For the seventh consecutive December, the magazine looks back on the passing year through a special lens: ideas. Editors and writers trawl the oceans of ingenuity, hoping to snag in our nets the many curious, inspired, perplexing and sometimes outright illegal innovations of the past 12 months. Then we lay them out on the dock, flipping and flopping and gasping for air, and toss back all but those that are fresh enough for our particular cut of intellectual sushi. For better or worse, these are 70 of the ideas that helped make 2007 what it was. Enjoy.
Airborne Wind Turbines
Alzheimer’s Telephone Screening
Ambiguity Promotes Liking
Appendix Rationale, The
Best Way to Deflect an Asteroid, The
Biodegradable Coffins
Biofuel Race, The
Braille Tattoo, The
Cardboard Bridge, The
‘Cat Lady’ Conundrum, The
Climate Conflicts
Community Urinalysis
Craigslist Vengeance
Criminal Recycling
Crowdware
Culinary Orientalism
Death of Checkers, The
Digital Search Parties
Edible Cocktail, The
Electric Hockey Skate, The
Faces Decide Elections
Fake Tilt-Shift Photography
Fish-Flavored Fish
God Effect, The
Handshake Sex Appeal
Height Tax, The
Honeycomb Vase, The
Hope Can Be Worse Than Hopelessness
Iconic-Performance-Network Player, The
Indie-Rock Musicals
Interstellar Ramadan
Jogging Politique
Knot Physics
Lap-Dance Science
Left-Hand-Turn Elimination
Lightning Farms
Lite-Brite Fashion
Marijuana Mansions
Mindful Exercise
Minimal Chair, The
Mob Jurisprudence
Murphy Balcony, The
Neurorealism
Next Violin, The
Office-Chair Exercise (for Men and Women)
Pixelated Stained Glass
Pop Fecundity
Posthumous E-Mail
Postnuptial Agreements
Prison Poker
Quitting Can Be Good for You
Radiohead Payment Model, The
Right to Medical Self-Defense, The
Rock-Paper-Scissors Is Universal
Second-World Solidarity
Self-Righting Object, The
Smog-Eating Cement
Starch Made Us Human
Suing God
Telltale Food Wrapping
24/7 Alibi, The
Two-Birds-With-One-Stone Resistance
Unadapted Theatrical Adaptation, The
Vegansexuality
Wave Energy
Weapon-Proof School Gear
Wikiscanning
Wireless Energy
Youtube (Accidental) Audition, The
Zygotic Social Networking
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
10 Tips for Healthy Eating During Exams
10 Tips for Healthy Eating During Exams
posted in Tips and Techniques by Jessica Howard
When you're studying for finals, good nutrition often slides way down on the priority list. It’s easy to get into the habit of glugging coffee and gobbling take-out pizza, because you don’t want to waste time on food preparation. But, actually, good nutrition should be part of your study plan because it’s going to help you ace those tests. The better the fuel your brain gets, the better you’ll study. It’s a...well...no-brainer.
Here are 10 tips for eating right during exams:
How do I eat smarter? Meeting daily vitamin and mineral requirements will make doing your best much easier. Iron and B vitamins are especially important to maintaining the physical and mental energy necessary to study well. Iron-containing foods include red meat, cereals and spinach; one good meal idea is chili because it contains ground beef and kidney beans. Foods that contain B vitamins include whole-grains, wheat germ, eggs and nuts. Fish and soy are other foods that are said to help boost your brain by providing the nutrients it needs.
Dude, chewable Vitamin C is not a meal. Dietary supplements are good, but real food is better. An orange contains not only Vitamin C, but fibre, phytochemicals, beta carotene and other minerals – so it can’t be replaced by a pill. When you’re heading for the library, pack whole-food items like apples, bananas, clementines, carrot sticks or dried apricots.
Eat at regular intervals. Eating regular meals helps keep nutrient and energy levels more stable, curbing the temptation of empty-calorie snacks in the vending machine.
Big meals keep on turning … in your stomach. You might find that eating the standard three-big-meals-a-day slows you down mentally and physically. Consider 5 or 6 well-balanced, smaller meals, like toast spread with peanut butter, hummus or tuna, or a piece of cheese with fruit.
Meet breakfast, your new study buddy. While much is said about the reasons to eat breakfast, less known are the best ways to eat smart in the morning. Coffee and a donut just don't cut it. The idea is to get some protein, calcium, fibre and a piece of fruit or a vegetable in there. So, a bowl of cereal with milk and a piece of fruit would do the trick. Or try a cereal bar with milk. We have some additional quick breakfast ideas for you to enjoy!
Going bananas? Good. Fruit ranks high among the best foods you can eat for your brain. Blueberries (which can be bought frozen in bags) get a lot of attention because they contain powerful antioxidants and other nutrients. The natural sugars in fruit offer clean energy, so you don’t experience the crash that follows consumption of refined sugar.
Choose powerful vegetables. Not all vegetables are created equal. The darker the color, the higher the concentration of nutrients. For example, spinach has more to offer the mind and body than iceberg lettuce. Other great vegetable choices include bell peppers, broccoli and sweet potatoes.
Smart snacking can enhance studying. Snack smart while studying and you may find that you retain more. Try to get two food groups into your snacks to balance the nutrients and keep your blood-sugar level stable. Some smart snack examples are banana with peanut butter, a small baked potato with cottage cheese, or an English muffin pizza.
Gather simple recipes for nourishing foods. It's easy to feed the brain well. No-fuss recipes let you eat to succeed, without taking too much time. Here are four ideas:
Combine scrambled eggs with toast, cheese or salsa
Spend 15 minutes preparing chili and continue studying while it simmers for two hours
Go Tex Mex with quesadillas, adding whatever veggies you’ve got on hand
A little chopping is all it takes to construct a hearty Chef’s Salad
Stay well hydrated. Choose your beverages well, though. Caffeine and sugar should be kept to a minimum. Since too much caffeine can make you jittery, try to drink moderate amounts: 400 to 450 mg per day, the equivalent of 2/2.5 cups, (16 to 20 ounces or 500 to 625 ml). Better choices include water, fruit juice, milk, and anti-oxidant-rich green tea.
Good luck!
Click here for Original Article
posted in Tips and Techniques by Jessica Howard
When you're studying for finals, good nutrition often slides way down on the priority list. It’s easy to get into the habit of glugging coffee and gobbling take-out pizza, because you don’t want to waste time on food preparation. But, actually, good nutrition should be part of your study plan because it’s going to help you ace those tests. The better the fuel your brain gets, the better you’ll study. It’s a...well...no-brainer.
Here are 10 tips for eating right during exams:
How do I eat smarter? Meeting daily vitamin and mineral requirements will make doing your best much easier. Iron and B vitamins are especially important to maintaining the physical and mental energy necessary to study well. Iron-containing foods include red meat, cereals and spinach; one good meal idea is chili because it contains ground beef and kidney beans. Foods that contain B vitamins include whole-grains, wheat germ, eggs and nuts. Fish and soy are other foods that are said to help boost your brain by providing the nutrients it needs.
Dude, chewable Vitamin C is not a meal. Dietary supplements are good, but real food is better. An orange contains not only Vitamin C, but fibre, phytochemicals, beta carotene and other minerals – so it can’t be replaced by a pill. When you’re heading for the library, pack whole-food items like apples, bananas, clementines, carrot sticks or dried apricots.
Eat at regular intervals. Eating regular meals helps keep nutrient and energy levels more stable, curbing the temptation of empty-calorie snacks in the vending machine.
Big meals keep on turning … in your stomach. You might find that eating the standard three-big-meals-a-day slows you down mentally and physically. Consider 5 or 6 well-balanced, smaller meals, like toast spread with peanut butter, hummus or tuna, or a piece of cheese with fruit.
Meet breakfast, your new study buddy. While much is said about the reasons to eat breakfast, less known are the best ways to eat smart in the morning. Coffee and a donut just don't cut it. The idea is to get some protein, calcium, fibre and a piece of fruit or a vegetable in there. So, a bowl of cereal with milk and a piece of fruit would do the trick. Or try a cereal bar with milk. We have some additional quick breakfast ideas for you to enjoy!
Going bananas? Good. Fruit ranks high among the best foods you can eat for your brain. Blueberries (which can be bought frozen in bags) get a lot of attention because they contain powerful antioxidants and other nutrients. The natural sugars in fruit offer clean energy, so you don’t experience the crash that follows consumption of refined sugar.
Choose powerful vegetables. Not all vegetables are created equal. The darker the color, the higher the concentration of nutrients. For example, spinach has more to offer the mind and body than iceberg lettuce. Other great vegetable choices include bell peppers, broccoli and sweet potatoes.
Smart snacking can enhance studying. Snack smart while studying and you may find that you retain more. Try to get two food groups into your snacks to balance the nutrients and keep your blood-sugar level stable. Some smart snack examples are banana with peanut butter, a small baked potato with cottage cheese, or an English muffin pizza.
