Finally, the "command + shift + left arrow or right arrow" is back in effect in Spreadsheet. It's much more stable (at least until the time I write this post - haven't tried a significant amount of project using OOo 3.1.1 lately).
Now, I'm putting the schedule to shift my staff from Microsoft Office user into OpenOffice user. This is an additional project to the existing change management for working in the cloud project.
Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup Gusti Muhammad Hatta mengirim tim untuk melakukan penelitian atas pencemaran tambang batu bara PT Adaro di Balangan, Kalimantan SelatanExcerpt from Kompas.com. Isu lingkungan adalah tantangan bagi sebagian besar perusahaan pertambangan dewasa ini. Perencanaan yang matang, implementasi rencana yang akurat, dan pengawasan yang terukur menjadi kunci dari pelaksanaan pengelolaan dan pemantauan lingkungan. Hasil terbaik selalu diperoleh dari proses terbaik.
The states cannot implement a sales or income tax, so their ability to raise revenue is almost non-existent. They get whatever crumbs the federal government sees fit to toss them; Putrajaya makes a big deal of giving money to the states, as it did this week with Kelantan’s oil royalties, but the fact of the matter is, each state should be entitled to at least a portion of the revenue which accrues from its people. At the moment, Penang and Selangor, the two most prosperous states in our federation, each contributing billions of ringgit to the economy, have annual budgets on the order of a few hundred million — smaller than some of our universities.
Summing up, the states have no power and no money. They have some small freedom to do things, but this is limited by how little funds they have, how obstinate their federal-seconded civil servants are, and how much the federal government feels like overruling them. This is not a tenable constitutional arrangement — not when there is so much diversity in our country, and not when our federal government is so unaccountable.
Having different policies from state to state not only lets each state govern itself according to its own needs, but lets each state learn from the successes and mistakes of others. If Penang’s competency, accountability and transparency policies prove successful — as the Auditor-General’s latest report suggests — then other states will consider following suit. If the policy does not work out and cannot alleviate corruption, then the rakyat of Penang will vote for something better, and the consequences of the mistake are only limited to Penang. With a central government imposing top-down policies, we are completely screwed; the consequences of any mistakes — of which there will definitely be many, in light of how big and diverse our country is — will affect us all, and as we all know, it is difficult to get enough momentum to change the federal government.
[Starting 2010] power reserves in Java and Bali will be sufficient as three power plants are set to fully operate. Government is planning to revoke emergency decrees in January next year that previously required businesses in Java and Bali to cut electricity consumptionExcerpt from The Jakarta Post.
WTF?! Pemerintah justru mendorong perilaku boros dalam hal konsumsi energi listrik. Menghilangkan batasan justru akan meningkatkan kebutuhan daya listrik, terlebih pada kondisi masyarakat yang belum memiliki budaya hemat listrik. Peningkatan kebutuhan energi listrik akan sulit diimbangi oleh peningkatan kapasitas energi yang mampu dihasilkan. Kebutuhan tertinggi saya pikir akan terjadi di area usaha kecil dan menengah yang terbukti lebih tahan menghadapi krisis. Meskipun berada dalam taraf UMKM namun pertumbuhannya akan sangat signifikan sehingga kebutuhan energi listrik meningkat tajam di area ini.
Faktor boros listrik juga dapat dilihat dari budaya masyarakat Indonesia yang tidak berorientasi pada peralatan hemat listrik dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Contoh: jor-joran dalam penggunaan komputer dan laptop haus power. Masyarakat kita cenderung memiliki pemahaman bahwa kecanggihan komputer ditentukan oleh tingginya frekuensi processor tanpa menyadari bahwa hal tersebut memiliki korelasi dengan tingginya power yang dibutuhkan. Padahal tidak jarang komputer atau laptop tersebut hanya digunakan untuk pekerjaan rendah konsumsi daya, misal: pekerjaan pengolah kata, spreadsheet sederhana, browsing, atau menonton dvd.
Krisis energi bukan kondisi saat ini, melainkan kondisi yang akan terjadi setiap saat di masa depan kita, terlebih jika perilaku dan budaya masyarakat Indonesia masih seperti saat ini. Beberapa hal yang dapat dilakukan adalah peningkatan kesadaran akan pentingnya perilaku hemat listrik, memberikan insentif bagi usah kecil menengah yang melakukan implementasi diversifikasi energi, implementasi clean energy dan energi daur ulang, dan banyak lainnya. Meskipun demikian penekanan perlu dilakukan oleh pemerintah terhadap perubahan paradigma tentang energi yang tak terbatas.
