Now you can DIY your company portal

WANT to embrace the Internet to expand your business, but worried about the cost?
Yes it may be expensive to have people managing your company's portal, but what if there is a way to do it yourself?

But... I'm not an expert
What if everything is template-based. You just have to fill in the blanks. Sure you can do it.
The DIY portal solution is here, and it's made-in-Malaysia.
Local e-business specialist Skali has come up with a DIY Web portal solution aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) andsmall office-home office (SOHO) outfits.
Called WebbingPortal, the solution offers businesses with little budgetto easily establish a Web presence, said Skali Managed E-business SdnBhd's chief executive officer Roslan Brahim.

It used to be difficult
"Traditionally, it has always been troublesome for the small players tohave a Web presence as it involves a lot of work and cost. Today, a professional Web portal can be created and run live in just two hours through WebbingPortal and at a fraction of the cost," said Roslan at Skali's head quarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The minimal amount involved to create a five-page business portal isusually about RM1,600;WebbingPortal is available from as low as RM288.
According to Roslan, although there are many companies with Web portals,the reality is that there are even more that do not.

Thousands of companies but little with Web presence
Believe it or not, about 80 per cent of the companies out there have no Web presence. Theyare basically SMBs and SOHO outfits, which have been known to want to tap the Internet but have limited budget and resources to do so.
Well, they can now do so with the template-based WebbingPortal. "Customers can also tweak the design of the Web site to their likingif they have better skin, background pictures, etc," Roslan said.

For the cottage industry
Besides SMBs, Skali is targeting the DIY Web solution at the local cottage and home industry such as songket weavers, kuih sellers, cakemakers and keropok producers.
"Most of these people use blogs to promote their products, but a blog'scapability as a business platform is limited. It also doesn't lookprofessional," Roslan said.

Affordable
Skali is offering four packages for WebbingPortal: WXP SOHO, WXP Biz,WXP Pro and WXP E-Commerce, priced at RM288, RM588, RM988 and RM3,888respectively.

All in the "red" except security

THE security software market in the Asia-Pacific is growing, despite the unfavourable economic conditions.

The segment remains in the black when other portions of ICT spending have gone into the red since March, according to IDC Malaysia's programme manager, software research RogerLing.

Why companies still invest in security

The main reason behind the continued demand is due to concerns ofsecurity breaches and data losses.

Organisations can reduce their budgeton other things, but when it comes to security, they cannot compromise, said Ling from IDC.

"Organisations see security as an area that needs to bemaintained or increased to survive," he said.

In a recent IDC survey of over 1,300 IT executives and chief information officers in the region, over 36 per cent of the respondents said they will increase their infrastructure software spending over the next 18 months. And from this group, 63 per cent said they will focus their IT budget on security software to address threats and improve compliance.

These findings confirmed that IT securityinvestments have now become even more important as businesses recognisethe need to hedge themselves against security attacks.

What areas companies are focusing on

Based on the IDC survey, two areas of security that companies arefocusing on are data loss prevention and Web and messaging security.

In planning for their security infrastructure investments, organisationsneed to look beyond anti-virus solutions, Ling said. "Most people still think that security is all about anti-virus. If thatis the case, your security infrastructure is not well-protected becauseyou are only thinking of one aspect of the whole infrastructure," he said,adding that the people aspect of security needs to be addressed, too.

"Organisations need to look at data loss, identity and access solutionsfor the people aspect of the security infrastructure. Look beyond anti-virus as threats come from many angles."

Is LED the future of lighting?

Many may still not familiar with LED or light-emitting diode lights, but it seems that the lighting industry is moving towards this technology.

Yours truly was lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit one of the biggest lighting event in the world, the Lightfair International in New York last month.

Almost all of the 500 exhibitors at the event have at least one product or some all products based on LED technology.

Tech&U, New Straits Times, was there on the invitation by Philips, one of the main exhibitors at Lightfair.

What's the big deal about LED

Put aside the price. Its benefits are a lot actually, in the long run - low maintenance, energy saving, multi-colour and programmable.

Unlike normal bulbs or lights, can can only last a few thousand hours, LEDs can give lights up to 60,000 hours.

It's like once you install and LED light, you can forget about changing it. Besides long lasting, it saves energy up to 80 percent than current technology.