Gather simple recipes for nourishing foods. It's easy to feed the brain well. No-fuss recipes let you eat to succeed, without taking too much time. Here are four ideas:
Combine scrambled eggs with toast, cheese or salsa
Spend 15 minutes preparing chili and continue studying while it simmers for two hours
Go Tex Mex with quesadillas, adding whatever veggies you’ve got on hand
A little chopping is all it takes to construct a hearty Chef’s Salad
Stay well hydrated. Choose your beverages well, though. Caffeine and sugar should be kept to a minimum. Since too much caffeine can make you jittery, try to drink moderate amounts: 400 to 450 mg per day, the equivalent of 2/2.5 cups, (16 to 20 ounces or 500 to 625 ml). Better choices include water, fruit juice, milk, and anti-oxidant-rich green tea.
Good luck!
Click here for Original Article
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Geek! SQL or Java?
Typical hard core (and perhaps inexperience) OO developer will despise others that put business logics in somewhere not their sphere of influences, well, let say in database server in the form of SQL stored procedures or UDF. To a certain extent, me as an overlord in OO realm (:p), agreed on this obstinated design decision, but sometime over engineering an application design will bring only undesirable consequences.
Design is all about trade offs, trade offs and trade offs. There is time when you should capitalize on platform specific features to make your life simpler and meeting the supposed functionalities. Remember the MERGE statement in my previous blog, LOL
Putting logics in database layer have advantages and disadvantages. Especially in this age of messy system integrations and consolidations, more than one application tends to access the same relational data sources.
You should notice by now around you, if the corporate IT environment involves lots of enterprise applications, that exact same logics were replicated across horizontally aligned systems. Changes are foreseen to be challenging.
The good news is you can use your existing knowledge and put it upfront in IBM DB2 environment. Support for Java Stored Procedures and UDFs is there for quite sometime, but their popularity still not exceptionally high, maybe due to the fact that data layer programmers' preference on SQL as prime language.
Basically what you need to do are (For Windows):
1. Put your logic in a Java class' static methods
2. Copy the compiled bytecodes in the specified DB2 directory, depending on whether it is FENCED or UNFENCED (for UDFs). or call a system SP to install the packaged JAR that contains the bytecodes.
3. Issue CREATE FUNCTION/PROCEDURE with proper options to the external Java methods.
That's all. Simple right? Of course NO, there are other critical considerations when using Java SP/UDFs.
Check out the REDBOOK here
Good luck, Folks.
Design is all about trade offs, trade offs and trade offs. There is time when you should capitalize on platform specific features to make your life simpler and meeting the supposed functionalities. Remember the MERGE statement in my previous blog, LOL
Putting logics in database layer have advantages and disadvantages. Especially in this age of messy system integrations and consolidations, more than one application tends to access the same relational data sources.
You should notice by now around you, if the corporate IT environment involves lots of enterprise applications, that exact same logics were replicated across horizontally aligned systems. Changes are foreseen to be challenging.
The good news is you can use your existing knowledge and put it upfront in IBM DB2 environment. Support for Java Stored Procedures and UDFs is there for quite sometime, but their popularity still not exceptionally high, maybe due to the fact that data layer programmers' preference on SQL as prime language.
Basically what you need to do are (For Windows):
1. Put your logic in a Java class' static methods
2. Copy the compiled bytecodes in the specified DB2 directory, depending on whether it is FENCED or UNFENCED (for UDFs). or call a system SP to install the packaged JAR that contains the bytecodes.
3. Issue CREATE FUNCTION/PROCEDURE with proper options to the external Java methods.
That's all. Simple right? Of course NO, there are other critical considerations when using Java SP/UDFs.
Check out the REDBOOK here
Good luck, Folks.
Handle Slowly Changing Dimension in DB2
Excerpt from WWW about Slowly Changing Dimension:
Well, you might be naive (talented?) enough to write your own framework to manage the slowly changing dimensions in your environment, however it is good to know that there is a handy tool at your disposal to minimize the plumbing works for those data management scenarios.
As of IBM DB2 version 8.1 FixPack 2 or later, MERGE statement is introduced.
The example below illustrates how Merge can take data from a staging table and use it to update or create dimension members accordingly.
Do you think life is better now?
Complete Syntax on DB2 Merge Statement
The "Slowly Changing Dimension" problem is a common one particular to data warehousing. In a nutshell, this applies to cases where the attribute for a record varies over time. We give an example below:
Christina is a customer with ABC Inc. She first lived in Chicago, Illinois. So, the original entry in the customer lookup table has the following record:
Customer Key Name State
1001 Christina Illinois
At a later date, she moved to Los Angeles, California on January, 2003. How should ABC Inc. now modify its customer table to reflect this change? This is the "Slowly Changing Dimension" problem.
There are in general three ways to solve this type of problem, and they are categorized as follows:
Type 1: The new record replaces the original record. No trace of the old record exists.
Type 2: A new record is added into the customer dimension table. Therefore, the customer is treated essentially as two people.
Type 3: The original record is modified to reflect the change.
Well, you might be naive (talented?) enough to write your own framework to manage the slowly changing dimensions in your environment, however it is good to know that there is a handy tool at your disposal to minimize the plumbing works for those data management scenarios.
As of IBM DB2 version 8.1 FixPack 2 or later, MERGE statement is introduced.
The example below illustrates how Merge can take data from a staging table and use it to update or create dimension members accordingly.
MERGE INTO
DWH.DIM_COMPANY AS TARGET
USING
(SELECT ID, NAME, PHONE FROM DWHSTAG.COMPANY) AS SOURCE
ON SOURCE.ID = TARGET.ID
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET (NAME,PHONE)=(SOURCE.NAME,SOURCE.PHONE)
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (ID, NAME, PHONE) VALUES (SOURCE.ID, SOURCE.NAME, SOURCE.PHONE)
ELSE IGNORE;
Do you think life is better now?
Complete Syntax on DB2 Merge Statement
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
DB2 Changing Statement Terminator Symbol
When you pass in -t command option to DB2 CLP, the delimiter ; (Semi colon) is turn on for enabling you to enter multiple statement lines before submitting it. This is typically acceptable behavour when you need to submit a single statement that encompassing multiple lines in the console.
What if you need to submit a large and complex stored procedure creation script to CLP? You can save the codes in a physical file then use db2 -t -f myProc.sql.
Then you hit errors that doesn't make sense at all.
Most probably the query parser is confused with the statement terminator and your substatement terminator. Substatements, such as those that you embedded in your stored procedure are forced to use ; as their termination character. In this case, when the parser encounter the first embedded semicolon, it would think that the statement is ready for parsing. Ta da. it strew up.
So, a better command would be "db2 -td# -f myProc.sql" assuming you are using # symbol as your statement terminator.
Yet, you might face another issue of encountering multiple different statement terminator in the same CLP session.
So you decide to
db2 -td#
select * from syscat.tables#
quit#
db2 -td$
select * from syscat.columns$
quit$
This example is trivial, but you get my point.
So, is there a better solution? O yeah, you can use one of the DB2 Control Option in the form of:
--#SET TERMINATOR
For example:
db2 -t
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.TABLES FETCH FIRST 1 ROW ONLY;
--#SET TERMINATOR #
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS FETCH FIRST 1 ROW ONLY#
--#SET TERMINATOR $
VALUES (1)$
Similar approach can be adopted in Java DB2 programming by submitting it as part of the query you sent to DB2.
What if you need to submit a large and complex stored procedure creation script to CLP? You can save the codes in a physical file then use db2 -t -f myProc.sql.
Then you hit errors that doesn't make sense at all.
Most probably the query parser is confused with the statement terminator and your substatement terminator. Substatements, such as those that you embedded in your stored procedure are forced to use ; as their termination character. In this case, when the parser encounter the first embedded semicolon, it would think that the statement is ready for parsing. Ta da. it strew up.
So, a better command would be "db2 -td# -f myProc.sql" assuming you are using # symbol as your statement terminator.
Yet, you might face another issue of encountering multiple different statement terminator in the same CLP session.
So you decide to
db2 -td#
select * from syscat.tables#
quit#
db2 -td$
select * from syscat.columns$
quit$
This example is trivial, but you get my point.
So, is there a better solution? O yeah, you can use one of the DB2 Control Option in the form of:
--#SET TERMINATOR
For example:
db2 -t
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.TABLES FETCH FIRST 1 ROW ONLY;
--#SET TERMINATOR #
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS FETCH FIRST 1 ROW ONLY#
--#SET TERMINATOR $
VALUES (1)$
Similar approach can be adopted in Java DB2 programming by submitting it as part of the query you sent to DB2.
Edmund Santhara is Malaysia’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year
by Joyce Au-Yong & Ooi Ying Nee
KUALA LUMPUR: Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd’s CEO Edmund Santhara is Malaysia’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2007, triumphing over Master category nominees who have contributed to the business world for more than six years.
Edmund was chosen from a selection of 13 outstanding entrepreneurs, each and everyone of them, leading captains of industry in their own right. This is the first year that the recipient of the award is not from the Master Category.
