which are well integrated into the software and multimedia features of the phone. The keyboard is easy to use in landscape mode, and the predictive text function makes typing and web browsing very manageable, however, users must open and close the keyboard themselves. Searching for contacts is fast and intuitive, and the widgets are easy to manage and use, especially the toggle controls for network connectivity, which gets a big tick. The seven-panel homescreen might perhaps be a little excessive with the hardware limitations, but time will tell, as a firmware update has been promised. Another aspect that has been thrown around is the lag issue, which was apparent in the demo model, but others have reported much less lag.
Overall, the HTC Hero is a wake-up call to major phone manufacturers who have enjoyed an oligopoly on the market for too long. The battle for phone operating systems is heating up, and Apple has traditionally dominated this with its iPhone software. But as the Android OS draws level, only the hardware in the models of the other manufacturers such as HTC holds them back now. With better hardware specs, the Hero could have gone ahead of the pack here, but it's still a strong sign of things to come from the HTC camp.
The HTC Hero, priced at 22,900 baht, is available from Hardware House, Pantip Plaza, Phetchaburi Road, call 02-685-8936.
WII GOES TO COLLEGE, GRADUATES
Imagine a world in which college students can play Wii Fit and receive course credit for it. If you're enrolled at the University of Houston in the US state of Texas, you don't have to imagine it. You can do it.
Chuck Layne is the forward-thinking chairman of the university's health-and-human-performance department who was partly responsible for brianstorming the idea of introducing Wii Fit as part of the elective physical-education curriculum.
It made sense, he says, considering the campus' diversity and the department's affinity for using cutting-edge technology.
"About five years ago we began to add a number of non-traditional physical-activity courses, such as tai chi and judo, because we have a lot of people here who didn't grow up playing basketball or tennis or volleyball.
"Since they're electives, we made the decision to make it more customer-friendly."
The innovative classes have been popular, but when Layne heard about the Wii Fit, he thought it would be - well - a good fit for the department.
"It made sense, especially for people who aren't normally into exercise," he says.
Layne says the for-credit pilot course, which he believes is the first of its kind, could be a gateway exercise programme for those who feel uncomfortable in a traditional class setting or uneasy about trying something new, like yoga.
Depending on the programme, the Wii can be a good workout, elevating the heart rate and producing a sweat.
A racquetball court was converted into a Wii studio with 10 systems that can be played simultaneously. The class filled up in who days despite it not being on the course schedule (it was conceived too late) and having no advertising.
After three weeks, Layne says, student feedback is positive, and estimates that about half probably had some Wii Fit experience before taking this class. The class also inclused course work on nutrition and exercise.
One thing Layne particularly likes about the Wii Fit is its ability to track things such as physical activity and body-mass index, making users more aware of their progress.
Layne and his colleagues are already eyeing the programme as a source for research studies, and he's thaning of other applications as well, such as having families exercise together.
"There's no reason why we can't use the studio almost all day. We're hoping the students have a positive experience with it."
Chuck Layne is the forward-thinking chairman of the university's health-and-human-performance department who was partly responsible for brianstorming the idea of introducing Wii Fit as part of the elective physical-education curriculum.
It made sense, he says, considering the campus' diversity and the department's affinity for using cutting-edge technology.
"About five years ago we began to add a number of non-traditional physical-activity courses, such as tai chi and judo, because we have a lot of people here who didn't grow up playing basketball or tennis or volleyball.
"Since they're electives, we made the decision to make it more customer-friendly."
The innovative classes have been popular, but when Layne heard about the Wii Fit, he thought it would be - well - a good fit for the department.
"It made sense, especially for people who aren't normally into exercise," he says.
Layne says the for-credit pilot course, which he believes is the first of its kind, could be a gateway exercise programme for those who feel uncomfortable in a traditional class setting or uneasy about trying something new, like yoga.
Depending on the programme, the Wii can be a good workout, elevating the heart rate and producing a sweat.
A racquetball court was converted into a Wii studio with 10 systems that can be played simultaneously. The class filled up in who days despite it not being on the course schedule (it was conceived too late) and having no advertising.
After three weeks, Layne says, student feedback is positive, and estimates that about half probably had some Wii Fit experience before taking this class. The class also inclused course work on nutrition and exercise.
One thing Layne particularly likes about the Wii Fit is its ability to track things such as physical activity and body-mass index, making users more aware of their progress.
Layne and his colleagues are already eyeing the programme as a source for research studies, and he's thaning of other applications as well, such as having families exercise together.
"There's no reason why we can't use the studio almost all day. We're hoping the students have a positive experience with it."
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