Talk about green house effect, LED could be part of the answers in lowering carbon emissions.

Besides that, the LED bulbs can produce any desiredcolour (up to 16 million colours), which is not possible with any other existing technology.

These include creating effects such as colour wall washing and sharp light/ shadowlines.

It's programmable

LED also allows consumers to minimise light pollution since it can beprecisely targeted - because it is programmable with a computing software.

One of the most common sights of LED lighting use today is in billboardadvertisements in famous intersections such as Times Square in New York,Piccadilly Circus in London, and Ginza in Tokyo.

The effects are amazingwhere these advertisements come alive with millions of colours, and withvideo capability they can easily capture the attention of passers-by.

Even though not available in this region yet, LED lighting is alreadybeing used today in homes as decorative lighting, very often usingcolours. A key feature of LED-based lighting is the ability to change the colourof the light. This opens up the possibility of personalising light effectsto change the ambience in a room or the colour of an object.

New Facebook threat emerges

FACEBOOK diehards beware. A new threat has emerged in a form of a third-party application.
IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded users to exercise caution about which third-party applications they install on their profile.

The warning follows reports that a rogue application, called ‘Error Check System’ has bombarded some members of the social networking site with bogus notification messages saying that friends had experienced problems viewing their profiles. Since Facebook does not approve applications before they are made available on the site, users are often putting their trust in complete strangers when they choose to install the next application.

In this instance, there was nothing wrong with the recipient’s profiles and the warning messages were in fact a viral attempt by a third party to recruit more users, and - potentially - steal personal information for financial gain. "Facebook applications are very popular and once all your friends have downloaded the latest must-have, it’s very tempting to follow suit," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"But, installing all applications sent your way, could open up serious holes in your security and allow hackers to gain access to your profile and the information stored on it. Just like with other computing applications, it's essential to exercise caution when you're not sure of the origin - just because your friends have downloaded it, doesn't necessarily mean it’s safe."

Another IT security firm F-Secure, meanwhile, reported that the latest Facebook fake application is a particularly sophisticated form of social engineering.
This program doesn’t lure users into installing malware promising nude pics of Angelina Jolie or a Nigerian inheritance, this applications spreads to generate publicity for itself. Once the media report on the suspected Facebook threat, and tech-savvy readers google the name of the application to find out more about it, that’s where the actual threat surfaces: rogue anti-virus sites that appear among the search results.

The Facebook application didn't do very much other than spread itself… it did however create a newsworthy story. And now people will be searching for that story and will stumble upon fake anti-virus sites and inject themselves with malware. F-Secure said the "Error Check System" application does not do anything malicious but it does spread to the user's friends without any form of interaction or authorisation from you.

In other words, it spreads like a worm causing more Facebook users to install the application. However, if the user is curious (which in this case, highly likely would because Facebook users kept getting notifications that your friend has faced some errors when checking your profile) and punches in "Error Check System" in Google, the first result returned will prompt you to install a rogueware when clicked on.

Facebook users can recognise what they are seeing is a fake Facebook application because this application has very poor grammar, but then again applications available on Facebook are not verified by Facebook. You are using and installing them at your own risk.
F-Secure said at the moment, Facebook users should exercise extreme caution when installing these third-party applications. Always when in doubt, think twice and if it is too good to be true, it truly is.

For more info go to:

http://www.sophos.com/facebook
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/02/23/beware-error-check-system

The Dawn of Broadband TV

Will broadband TV or Internet-based TV affect the currently popular satellite TV or even the free-t-air TV? It's a difficult question to answer, but what I can say is that broadband TV is slowly making its way here.

In making the first move, Telekom Malaysia (TM) has launched their Web TV initiative known as Hypp.TV last week in a rather big way with 30 channels covering genres such as news and current affairs, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, movie and drama.
The channels include Channel News Asia, Al-Jazeera English, CCTV4, Bloomberg TV, Barclays Premier League, Fashion TV, RED TV, Bollywood entertainment, Korean and Chinese. The TM's broadband TV also features some first-in-Malaysia content such as Luxe TV, Warner Bros Sorothy Forever and Wedding TV.

Actually, Hypp.TV has been around for more than a year ago, but only offers limited content, but this time around, TM is making sure that the revamped version will be a killer application.
The move by the local telecom giant can be seen as timely in the sense that broadband penetration in Malaysia is increasing rapidly. Now the market knows there is an alternative TV on top of the existing free-to-air TV and Astro.