The 36-year-old also walked away with the Emerging Entrepreneur of The Year award.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi presented the awards at the ceremony here last night.
Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Effendi, said: “More and more, we see how our entrepreneurs matter towards nation building in today’s increasingly global economy.
The tide has certainly turned, given the emphasis on the private sector-led growth in our national development.
“The Ninth Malaysia Plan targets a 60% private sector growth contribution as opposed to 40% in the Eighth Malaysia Plan. This would mean that the ratio of public to private contribution would be reversed from 60:40 to 40:60 by 2010,” he said.
E&Y Malaysia chairman Datuk Dr Abdul Samad Alias said: “Our government support for entrepreneurship is noteworthy especially with its incentives and fund allocation to this sector. This year is particularly special as it coincides with the 50th year of independence.
“We celebrate 50 years of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs from all walks of life play a significant role in shaping the economy. Without doubt, entrepreneurs would have and will continue to play a significant role by 2020, turning dreams into reality, hoping to inspire and motivate the next generation of entrepreneurship.”
“I am very excited and surprised to win this award. I am also extremely touched,” Edmund said, adding that his winning the award would propel Masterskill to further growth.
Masterskill is the operator of Masterskill Nursing and Allied Health that offers courses in pharmacy, physiotherapy and lab technology. In just two years, Edmund transformed Masterskill by implementing various measures such as procuring study loans from various funds and revolutionising the nursing and healthcare educational delivery system.
The company has also achieved 100% employability for all its graduates. Edmund will represent Malaysia at the global Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award to be held at Monte Carlo in May next year. The global event will see 50 of the world’s best entrepreneurs vying for the coveted title.
Founder and managing director of retail chain Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin was presented The Masters Category Award yesterday. Ameer is credited for turning the humble hypermarket into a company that made a pre-tax profit of RM50 million and employs 6,500 workers. Mydin competes with the likes of Tesco, Carrefour and Giant.
Nigel Lee Siew Tat, the CEO of Mesdaq listed TechnoDex Bhd, was given the Technology Category Award. TechnoDex Bhd is an e-business solutions company that currently has offices in China, Australia and Vietnam. Under Lee’s leadership, the company provides Malaysia’s first homegrown open source technologies software platform.
Co-founder of TA Enterprise Bhd, Datin Alicia Tan Kuay Fong, received the Women’s Category Award. TA is the first stock broking firm to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, and is one of the top retail stockbrokers in the country. Due to Tan’s foresight, the company has diversified into property development, becoming a leader by setting the pricing and concept benchmarks for luxury properties.
“We take great pride in the role we have played, and will continue to play in celebrating the story of how so many hard-won dreams have come true. It was indeed a challenge for the judges to select one single award recipient, as each top nominee is a winner in his or her own right,” said See Huey beng, country managing partner, Ernst & Young in a statement yesterday.
The four entrepreneurs emerged as winners out of a total of 13 nominees. Some of the judges include previous Malaysia Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006, Datuk Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia Bhd; Vincent Leusner, president of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce; and Datuk Dr Abu Talib Bachik, senior vice-president of the Technopreneur Development Division, Multimedia Development Corporation.
Last year’s winners include Emerging Entrepreneurs of the Year, brothers Kenny Goh Chee Ken and Henry Goh Chee Heng, respectively CEO and COO of Macro Kiosk Bhd; Technology Entrepreneur of the Year, Simon Loh Wee Hian, non executive director of e-pay (M) Sdn Bhd and Nafisah Radin, principal architect of NR Architect, who clinched the Woman Entrepreneur Award.
The Edge is the official media sponsor.
by Joyce Au-Yong & Ooi Ying Nee
KUALA LUMPUR: Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd’s CEO Edmund Santhara is Malaysia’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2007, triumphing over Master category nominees who have contributed to the business world for more than six years.
Edmund was chosen from a selection of 13 outstanding entrepreneurs, each and everyone of them, leading captains of industry in their own right. This is the first year that the recipient of the award is not from the Master Category.
The 36-year-old also walked away with the Emerging Entrepreneur of The Year award.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi presented the awards at the ceremony here last night.
Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Effendi, said: “More and more, we see how our entrepreneurs matter towards nation building in today’s increasingly global economy.
The tide has certainly turned, given the emphasis on the private sector-led growth in our national development.
“The Ninth Malaysia Plan targets a 60% private sector growth contribution as opposed to 40% in the Eighth Malaysia Plan. This would mean that the ratio of public to private contribution would be reversed from 60:40 to 40:60 by 2010,” he said.
E&Y Malaysia chairman Datuk Dr Abdul Samad Alias said: “Our government support for entrepreneurship is noteworthy especially with its incentives and fund allocation to this sector. This year is particularly special as it coincides with the 50th year of independence.
“We celebrate 50 years of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs from all walks of life play a significant role in shaping the economy. Without doubt, entrepreneurs would have and will continue to play a significant role by 2020, turning dreams into reality, hoping to inspire and motivate the next generation of entrepreneurship.”
“I am very excited and surprised to win this award. I am also extremely touched,” Edmund said, adding that his winning the award would propel Masterskill to further growth.
Masterskill is the operator of Masterskill Nursing and Allied Health that offers courses in pharmacy, physiotherapy and lab technology. In just two years, Edmund transformed Masterskill by implementing various measures such as procuring study loans from various funds and revolutionising the nursing and healthcare educational delivery system.
The company has also achieved 100% employability for all its graduates. Edmund will represent Malaysia at the global Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award to be held at Monte Carlo in May next year. The global event will see 50 of the world’s best entrepreneurs vying for the coveted title.
Founder and managing director of retail chain Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd, Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin was presented The Masters Category Award yesterday. Ameer is credited for turning the humble hypermarket into a company that made a pre-tax profit of RM50 million and employs 6,500 workers. Mydin competes with the likes of Tesco, Carrefour and Giant.
Nigel Lee Siew Tat, the CEO of Mesdaq listed TechnoDex Bhd, was given the Technology Category Award. TechnoDex Bhd is an e-business solutions company that currently has offices in China, Australia and Vietnam. Under Lee’s leadership, the company provides Malaysia’s first homegrown open source technologies software platform.
Co-founder of TA Enterprise Bhd, Datin Alicia Tan Kuay Fong, received the Women’s Category Award. TA is the first stock broking firm to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, and is one of the top retail stockbrokers in the country. Due to Tan’s foresight, the company has diversified into property development, becoming a leader by setting the pricing and concept benchmarks for luxury properties.
“We take great pride in the role we have played, and will continue to play in celebrating the story of how so many hard-won dreams have come true. It was indeed a challenge for the judges to select one single award recipient, as each top nominee is a winner in his or her own right,” said See Huey beng, country managing partner, Ernst & Young in a statement yesterday.
The four entrepreneurs emerged as winners out of a total of 13 nominees. Some of the judges include previous Malaysia Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006, Datuk Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia Bhd; Vincent Leusner, president of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce; and Datuk Dr Abu Talib Bachik, senior vice-president of the Technopreneur Development Division, Multimedia Development Corporation.
Last year’s winners include Emerging Entrepreneurs of the Year, brothers Kenny Goh Chee Ken and Henry Goh Chee Heng, respectively CEO and COO of Macro Kiosk Bhd; Technology Entrepreneur of the Year, Simon Loh Wee Hian, non executive director of e-pay (M) Sdn Bhd and Nafisah Radin, principal architect of NR Architect, who clinched the Woman Entrepreneur Award.
The Edge is the official media sponsor.
Govt to allow Tenaga to pass cost through to consumers
You see what I meant now? Crap.
Govt to allow Tenaga to pass cost through to consumers
by Tamimi Omar
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will allow Tenaga Nasional Bhd to pass any increase in gas prices to consumers when a review of the fuel subsidy takes place.
Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said Tenaga would not be adversely affected if and when a review of the gas price takes place. He also refused to comment on when the review may take place.
“If and when the review takes place, Tenaga will not be adversely affected. And if Tenaga is affected, there will be a pass through,” he told reporters after a signing ceremony between CIMB and Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd here yesterday.
At present, based on an arrangement brokered by the government, Tenaga gets its gas at a subsidised price of RM6.40 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu) from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas). The current market price is about RM12 per mmbtu or even higher depending on the demand.
The difference between the market price and the subsidised price has caused Petronas to incur a huge opportunity cost in supplying gas at a cheap rate to Tenaga. For instance in the financal year ended March 31, 2007, Petronas incurred a cost of RM15.6 billion to supply subsidised gas, an increase of 9.1% from a year earlier.
The subsidy includes RM5 billion for Tenaga, RM6.7 billion for independent power producers (IPPs) and RM3.9 billion for industrial, commercial and residential users .
In light of the increasing subsidy, Petronas had in September this year, proposed to the government to raise the price of natural gas supplied to Tenaga and independent power producers. The agreement between Petronas and Tenaga had long expired and is being renewed on a monthly basis currently.
In relation to the subsidy, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik had two weeks ago said that Tenaga and the IPPs will re-commence negotiations to review the power purchase agreement (PPA) which determines the electricity tariff. The first round of negotiations started a year ago but ended without an agreement.