Anti-virus software vendor Sophos tested Windows 7’s built-in anti-virus capabilities by feeding a clean system 10 pieces of the newest malware. Eight out of the 10 samples ran successfullyExcerpt from Wired.com. Why I have a feeling that this would be so obvious. That hardly seems to be a new lesson, since Microsoft never told anyone to stop running anti-virus in the first place. This report somehow provide a justification of something I already knew.
Keep running your anti-virus software as long as you're running Windows.
Fast! That's my first impression of Google Chrome for Mac. Though it's still in developer preview, I'm beginning to love this browser for its speed. Its clean look can be compared to Safari. However, I get lost several time when try to find a specific tab due to the lack of header on top.
As reviews of Verizon's next flagship phone, the Droid, roll across the interwebs there is much consternation and gnashing of teeth over why it is being compared to the iPhone. Mostly, it must be said, from the non iPhone crowd.
So allow me to wax poetic for a bit on these shenanigans. First - the qualifying statements. I do not own either device. However, I do own an iPod touch (2nd Gen), I currently use a blackberry and I have been in the Wireless Telecom industry for 17 years. I am a gadget junkie and avid reader of tech sites. I am primarily an apple user - macbook, iMac, apple routers.
The iPhone, in a very short period of time, has managed to do something unique. Not it's features. Not it's services. It has separated device from carrier in the public mind. Is that all the iPhone and Apple's doing? Hardly. Some of it is just because of the way the chips fell. There was no carrier choice - so carrier was never really a topic in iPhone discussions. Once you got beyond "It's on AT&T, love it or leave it" - the carrier discussion ended. Next, even though you have the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs (as well as the iPod touch) - it was always "the iPhone." If I have an iPhone and you have an iPhone - chances are they are the same and we don't typically regard them as the iPhone 3G or 3Gs unless talking about performance of games or something. With WinMo hardware, Palm to an extent, and even blackberries - we need to know a model. Curve or Tour? Storm? HTC Hero or Samsung Omnia? The iPhone device became one with it's OS and it's Carrier and became an entity in and of itself. The iPhone has become the wireless equivalent of the home phone - I don't care if you have a princess phone on PacBell or a plain black wall phone on Verizon - if I ask if you have a "phone" you will respond "yes." The iPhone is no different. If I ask if you have a blackberry, however, you may reply with - "yes…a curve on Sprint" because both carrier and model are necessary to properly frame the response.
The iPhone, as a piece of technology, is attractive to look at and thanks to it's OS, very easy to use. Damn near anyone can pick up an iPhone and know how to use it. Many reviews have even pointed that fact out. Apple has taken an advanced (by most measures) smart phone and made it immediately accessible to the lay person. That is important because now Joe User, who was perfectly content with his LG8300 handset now begins to think "Hey, Bob's iPhone is really easy to use and it does so much more than my phone does" and he begins to covet one - not just because it's easy - but because there is no learning barrier to him being "cool." I defy you to say the same about WinMo or Blackberries.
The iPhone has the App Store. 100,000 ways to make your device unique (I believe Scoble said that first). Interestingly enough, the iPhone App Store lets you take your otherwise homogenous device and differentiate it. If I feel that the best use of my 32GB is to fill it with Fart Apps - I can. If I feel it is better served by saying I own the Wolfram Alpha app for $50 - I can do that too (I do). I can carry a library in my pocket or log into the Mainframe via a 3270 emulator. It is eminently customizable and allows me to make it my "go to" device for damn near anything I can think of. It becomes PART of my life - not a bolt on like a handset.
Finally, the iPhone does multimedia in a spectacular fashion. Music, pictures, video, movie rentals - it's got it all. There isn't much to say here - it's all good.
But what about Web you might ask? The iPhone browser is fantastic but not perfect. Before the app store the browser was the key selling point for geeks like me. Now…not so much. I use it - but I prefer a dedicated app when I can get one (I love you regator app!) Now the browser is more of a fallback or for quickly checking things out. At least in my use cases.
So where am I going with this? When a phone is launched with a marketing campaign pitting it against the iPhone - and the iPhone has done to the wireless world what it has - you HAVE to compare. It's good journalism. Everyone knows someone with an iPhone. Everyone covets an iPhone to some extent. If you are going to sell me a phone you need to tell me how it will make me better than my friend with his iPhone - or at least where I have the bragging rights.
Why WOULDN'T you want an iPhone or something everyone thinks is better?