Opportunitiny-wise, it looks great, what more with the country's broadband penetration has reached 21.1 percent as of last year, surpassing the target of 20 per cent that had been set under the National Broadband Implementation Plan, based on a Bernama report. Now the country had set a target of 50 per cent rate in household broadband penetration in 2010.
It's a bit too ambitious to say that broadband TV will be accepted by all as not everybody will agree to the idea of watching TV on a computer screen or mobile devices. But how about watching it on a normal TV, would people buy the idea? Probably yes.

The availability of high-definition TVs will allow consumers to connect their computers to the TV screen. This will drive up the uptake of Web TV services, what more with these TVs getting more affordable from time to time.

Users will just need to connect their PC or notebook computer to their HDTV via HDMI cable and to have the Internet or WebTV content on their big TV screen.
In terms of picture quality, TM assured that users would not face buffering problem as in watching videos on Youtube. That is good, if not it makes no point.

Currently, TM is only offering the service exclusively to its Streamyx subscribers, targeting 30 to 40 percent of them to subscribe to the service (available at www.hypp.tv). TM now has 1.5 million Streamyx subscribers.
TM Group's executive vice president, consumer, Jeremy Kung, said the Hypp.TV is a value-added service for the Streamyx subscribers, but hinted that TM will also made it available to people living outside Malaysia in the near future. The company is using peer-to-peer technology to ensure uninterruptible service.

What will attract users to Web TV, I think, is the flexibility it offers. For example, TM is offering both broadcast and on-demand (pulled content).
The traditional business model of "take-what-we-offer-you" approach now is being undermined by consumer demand for an à la carte, "give-me-what-I-want-when-I-want-it" model. This is one of the best advantages of Web TV - watch what I want and when I want it.

And at just RM9.90 per month, I think there will be positive response from the public.
It probably takes at least five to 10 more years before broadband TV can really become a household item, but it may take even shorter than that if the service providers (not just TM alone) can live up to their promises and service quality.

Broadband access getting more affordable

LIKE it or not, broadband subscription rates in Malaysia over the past years have always been expensive.
For a 1Mbps connection, one has to pay from RM99 and above. That's way above majority Malaysians' affordability bracket.

However, Packet One (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the first provider of WiMax services in Malaysia has come out with below RM50 package for a broadband connection.
That's good news for all Malaysians who have been waiting for more affordable broadband services all these years.

According to P1, the new subscription plans are introduced in response to feedback received from P1 WiMax subscribers and the general public.
I think such package is great especially for current dial-up users who would like to upgrade to broadband. The service is now available at RM49 and subscribers will get to surf at 400kbps - which is decent enough for doing video streaming like Youtube.
On a bigger picture, P1's offering may be able to help the country achieve its 50 percent broadband penetration target by 2010.

For year 2008, IDC reports a forecast of broadband revenues totaling RM1.0 Billion. This makes up about 0.2 percent revenue contribution to the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM534.7 billion.
In the following two years, IDC projects that Malaysia’s broadband revenues will progressively increase its contribution, at about 0.2 percent per annum, to the nation’s GDP. In 2009, Malaysia’s broadband revenues is projected to be RM1.2 billion against the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM566.8 billion, and in 2010, IDC reports a forecast of broadband revenues totaling RM1.4 billion against the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM600.8 billion.

Lincoln Lee, IDC’s Telecommunication Research Manager for Malaysia, says, "Although the forecasted percentage contribution of broadband revenues to GDP may seem relatively small, we still see this as a positive sign. Potentially, we are looking at an enormous ripple effect - the continuous climb in broadband revenues will stimulate growth in other IT sectors such as e-commerce and PC Sales."

He says it is highly possible for the growth rate of broadband revenues to increase further, with the raise of PC penetration in Malaysian households, the imminent launch of WiMax services, as well as the government's investment in High Speed Broadband Services.
To P1, congratulations for being able to offer this affordable broadband package, and hopefully other players will follow suit.
The latest areas to have P1 W1MAX coverage this week include parts of Bukit Raja in Klang, Ampang in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Kemuning in Shah Alam, Taman Lian Hoe in OUG Kuala Lumpur, Section 14 in Petaling Jaya, Penang Town Centre and Kampung Syed in Ayer Itam, also in Penang island. Detailed information on the current P1 W1MAX subscription plans and reseller location can be obtained at www.p1.com.my.