Meanwhile Tenaga’s share price jumped 45 sen to close at RM9.70 on the back of positive comments by Nor Mohamed. His comments essentially confirmed an analyst report that Tenaga would not be affected by any gas price increase as it will be passed through to consumers.
CIMB Research in a report upgrading Tenaga stated that apart from a pass through of any gas price increase, another positive development for the utility is that it is seeing a stronger than expected demand for electricity.
Govt to allow Tenaga to pass cost through to consumers
by Tamimi Omar
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will allow Tenaga Nasional Bhd to pass any increase in gas prices to consumers when a review of the fuel subsidy takes place.
Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said Tenaga would not be adversely affected if and when a review of the gas price takes place. He also refused to comment on when the review may take place.
“If and when the review takes place, Tenaga will not be adversely affected. And if Tenaga is affected, there will be a pass through,” he told reporters after a signing ceremony between CIMB and Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd here yesterday.
At present, based on an arrangement brokered by the government, Tenaga gets its gas at a subsidised price of RM6.40 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu) from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas). The current market price is about RM12 per mmbtu or even higher depending on the demand.
The difference between the market price and the subsidised price has caused Petronas to incur a huge opportunity cost in supplying gas at a cheap rate to Tenaga. For instance in the financal year ended March 31, 2007, Petronas incurred a cost of RM15.6 billion to supply subsidised gas, an increase of 9.1% from a year earlier.
The subsidy includes RM5 billion for Tenaga, RM6.7 billion for independent power producers (IPPs) and RM3.9 billion for industrial, commercial and residential users .
In light of the increasing subsidy, Petronas had in September this year, proposed to the government to raise the price of natural gas supplied to Tenaga and independent power producers. The agreement between Petronas and Tenaga had long expired and is being renewed on a monthly basis currently.
In relation to the subsidy, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik had two weeks ago said that Tenaga and the IPPs will re-commence negotiations to review the power purchase agreement (PPA) which determines the electricity tariff. The first round of negotiations started a year ago but ended without an agreement.
Meanwhile Tenaga’s share price jumped 45 sen to close at RM9.70 on the back of positive comments by Nor Mohamed. His comments essentially confirmed an analyst report that Tenaga would not be affected by any gas price increase as it will be passed through to consumers.
CIMB Research in a report upgrading Tenaga stated that apart from a pass through of any gas price increase, another positive development for the utility is that it is seeing a stronger than expected demand for electricity.
Secret mailing list rocks Wikipedia
Secret mailing list rocks Wikipedia
Find out how your peers are dealing with Virtualization Exclusive On the surface, all is well in Wikiland. Just last week, a headline from The San Francisco Chronicle told the world that "Wikipedia's Future Is Still Looking Up," as the paper happily announced that founder Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales plans to expand his operation with a high-profile move to the city by the bay.
But underneath, there's trouble brewing.
Controversy has erupted among the encyclopedia's core contributors, after a rogue editor revealed that the site's top administrators are using a secret insider mailing list to crackdown on perceived threats to their power.
Many suspected that such a list was in use, as the Wikipedia "ruling clique" grew increasingly concerned with banning editors for the most petty of reasons. But now that the list's existence is confirmed, the rank and file are on the verge of revolt.
Revealed after an uber-admin called "Durova" used it in an attempt to enforce the quixotic ban of a longtime contributor, this secret mailing list seems to undermine the site's famously egalitarian ethos. At the very least, the list allows the ruling clique to push its agenda without scrutiny from the community at large. But clearly, it has also been used to silence the voice of at least one person who was merely trying to improve the encyclopedia's content.
"I've never seen the Wikipedia community as angry as they are with this one," says Charles Ainsworth, a Japan-based editor who's contributed more feature articles to the site than all but six other writers. "I think there was more hidden anger and frustration with the 'ruling clique' than I thought and Durova's heavy-handed action and arrogant refusal to take sufficient accountability for it has released all of it into the open."
Kelly Martin, a former member of Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee, leaves no doubt that this sort of surreptitious communication has gone on for ages. "This particular list is new, but the strategy is old," Martin told us via phone, from outside Chicago. "It's certainly not consistent with the public principles of the site. But in reality, it's standard practice."
Meanwhile, Jimbo Wales has told the community that all this is merely a tempest in a teacup. As he points out, the user that Durova wrongly banned was reinstated after a mere 75 minutes. But it would seem that Jimbo has done his best to suppress any talk of the secret mailing list.
Whatever the case, many longtime editors are up-in-arms. And the site's top administrators seem more concerned with petty site politics than with building a trustworthy encyclopedia. "The problem with Wikipedia is that, for so many in the project, it's no longer about the encyclopedia," Martin wrote in a recent blog post. "The problem is that Wikipedia's community has defined itself not in terms of the encyclopedia it is supposedly producing, but instead of the people it venerates and the people it abhors."
Bang! Bang! You're dead
On November 18, Durova banned a Wikipedia editor known as "!!". Yes, "!!". Some have taken to calling him "Bang Bang." At Wikipedia, everyone has the right to anonymity, and user names are often, shall we say, inexplicable.
In banning this account, Durova described it as an "abusive sock puppet," insisting it was setup by someone dead set on destroying the encyclopedia. "This problem editor is a troublemaker whose username is two exclamation points with no letters," read the block. "He is a ripened sock with a padded history of redirects, minor edits, and some DYK work. He also indulges in obscene trolling in German, and free range sarcasm and troublemaking. If you find this user gloating, or spot his nasty side, hit him with the banhammer." DYKs are edits made to the "Did You Know" section of the Wikipedia home page.
Durova then posted a notice to the site's public forum, insisting the ban was too important for discussion outside the purview of the Arbitration Committee, Wikipedia's Supreme Court. "Due to the nature of this investigation, our normal open discussion isn't really feasible," she said. "Please take to arbitration if you disagree with this decision."
But it was discussed. At length. Countless editors were nothing less than livid, many arguing that the banned user was actually a wonderfully productive editor. "Durova, you're really going to have to explain this," wrote one editor. "I see no transgressions of any kind on the part of this user; indeed, with over 100 DYKs, he seems to be a pretty positive force around here."
Meanwhile, Durova continued to insist that she had some sort of secret evidence that could only be viewed by the Arbitration Committee. "I am very confident my research will stand up to scrutiny," she said. "I am equally confident that anything I say here will be parsed rather closely by some disruptive banned sockpuppeteers. If I open the door a little bit it'll become a wedge issue as people ask for more information, and then some rather deep research techniques would be in jeopardy."
Then someone posted a private email from Durova in which she divulged her evidence - and revealed the secret mailing list.
Wikiparanoia
Basically, Durova's email showed that Bang Bang was indeed a wonderfully productive editor. She was sure this was all a put-on, that he was trying to gain the community's "good faith" and destroy it from within.
We're not joking.
This sort of extreme paranoia has become the norm among the Wikipedia inner circle. There are a handful sites across the web that spend most of their bandwidth criticizing the Wikipedia elite - the leading example being Wikipedia Review - and the ruling clique spends countless hours worrying that these critics are trying to infiltrate the encyclopedia itself.
Bang Bang was a relatively new account. Since this new user was a skilled editor, Durova decided, he must be "a vandal" sent by Wikipedia Review. "I need to show you not just what Wikipedia Review is doing to us, but how they're doing it," she said in her email. "Here's a troublemaker whose username is two exclamation points with no letters: !! It's what I would call [a] 'ripened sock'...Some of the folks at WR do this to game the community's good faith."
Former Arbitration Committee member Kelly Martin confirms that this bizarre attitude is now par for the course inside the Wikipedia inner circle. "Anyone who makes large changes to anything now is likely to get run over by a steamroller," she says. "It's not a matter of whether your edit was good or bad. All they see is 'large edit my person not known to me' and - boom! They smack you on the head because vandals are so bad."
As it turned out, Bang Bang was an experienced user. He had set up a new account after having privacy problems with his old one. Once her secret email was posted, Durova removed the ban, calling it "a false positive."
Durova then voluntarily relinquished her admin powers, and over the weekend, the Arbitration Committee admonished her "to exercise greater care when issuing blocks."
The secret mailing list
But this particular false positive was only part of the problem. With her email, Durova also revealed that the ruling clique was using that secret mailing list to combat its enemies - both real and imagined. "The good news," she said, was that the Wikipedia Review "trolls" didn't know the list existed. And then she linked to the list's sign-up page.
The list is hosted by Wikia, the Jimmy Wales-founded open source web portal that was setup as an entirely separate entity from the not-for-profit Wikimedia Foundation that oversees Wikipedia.
The sign-up page explains that the list is designed to quash "cyberstalking" and "harassment." But it would seem that things have gotten a bit out-of-hand. Clearly, the list is also used to land "the banhammer" on innocent bystanders.
"The problem is that their false positive rate is about 90 per cent - or higher," says Kelly Martin. "It's possible that every last person Durova has identified is innocent."