All that said and done, I am looking forward to buying a Droid. Why? 90% of my use on my device is for email. The iPhone email client is horrendous. Period. So why leave blackberry then you might be thinking? (and if you weren't then I just planted the seed) Because the Curve was the last decent blackberry I used. The Storm out of the box. Sucked. The Tour? Trackball issues and overall sense of "meh." Rim has tried too hard to break into the mainstream and in so doing has created instability in their software and a patchwork of apps that don't all seem to fit together.
So, you can probably surmise then that I am a VZW customer, and that is the final reason I would not buy an iPhone. AT&Ts network is bad. Not just bad - horrible. Let me quantify that statement more objectively. I worked for the Original AT&T Wireless for 6 years. I had an AWS phone for free because of my job. I have had a VZW phone for the last 7 years.
Comparing one to the other is as simple as this: "AT&T's calls generally had better quality (in the NY Metro area) but dropped CONSTANTLY. VZW calls are a little muddier but I haven't had more than 2 or 3 dropped calls in 7 years. Who cares if they sound better if they drop every 10 minutes?"
Data coverage? VZW. Voice and Data simultaneously? Give me more than 1 use case for simultaneous voice and data. I LIVE with my gadgets - right now I have my MiFi, iPod, blackberry, a second phone, a netbook, a camera, a voice recorder and a second, larger laptop within arms reach - and I am not home.I am connected constantly - and I can not think of one instance in 7 years where I have thought "dang, if only I could browse the web while I talk to my wife."
Is the Droid better than an iPhone? Depends. Will the Droid usurp the iPhone's ability to be ubiquitous in the public mind? Nope. Will the Droid be a fantastic device on it's own for people with no interest in or ability to own an iPhone? Most likely.
While I would love to see more reviews of the Droid that tout the Droid's strengths on it's own I completely understand why tech journalists compare it to the iPhone. The iPhone, for better or worse is the benchmark that everyone knows. However, I think the iPhone fanboys need to be more realistic when commenting on these reviews - better devices mean Apple needs to be better. Instead of laughing at the Droid - you should be cheering it on.
Hey look - it's FREE Additional content!!
This doesn't really fit in with the rambling paragraphs above, but it occurred to me that carriers don't quite understand why the iPhone is what it is within the wireless industry.
Look at the VZW Storm launch. "HEY! It's got a touch screen!!"
Woo…hooo… At the time it was not the touch screen itself that made the iPhone so wanted - it was the browser and the UI. The Apps just added to that…but none of it was primarily related to the touch screen.
Then it was "HEY! We've got an HTML Browser built right in!!"
Yes, but the interface was horrible and the browser - while it supported HTML, did not support javascript or flash.
Ok, how about "LOOK! We have an APP STORE!"
Continued fail. The apps are crap and the device itself was lackluster.
Now…along comes Google. They get it. The device needs to be responsive. The Brower needs to be fully web compliant. The app store needs quality apps and an easy shopping experience. All tied together with a UI that works.
But they can't get carriers to relinquish control of their handset long enough to get a decent one out the door. The Droid seems to be the 1st real attempt at this - but it remains to be seen if it lives up to it.
Give Android some time to refine and decent hardware to run on - THEY will give the iPhone a decent race. Which means better devices for all of us.
(and don't even talk to me about multi touch zooming or I will slap you. Over rated gesture. Yes it's intuitive. Yes it's easy and natural. But it is not the only way to accomplish that task. Multi touch = good. Hang up with one multi touch gesture = bad)
New York has joined the ranks of states that ban texting while driving. The interesting part is that you won’t be pulled over for it but you will be fined up to $150 if you are caught texting when they pull you over for another violationExcerpt from Berryreview.com. The main problem, I think, is ignorance to safety driving. Fine is a temporary solution, because deep down inside we're the creature who tends to break the law. It's more to culture approach to find a long term solution.
That's *real* memory: not RAM. At least among Millennials. And at least according to this week's Iconoculture newsletter. (Yes, I still read 'em.)
As Iconoculture editor for media, entertainment, and technology Robert van Alstyne says, he recently attended New York's CMJ Music Marathon, finding it notable "for what [he] wasn't seeing" -- the Twittering or otherwise digital recording of every moment by the mostly Millennial crowd. Van Alstyne calls it "falling out of love with documentation." I like this assessment. (I am notoriously bad, for example, at shooting photos at events or on vacation. I always find my mental memory closer and more inspiring.) Or maybe it's just frustrated narcissism: It's hard to preserve that go-to, cool-kid-in-the-right-spot image when everyone around you is capturing -- and posting -- exactly the same stuff, at exactly the same time. In either case, I'm interested to see where this goes. I'll keep ditching the digital play-by-play in favor of truly experiencing the moments. And I still won't be taking photos.