Real traffic info where art thou?

YOU see them in major roads and highways, but most of the time they're either not working or not giving the much needed information to road users.

I'm referring to the sophisticated traffic electronic display known as ITIS, a short form for Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS), which are designed and implemented to make driving easier and more convinient.

However, after millions of ringgit spent to set up the system, it's sad to know that only a portion of them are working (see NST Street's report http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Tuesday/Stories/2458018/Article/index_html).

The system not working is one thing (maybe due to wire theft, network down, etc), but as a road user, I find that most of the time these traffic electronic displays fail to display (most of the time) information relevant to motorists.

For example, you do not want to see the system displaying “Pandu Cermat Jiwa Selamat” or “Berhati hati di Jalan Raya” or even worst “Untuk Maklumat Trafik sila layari www.........”. People already know that.

It's okay to have this reminder once in a while, but not 70 percent of the time, especially when your are stuck in a bumper to bumper wondering what's happening ahead, and what you see displayed on the system is “Ingatlah Yang Tersayang”.

What people want is the condition of the roads and connecting roads 10 to 20 kms away or if there's an accident or roadworks ahead, before they turn into the road or highway. This will give them enough time to make route adjustment.

System such as ITIS was developed to enable informed decisions to be made on travel such as on choice of routes, modes and schedules.
It's capable of capturing real-time traffic information for incident management and long-term transport planning and helps to alleviate traffic congestion and delays during the rush hour and in emergency situations. So it should perform what it is intended to do.

When the number of cars, motorbikes, lorries, and buses keep flooding our roads and increasing in numbers, it's good to have an efficient and relevant traffic information system.

Malaysian “Pixar” becoming a reality?

WHILE channel surfing the TV last night, I came across this preview of a soon-to-be-shown three-dimensional (3D) animated movie, called Geng The Movie with Upin & Ipin on Channel 4 Astro.

It's about an adventurous journey of a group of Kampung kids into the world mystery.
At first I didn't believe that this is a local production based on the quality of the movie, mmmm.... it's almost near Hollywood's 3D films like Nemo, Cars, The Incredible, (I'm just exaggerating here), but the truth is the international quality is there, and I was just watching it from my normal 29-inch TV.

What amazed me is that the characters in the movie look alive and with emotions – the facial expressions, the movements, voice over, and the surroundings in the film look perfect too.
The production house that produces the movie is Les' Copaque or some would pronounce it Last Copac (which in Bahasa Pasar means last minute).

I've heard about this company a couple of years ago when covering ICT-related events especially those related to Multimedia Development Corporation (MdeC), but never had the chance to meet up with the people behind it.

I know that MDeC has been nurturing local technoprenuers (that is IT entrepreneurs) to enhance the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative and has been giving out grants and technology assistance to those who are interested to pursue business in the ICT area, and generating 3D content is one of the focus areas.

At first I thought some famous local film producers may have been involved in the making of this animated movie, but I was wrong.

Les' Copaque was made up of energetic youngsters, fresh graduates and even school kids that apparently have lots of talent.

The movie is said to have cost RM4 million to produce, but based on the quality, it's way cheaper than any Hollywood's animated 3D films.

Since producing such movie needs really powerful computers, it's good to know that Mimos (the country's R&D arm) has lend its hand to Les' Copaque by allowing the production house to use its Grid Computing facilities – which is a network of really powerful computers.

Kudos to Les' Copaque and all the talents behind it, MDeC, MOSTI, Mimos and others for making this first truly Malaysian 3D animated film a reality.

Who knows this film may be making its way to the Cannes Film Festival and put Malaysia in the spotlight in the international film arena.

Geng The Movie will start screening from Feb 12, 2008. Go watch it to support our first truly animated 3D film. I'm taking the whole family there.

Hello There

Hi, finally I have my own blog after years of reading people's entries.
Why Malaysian MoJo? This got to do with my job as a journalist with the New Straits Times.
Mojo is a short form for mobile journalist.
Most of the postings will be on happenings in the local ICT industry, but I will also talk about current issues.
Hope you'll enjoy this blog.

Izwan Ismail
Malaysian MoJo