Recently, in another effort to quash "harassment," several members of the Wikipedia elite tried to ban the mention of certain "BADSITES" on the encyclopedia, and naturally, Wikipedia Review was on the list. Dan Tobias was one of the many editors who successfully fought this ban, and as he battled, he marveled at how well organized his opponents seemed to be.
"Over the months that I've been fighting people over issues like the BADSITES proposal, it looks like a lot of these people I was fighting were on this secret email list - at least I suspect they were," says the Floridia-based Tobias. "They always seemed to be show up in right place, at the right time, to gang up on people."
Yes, it all sounds like the most ridiculous of high school squabbles. But Tobias was merely trying to protect free speech on a site where free speech is supposedly sacred.
The irony, Tobias points out, is that in using this mailing list, the Wikipedia inner circle is guilty of the same behavior they're trying to fight. "They're villainizing the so-called attack sites because these sites are promoting pernicious ideas about Wikipedia," he says. "The argument is that when a bunch of like-minded people get together, they're sounding boards for one another, and they end up getting way off base because there's not an opposing viewpoint around.
"But you could say the exact same thing about this secret email list: a bunch of like-minded people are encouraging each other's possibly wacked-out views and, in the end, making trouble on Wikipedia."
Oversight
If you take Wikipedia as seriously as it takes itself, this is a huge problem. The site is ostensibly devoted to democratic consensus and the free exchange of ideas. But whether or not you believe in the holy law of Web 2.0, Wikipedia is tearing at the seams. Many of its core contributors are extremely unhappy about Durova's ill-advised ban and the exposure of the secret mailing list, and some feel that the site's well-being is seriously threatened.
In a post to Wikipedia, Jimbo Wales says that this whole incident was blown out of proportion. "I advise the world to relax a notch or two. A bad block was made for 75 minutes," he says. "It was reversed and an apology given. There are things to be studied here about what went wrong and what could be done in the future, but wow, could we please do so with a lot less drama? A 75 minute block, even if made badly, is hardly worth all this drama. Let's please love each other, love the project, and remember what we are here for."
But he's not admitting how deep this controversy goes. Wales and the Wikimedia Foudation came down hard on the editor who leaked Durova's email. After it was posted to the public forum, the email was promptly "oversighted" - i.e. permanently removed. Then this rogue editor posted it to his personal talk page, and a Wikimedia Foundation member not only oversighted the email again, but temporarily banned the editor.
Then Jimbo swooped in with a personal rebuke. "You have caused too much harm to justify us putting up with this kind of behavior much longer," he told the editor.
The problem, for many regular contributors, is that Wales and the Foundation seem to be siding with Durova's bizarre behavior. "I believe that Jimbo's credibility has been greatly damaged because of his open support for these people," says Charles Ainsworth. And if Jimbo can't maintain his credibility, the site's most experienced editors may not stick around. Since the banhammer came down, Bang Bang hasn't edited a lick. ®
Find out how your peers are dealing with Virtualization Exclusive On the surface, all is well in Wikiland. Just last week, a headline from The San Francisco Chronicle told the world that "Wikipedia's Future Is Still Looking Up," as the paper happily announced that founder Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales plans to expand his operation with a high-profile move to the city by the bay.
But underneath, there's trouble brewing.
Controversy has erupted among the encyclopedia's core contributors, after a rogue editor revealed that the site's top administrators are using a secret insider mailing list to crackdown on perceived threats to their power.
Many suspected that such a list was in use, as the Wikipedia "ruling clique" grew increasingly concerned with banning editors for the most petty of reasons. But now that the list's existence is confirmed, the rank and file are on the verge of revolt.
Revealed after an uber-admin called "Durova" used it in an attempt to enforce the quixotic ban of a longtime contributor, this secret mailing list seems to undermine the site's famously egalitarian ethos. At the very least, the list allows the ruling clique to push its agenda without scrutiny from the community at large. But clearly, it has also been used to silence the voice of at least one person who was merely trying to improve the encyclopedia's content.
"I've never seen the Wikipedia community as angry as they are with this one," says Charles Ainsworth, a Japan-based editor who's contributed more feature articles to the site than all but six other writers. "I think there was more hidden anger and frustration with the 'ruling clique' than I thought and Durova's heavy-handed action and arrogant refusal to take sufficient accountability for it has released all of it into the open."
Kelly Martin, a former member of Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee, leaves no doubt that this sort of surreptitious communication has gone on for ages. "This particular list is new, but the strategy is old," Martin told us via phone, from outside Chicago. "It's certainly not consistent with the public principles of the site. But in reality, it's standard practice."
Meanwhile, Jimbo Wales has told the community that all this is merely a tempest in a teacup. As he points out, the user that Durova wrongly banned was reinstated after a mere 75 minutes. But it would seem that Jimbo has done his best to suppress any talk of the secret mailing list.
Whatever the case, many longtime editors are up-in-arms. And the site's top administrators seem more concerned with petty site politics than with building a trustworthy encyclopedia. "The problem with Wikipedia is that, for so many in the project, it's no longer about the encyclopedia," Martin wrote in a recent blog post. "The problem is that Wikipedia's community has defined itself not in terms of the encyclopedia it is supposedly producing, but instead of the people it venerates and the people it abhors."
Bang! Bang! You're dead
On November 18, Durova banned a Wikipedia editor known as "!!". Yes, "!!". Some have taken to calling him "Bang Bang." At Wikipedia, everyone has the right to anonymity, and user names are often, shall we say, inexplicable.
In banning this account, Durova described it as an "abusive sock puppet," insisting it was setup by someone dead set on destroying the encyclopedia. "This problem editor is a troublemaker whose username is two exclamation points with no letters," read the block. "He is a ripened sock with a padded history of redirects, minor edits, and some DYK work. He also indulges in obscene trolling in German, and free range sarcasm and troublemaking. If you find this user gloating, or spot his nasty side, hit him with the banhammer." DYKs are edits made to the "Did You Know" section of the Wikipedia home page.
Durova then posted a notice to the site's public forum, insisting the ban was too important for discussion outside the purview of the Arbitration Committee, Wikipedia's Supreme Court. "Due to the nature of this investigation, our normal open discussion isn't really feasible," she said. "Please take to arbitration if you disagree with this decision."
But it was discussed. At length. Countless editors were nothing less than livid, many arguing that the banned user was actually a wonderfully productive editor. "Durova, you're really going to have to explain this," wrote one editor. "I see no transgressions of any kind on the part of this user; indeed, with over 100 DYKs, he seems to be a pretty positive force around here."
Meanwhile, Durova continued to insist that she had some sort of secret evidence that could only be viewed by the Arbitration Committee. "I am very confident my research will stand up to scrutiny," she said. "I am equally confident that anything I say here will be parsed rather closely by some disruptive banned sockpuppeteers. If I open the door a little bit it'll become a wedge issue as people ask for more information, and then some rather deep research techniques would be in jeopardy."
Then someone posted a private email from Durova in which she divulged her evidence - and revealed the secret mailing list.
Wikiparanoia
Basically, Durova's email showed that Bang Bang was indeed a wonderfully productive editor. She was sure this was all a put-on, that he was trying to gain the community's "good faith" and destroy it from within.
We're not joking.
This sort of extreme paranoia has become the norm among the Wikipedia inner circle. There are a handful sites across the web that spend most of their bandwidth criticizing the Wikipedia elite - the leading example being Wikipedia Review - and the ruling clique spends countless hours worrying that these critics are trying to infiltrate the encyclopedia itself.
Bang Bang was a relatively new account. Since this new user was a skilled editor, Durova decided, he must be "a vandal" sent by Wikipedia Review. "I need to show you not just what Wikipedia Review is doing to us, but how they're doing it," she said in her email. "Here's a troublemaker whose username is two exclamation points with no letters: !! It's what I would call [a] 'ripened sock'...Some of the folks at WR do this to game the community's good faith."
Former Arbitration Committee member Kelly Martin confirms that this bizarre attitude is now par for the course inside the Wikipedia inner circle. "Anyone who makes large changes to anything now is likely to get run over by a steamroller," she says. "It's not a matter of whether your edit was good or bad. All they see is 'large edit my person not known to me' and - boom! They smack you on the head because vandals are so bad."
As it turned out, Bang Bang was an experienced user. He had set up a new account after having privacy problems with his old one. Once her secret email was posted, Durova removed the ban, calling it "a false positive."
Durova then voluntarily relinquished her admin powers, and over the weekend, the Arbitration Committee admonished her "to exercise greater care when issuing blocks."
The secret mailing list
But this particular false positive was only part of the problem. With her email, Durova also revealed that the ruling clique was using that secret mailing list to combat its enemies - both real and imagined. "The good news," she said, was that the Wikipedia Review "trolls" didn't know the list existed. And then she linked to the list's sign-up page.
The list is hosted by Wikia, the Jimmy Wales-founded open source web portal that was setup as an entirely separate entity from the not-for-profit Wikimedia Foundation that oversees Wikipedia.
The sign-up page explains that the list is designed to quash "cyberstalking" and "harassment." But it would seem that things have gotten a bit out-of-hand. Clearly, the list is also used to land "the banhammer" on innocent bystanders.
"The problem is that their false positive rate is about 90 per cent - or higher," says Kelly Martin. "It's possible that every last person Durova has identified is innocent."
Recently, in another effort to quash "harassment," several members of the Wikipedia elite tried to ban the mention of certain "BADSITES" on the encyclopedia, and naturally, Wikipedia Review was on the list. Dan Tobias was one of the many editors who successfully fought this ban, and as he battled, he marveled at how well organized his opponents seemed to be.
"Over the months that I've been fighting people over issues like the BADSITES proposal, it looks like a lot of these people I was fighting were on this secret email list - at least I suspect they were," says the Floridia-based Tobias. "They always seemed to be show up in right place, at the right time, to gang up on people."
Yes, it all sounds like the most ridiculous of high school squabbles. But Tobias was merely trying to protect free speech on a site where free speech is supposedly sacred.
The irony, Tobias points out, is that in using this mailing list, the Wikipedia inner circle is guilty of the same behavior they're trying to fight. "They're villainizing the so-called attack sites because these sites are promoting pernicious ideas about Wikipedia," he says. "The argument is that when a bunch of like-minded people get together, they're sounding boards for one another, and they end up getting way off base because there's not an opposing viewpoint around.
"But you could say the exact same thing about this secret email list: a bunch of like-minded people are encouraging each other's possibly wacked-out views and, in the end, making trouble on Wikipedia."
Oversight
If you take Wikipedia as seriously as it takes itself, this is a huge problem. The site is ostensibly devoted to democratic consensus and the free exchange of ideas. But whether or not you believe in the holy law of Web 2.0, Wikipedia is tearing at the seams. Many of its core contributors are extremely unhappy about Durova's ill-advised ban and the exposure of the secret mailing list, and some feel that the site's well-being is seriously threatened.
In a post to Wikipedia, Jimbo Wales says that this whole incident was blown out of proportion. "I advise the world to relax a notch or two. A bad block was made for 75 minutes," he says. "It was reversed and an apology given. There are things to be studied here about what went wrong and what could be done in the future, but wow, could we please do so with a lot less drama? A 75 minute block, even if made badly, is hardly worth all this drama. Let's please love each other, love the project, and remember what we are here for."
But he's not admitting how deep this controversy goes. Wales and the Wikimedia Foudation came down hard on the editor who leaked Durova's email. After it was posted to the public forum, the email was promptly "oversighted" - i.e. permanently removed. Then this rogue editor posted it to his personal talk page, and a Wikimedia Foundation member not only oversighted the email again, but temporarily banned the editor.
Then Jimbo swooped in with a personal rebuke. "You have caused too much harm to justify us putting up with this kind of behavior much longer," he told the editor.
The problem, for many regular contributors, is that Wales and the Foundation seem to be siding with Durova's bizarre behavior. "I believe that Jimbo's credibility has been greatly damaged because of his open support for these people," says Charles Ainsworth. And if Jimbo can't maintain his credibility, the site's most experienced editors may not stick around. Since the banhammer came down, Bang Bang hasn't edited a lick. ®
North, South Korea Unite Over Linux
North, South Korea Unite Over Linux
The bitter political foes will team with China on the project, tentatively named "Hana Linux"
by Peter Judge
Bitter political foes South and North Korea are to jointly develop a version of Linux.
The new project, tentatively named "Hana Linux", was announced at the ICMIP 2007 event in Yenji, China, last week and will be developed jointly by both Koreas and China, according to a report from ETNews, the Web site of daily Korean technology newspaper The Electronic Times. A Linux event in Pyongyang, North Korea, in the early part of 2008 will report on progress.
Advertisement
As well as a new, unified Linux, the two Koreas will also co-operate on office software in the Korean language. They also promised to work to iron out differences in IT terminology between South and North Koreans and Korean Chinese.
The idea was suggested by Hee-tak Moon of the Korea Open Source Software Association (Kossa) in South Korea, and approved by the heads of the three IT bodies--the Reunification IT Forum in South Korea, North Korea's Chosun People's Science Technology Association, and the Chinese Information Society--who were joint hosts of ICMIP 2007.
Training centers for Linux professionals will be developed at Yenben and Dandung in China, and at Pyongyang, Kaesong and Hoichun in North Korea, ETNews reported.
South Korea has also rolled out Linux in Seoul schools, announced plans for a "Linux showcase city" last year, and promised (in 2003) to move 30 percent of government servers to Linux by this year.
Provided by ZDNet Asia—Where Technology Means Business
The bitter political foes will team with China on the project, tentatively named "Hana Linux"
by Peter Judge
Bitter political foes South and North Korea are to jointly develop a version of Linux.
The new project, tentatively named "Hana Linux", was announced at the ICMIP 2007 event in Yenji, China, last week and will be developed jointly by both Koreas and China, according to a report from ETNews, the Web site of daily Korean technology newspaper The Electronic Times. A Linux event in Pyongyang, North Korea, in the early part of 2008 will report on progress.
Advertisement
As well as a new, unified Linux, the two Koreas will also co-operate on office software in the Korean language. They also promised to work to iron out differences in IT terminology between South and North Koreans and Korean Chinese.
The idea was suggested by Hee-tak Moon of the Korea Open Source Software Association (Kossa) in South Korea, and approved by the heads of the three IT bodies--the Reunification IT Forum in South Korea, North Korea's Chosun People's Science Technology Association, and the Chinese Information Society--who were joint hosts of ICMIP 2007.
Training centers for Linux professionals will be developed at Yenben and Dandung in China, and at Pyongyang, Kaesong and Hoichun in North Korea, ETNews reported.
South Korea has also rolled out Linux in Seoul schools, announced plans for a "Linux showcase city" last year, and promised (in 2003) to move 30 percent of government servers to Linux by this year.
Provided by ZDNet Asia—Where Technology Means Business
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
How Fast Does Dark Matter Fall?
Interesting Indeed....
How Fast Does Dark Matter Fall?
Dark matter is mysterious stuff. Scientists don't really know much about it at all, other than the fact that there seems to be a lot of it in the universe. Thanks to a new analysis by physicists at Caltech and the University of Toronto, we can expect that lumps of dark matter gravitationally attract each other in just the same way that lumps of normal matter (like you and the earth, for instance) attract each other.
The researchers drew their conclusion by studying the distribution of stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy that orbits our Milky Way.
If dark matter experienced different forces from normal matter, it would change the relative amounts of stars kicked out ahead and behind the dwarf galaxy as a result of its interaction with our own galaxy. But the new study finds that the star distribution is just what we should expect if dark matter obeys the same gravitational laws as regular matter, to within an error of 10 percent.
Future observations and improvements in our understanding of dark matter distributions should reduce the uncertainty to a few percent.
The analysis helps eliminate astrophysical models that explain the distribution of material in the universe by proposing exotic forms of gravitational interactions for dark matter. In addition, despite the fact that there is broad speculation regarding the true identity of dark matter and no guarantee that we will ever capture it or produce it in the lab, at least we now know how long it will take to reach the floor if a resident of a dark matter planet were to knock a bit of it off of a table.
Adapted from materials provided by American Physical Society.
How Fast Does Dark Matter Fall?
Dark matter is mysterious stuff. Scientists don't really know much about it at all, other than the fact that there seems to be a lot of it in the universe. Thanks to a new analysis by physicists at Caltech and the University of Toronto, we can expect that lumps of dark matter gravitationally attract each other in just the same way that lumps of normal matter (like you and the earth, for instance) attract each other.
The researchers drew their conclusion by studying the distribution of stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy that orbits our Milky Way.
If dark matter experienced different forces from normal matter, it would change the relative amounts of stars kicked out ahead and behind the dwarf galaxy as a result of its interaction with our own galaxy. But the new study finds that the star distribution is just what we should expect if dark matter obeys the same gravitational laws as regular matter, to within an error of 10 percent.
Future observations and improvements in our understanding of dark matter distributions should reduce the uncertainty to a few percent.
The analysis helps eliminate astrophysical models that explain the distribution of material in the universe by proposing exotic forms of gravitational interactions for dark matter. In addition, despite the fact that there is broad speculation regarding the true identity of dark matter and no guarantee that we will ever capture it or produce it in the lab, at least we now know how long it will take to reach the floor if a resident of a dark matter planet were to knock a bit of it off of a table.
Adapted from materials provided by American Physical Society.
Energy Supply That Drives Sperm Could Power 'Nanobot'
Woo Hooo, Now I feel 'Powerful'
Energy Supply That Drives Sperm Could Power 'Nanobot'
The biological pathway that powers sperm to swim long distances could be harnessed to nanotech devices, releasing drugs or performing mechanical functions inside the body, according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual meeting.
The work by researchers at Cornell's Baker Institute of Animal Health may be the first demonstration of how multistep biological pathways can be assembled and function on a human-made device.
Mammalian sperm have to delivery energy to the long, thin, whip-like tails that power their swimming. Sperm meet the challenge, in part, by onsite power generation, modifying the enzymes of glycolysis so that they can attach themselves to a solid structure running the major length of the sperm tail. From that secure perch, glycolytic enzymes convert sugar into ATP, supplying energy all along the sperm's bending and flexing tail.
Chinatsu Mukai, Alex Travis, and others at Cornell's College of Veterinary Science looked at the early steps in the glycolysis pathway to see if they could move it from the thin "fibrous sheath" that covers the sperm tail to a solid inorganic substitute - a nickel-NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) chip.
First, the researchers replaced the sperm-specific targeting domain of hexokinase, the first enzyme of glycolysis, with a tag that binds to a special gold surface. Even when tethered, the enzyme remained functional. Next they tagged the second enzyme in the pathway, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase. This too was active when tethered. With both attached to the same support, the enzymes acted in series with the product of the first reaction serving as substrate for the second.
These are only the first steps in reproducing the full glycolytic pathway on an inorganic support, say Mukai and Travis. Mukai and Travis suggest that their work serves as proof of principle that the organization of the glycolytic pathway in sperm might provide a natural engineering solution of how to produce ATP locally on nano devices.
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
Paper: Coupled Metabolic Reaction on a Chip: A Step Toward Energy Production on Implantable Medical Devices.
Energy Supply That Drives Sperm Could Power 'Nanobot'
The biological pathway that powers sperm to swim long distances could be harnessed to nanotech devices, releasing drugs or performing mechanical functions inside the body, according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual meeting.
The work by researchers at Cornell's Baker Institute of Animal Health may be the first demonstration of how multistep biological pathways can be assembled and function on a human-made device.
Mammalian sperm have to delivery energy to the long, thin, whip-like tails that power their swimming. Sperm meet the challenge, in part, by onsite power generation, modifying the enzymes of glycolysis so that they can attach themselves to a solid structure running the major length of the sperm tail. From that secure perch, glycolytic enzymes convert sugar into ATP, supplying energy all along the sperm's bending and flexing tail.
Chinatsu Mukai, Alex Travis, and others at Cornell's College of Veterinary Science looked at the early steps in the glycolysis pathway to see if they could move it from the thin "fibrous sheath" that covers the sperm tail to a solid inorganic substitute - a nickel-NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) chip.
First, the researchers replaced the sperm-specific targeting domain of hexokinase, the first enzyme of glycolysis, with a tag that binds to a special gold surface. Even when tethered, the enzyme remained functional. Next they tagged the second enzyme in the pathway, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase. This too was active when tethered. With both attached to the same support, the enzymes acted in series with the product of the first reaction serving as substrate for the second.
These are only the first steps in reproducing the full glycolytic pathway on an inorganic support, say Mukai and Travis. Mukai and Travis suggest that their work serves as proof of principle that the organization of the glycolytic pathway in sperm might provide a natural engineering solution of how to produce ATP locally on nano devices.
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
Paper: Coupled Metabolic Reaction on a Chip: A Step Toward Energy Production on Implantable Medical Devices.
The Nut Did It Again.
The Nut Did It Again. How many nuts should we crack to get this over?
Crappy policy. If this piece of land is under EU or US jurisdiction, we can sue them over monopoly of SMTP services over port 25.
Again, I hate myself of keep repeating the word "CRAP".
Monday, December 03, 2007
MITIGATING SPAM IN TM NETWORK
Dear valued customers,
Telekom Malaysia Berhad wishes to inform its customers about TM's initiative in combating spam in its Internet Protocol (IP) network to improve our quality of service.
Recently, many anti-spam organizations have blacklisted a large number of IP addresses from TM’s network. Due to this many customers have been unable to send emails from their mail server to companies who might be using database from the abovementioned anti-spam organizations.
These spamming activities by a small group have affected a large number of our customers, regardless of the nature of their Internet usage. .
Therefore, TM is taking immediate action to address this issue. Effective 3 December 2007, TM will block OUTBOUND Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) traffic or port 25 for all out going e-mails from dynamic IP addresses. Only Outbound SMTP traffic from smtp.streamyx.com and smtp.tm.net.my will be allowed.
With this implementation, Streamyx customers who have their own mail server will not be able to send e-mails. As an alternative, TM is providing an open relay server for these customers who use dynamic IP addresses. Kindly refer to http://webmail.tm.net.my/info/proxy.html on how to configure your email client in order toutilize this relay server. Alternatively, your e-mail administrators can refer to http://webmail.tm.net.my/info/smtp-proxy.html as a guide to configure your company’s email servers.
Please be assured that TM is proactively taking all possible measures to ensure that these spamming activities do not reoccur in the future. We seek your kind co-operation to implement the necessary security measures to protect your computers that are connected to the Internet from any e-mail abuse, virus infection, spyware and malicious code.
For further enquiries and assistance, email us at help@tm.com.my or call TM at 100 and select ‘Internet Services’.
Crappy policy. If this piece of land is under EU or US jurisdiction, we can sue them over monopoly of SMTP services over port 25.
Again, I hate myself of keep repeating the word "CRAP".
Monday, December 03, 2007
MITIGATING SPAM IN TM NETWORK
Dear valued customers,
Telekom Malaysia Berhad wishes to inform its customers about TM's initiative in combating spam in its Internet Protocol (IP) network to improve our quality of service.
Recently, many anti-spam organizations have blacklisted a large number of IP addresses from TM’s network. Due to this many customers have been unable to send emails from their mail server to companies who might be using database from the abovementioned anti-spam organizations.
These spamming activities by a small group have affected a large number of our customers, regardless of the nature of their Internet usage. .
Therefore, TM is taking immediate action to address this issue. Effective 3 December 2007, TM will block OUTBOUND Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) traffic or port 25 for all out going e-mails from dynamic IP addresses. Only Outbound SMTP traffic from smtp.streamyx.com and smtp.tm.net.my will be allowed.
With this implementation, Streamyx customers who have their own mail server will not be able to send e-mails. As an alternative, TM is providing an open relay server for these customers who use dynamic IP addresses. Kindly refer to http://webmail.tm.net.my/info/proxy.html on how to configure your email client in order toutilize this relay server. Alternatively, your e-mail administrators can refer to http://webmail.tm.net.my/info/smtp-proxy.html as a guide to configure your company’s email servers.
Please be assured that TM is proactively taking all possible measures to ensure that these spamming activities do not reoccur in the future. We seek your kind co-operation to implement the necessary security measures to protect your computers that are connected to the Internet from any e-mail abuse, virus infection, spyware and malicious code.
For further enquiries and assistance, email us at help@tm.com.my or call TM at 100 and select ‘Internet Services’.
ACA Not Vested With Power To Prosecute To Ensure Fairness
Chicken and Egg stupid question. Power bring Corruption, or Corruption produce Power?
The whole idea of separation of power is crap without TRUE TRANSPARENCY. No matter who's at the end hold the ultimate power of execution, without knowing what should and actually happening, it just the same old story.
ACA Not Vested With Power To Prosecute To Ensure Fairness
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- The power to prosecute is not vested in the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to ensure cases are handled in a fair manner.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the separation of powers to investigate and to prosecute was a universal norm and practised in Malaysia as well as in other countries.
"The power to prosecute in corruption cases, misappropriation and abuse of power is vested in the public prosecutors as provided for under Section 50 of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 and Article 145 of the Federal Constitution.
"If the power to prosecute is also given to the agency which investigates the cases, it is feared that the power may be abused," he said in reply to a question from Senator Ahmad Hussin in the Dewan Negara today.
Meanwhile, Nazri commended the ACA for having investigated and acted on cases of misappropriation of public funds as highlighted in the Auditor-General's Report.
"The ACA has carried itself well by acting on the Auditor-General's Report recently. We know the report was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara each year but there was no action taken although it highlighted cases of misappropriation," he said.
Nazri said the government had to take stern action against those involved in misappropriation.
"The good news is that ever since the ACA started to act on such cases, members of the public are beginning to come forward with information because they are becoming more confident that the government will act on their complaints," he said in reply to Senator Datuk Saripah Aminah Syed Mohamed.
He said the public could play an important role in eradicating corruption among public officials, particularly those serving in the front line such as Customs, police and Immigration where there were more opportunities for corruption.
"If there are givers but no takers, there will be no corruption. If there are takers but no givers, there will also be no corruption...so the public must play their role by refraining from giving bribes," he added.
-- BERNAMA
The whole idea of separation of power is crap without TRUE TRANSPARENCY. No matter who's at the end hold the ultimate power of execution, without knowing what should and actually happening, it just the same old story.
ACA Not Vested With Power To Prosecute To Ensure Fairness
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- The power to prosecute is not vested in the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to ensure cases are handled in a fair manner.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the separation of powers to investigate and to prosecute was a universal norm and practised in Malaysia as well as in other countries.
"The power to prosecute in corruption cases, misappropriation and abuse of power is vested in the public prosecutors as provided for under Section 50 of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 and Article 145 of the Federal Constitution.
"If the power to prosecute is also given to the agency which investigates the cases, it is feared that the power may be abused," he said in reply to a question from Senator Ahmad Hussin in the Dewan Negara today.
Meanwhile, Nazri commended the ACA for having investigated and acted on cases of misappropriation of public funds as highlighted in the Auditor-General's Report.
"The ACA has carried itself well by acting on the Auditor-General's Report recently. We know the report was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara each year but there was no action taken although it highlighted cases of misappropriation," he said.
Nazri said the government had to take stern action against those involved in misappropriation.
"The good news is that ever since the ACA started to act on such cases, members of the public are beginning to come forward with information because they are becoming more confident that the government will act on their complaints," he said in reply to Senator Datuk Saripah Aminah Syed Mohamed.
He said the public could play an important role in eradicating corruption among public officials, particularly those serving in the front line such as Customs, police and Immigration where there were more opportunities for corruption.
"If there are givers but no takers, there will be no corruption. If there are takers but no givers, there will also be no corruption...so the public must play their role by refraining from giving bribes," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Malaysia-Singapore Relations Progressing Well - Ng Yen Yen
Why should someone believe in what she say about Malaysia? You should believe her because she's not afraid of being sacked from the government. The worst is just migrate to Australia and enjoy the rest of her remaining life there.
Geez. All sorts of people in the cabinet.
Malaysia-Singapore Relations Progressing Well - Ng Yen Yen
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's relations with Singapore have progressed well since Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office as Prime Minister about four years ago, Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said today.
She said the cordial relations had come to a stage where there was now an easy camaraderie among the leaders on both sides of the causeway.
Addressing a special luncheon organised in conjunction with the Singapore-Malaysia Business Forum held here, she said the good relations between the two neighbours were the result of Abdullah's commitment towards working through all outstanding bilateral problems.
She said Abdullah set the tone of the relationship of the two countries when he first visited Singapore in January 2004 and since then both countries had worked well together at various levels.
Ng also said the depth of Malaysia-Singapore relations were unmatched within Asean and besides their common cultural and historical bond, they were also underpinned significantly by commercial and people-to-people linkages.
She said that improved relations between the two countries covered various areas such as trade and investment and defence-related activities, particularly against terrorism.
The deputy minister said trade links between the two neighbours remained strong, with Singapore maintaining its position as Malaysia's second largest trading partner after the United States last year.
Singapore was also Malaysia's largest export market for goods in Southeast Asia, accounting for 54.4 per cent of Malaysia's total trade volume, she said.
Likewise, Ng said Singapore had significant investments in Malaysia last year which totalled US$513.3 million mainly in the areas of electrical and electronics manufacturing, food manufacturing, fabricated metals and machinery as well as chemical products.
She added that Malaysian investments in Singapore were even larger for the same year at US$1,284.7 million, mainly in the fields of finance, insurance, commerce, real estate, manufacturing, transport and storage and ICT.
Ng said although their economies were complementary, Malaysia and Singapore were also commercial rivals.
However, she said, in today's complex and globalised economy, both countries should work together in promoting cooperation while harnessing their competitive advantages for their mutual benefit.
-- BERNAMA
Geez. All sorts of people in the cabinet.
Malaysia-Singapore Relations Progressing Well - Ng Yen Yen
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's relations with Singapore have progressed well since Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office as Prime Minister about four years ago, Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said today.
She said the cordial relations had come to a stage where there was now an easy camaraderie among the leaders on both sides of the causeway.
Addressing a special luncheon organised in conjunction with the Singapore-Malaysia Business Forum held here, she said the good relations between the two neighbours were the result of Abdullah's commitment towards working through all outstanding bilateral problems.
She said Abdullah set the tone of the relationship of the two countries when he first visited Singapore in January 2004 and since then both countries had worked well together at various levels.
Ng also said the depth of Malaysia-Singapore relations were unmatched within Asean and besides their common cultural and historical bond, they were also underpinned significantly by commercial and people-to-people linkages.
She said that improved relations between the two countries covered various areas such as trade and investment and defence-related activities, particularly against terrorism.
The deputy minister said trade links between the two neighbours remained strong, with Singapore maintaining its position as Malaysia's second largest trading partner after the United States last year.
Singapore was also Malaysia's largest export market for goods in Southeast Asia, accounting for 54.4 per cent of Malaysia's total trade volume, she said.
Likewise, Ng said Singapore had significant investments in Malaysia last year which totalled US$513.3 million mainly in the areas of electrical and electronics manufacturing, food manufacturing, fabricated metals and machinery as well as chemical products.
She added that Malaysian investments in Singapore were even larger for the same year at US$1,284.7 million, mainly in the fields of finance, insurance, commerce, real estate, manufacturing, transport and storage and ICT.
Ng said although their economies were complementary, Malaysia and Singapore were also commercial rivals.
However, she said, in today's complex and globalised economy, both countries should work together in promoting cooperation while harnessing their competitive advantages for their mutual benefit.
-- BERNAMA
Japan Will Fund Stem Cell Research of Human Skin, NHK Reports
Japan Will Fund Stem Cell Research of Human Skin, NHK Reports
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese government agency decided to allocate funds for research to scientists who discovered how to convert human skin cells into stem cells, public broadcaster NHK reported, without citing anyone.
The decision yesterday, two weeks after the scientific finding, was made unexpectedly early for the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the NHK said. As much as several millions of dollars may be made available, NHK said.
Ordinary skin cells from the face of a 36-year-old woman and the foreskin of a newborn were turned into stem cells and may have the power to become any cell in the body, according to reports in the journals Science and Cell on Nov. 20.
U.S. and Japanese scientific teams each inserted four genes into the skin cells, switching on a process that converted them to a form equivalent to embryonic stem cells. The cells were then changed into heart, brain, muscle, fat and cartilage cells by one team using proven methods for growing tissue from embryonic cells.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 3, 2007 19:19 EST
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese government agency decided to allocate funds for research to scientists who discovered how to convert human skin cells into stem cells, public broadcaster NHK reported, without citing anyone.
The decision yesterday, two weeks after the scientific finding, was made unexpectedly early for the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the NHK said. As much as several millions of dollars may be made available, NHK said.
Ordinary skin cells from the face of a 36-year-old woman and the foreskin of a newborn were turned into stem cells and may have the power to become any cell in the body, according to reports in the journals Science and Cell on Nov. 20.
U.S. and Japanese scientific teams each inserted four genes into the skin cells, switching on a process that converted them to a form equivalent to embryonic stem cells. The cells were then changed into heart, brain, muscle, fat and cartilage cells by one team using proven methods for growing tissue from embryonic cells.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 3, 2007 19:19 EST
Head First PMP
Head First PMP
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TOM Group denies investment in Facebook
Geez, Do FaceBook really worth that much? USD 15Billion? That is like double the market capitalization of Genting Berhad or like the IPO market cap of the world largest public listed plantation company, Sime Darby. Is it our local companies worthless or what? Undeniably, FaceBook was a boom in US and perhaps next stop will be in China and India.
And we all know cloning technology in China are as good as rocket science and you shall see more localized copies coming.
HONG KONG--TOM Group, a media company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, denied on Monday reports that it had made any investment in the hugely popular social networking website, Facebook.
"The company advised that it has not made any investment in Facebook," TOM Group, in which the 79-year-old is a majority shareholder, said in a statement issued to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
"The company further advised that from time to time it explores investment opportunities and other commercial alliances," it said, adding it would disclose any deals that would be required to inform the stock exchange.
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital blog reported that Li, Asia's richest man, has invested US$60 million in Facebook with a right to acquire another US$60-million stake.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said the deal came through a Facebook investor, who introduced the company to Solina Chau, director of the Li Ka-shing Foundation and a major stockholder in Tom.com.
It also said Li's investment could lead to closer links between the website and Tom.com and that he was making the investment through another entity rather than via his Hong Kong conglomerates -- Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa.
The two companies hold a total of 37 percent stake in TOM Group.
A spokeswoman for Hutchison Whampoa would not comment on the report.
The news has caused a surge in the company's share prices by as much as 50 percent on Monday.
The report came on the heels of a US$240-million investment in Facebook by Microsoft last month in a deal valuing the website at US$15 billion.
And we all know cloning technology in China are as good as rocket science and you shall see more localized copies coming.
HONG KONG--TOM Group, a media company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, denied on Monday reports that it had made any investment in the hugely popular social networking website, Facebook.
"The company advised that it has not made any investment in Facebook," TOM Group, in which the 79-year-old is a majority shareholder, said in a statement issued to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
"The company further advised that from time to time it explores investment opportunities and other commercial alliances," it said, adding it would disclose any deals that would be required to inform the stock exchange.
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital blog reported that Li, Asia's richest man, has invested US$60 million in Facebook with a right to acquire another US$60-million stake.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said the deal came through a Facebook investor, who introduced the company to Solina Chau, director of the Li Ka-shing Foundation and a major stockholder in Tom.com.
It also said Li's investment could lead to closer links between the website and Tom.com and that he was making the investment through another entity rather than via his Hong Kong conglomerates -- Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa.
The two companies hold a total of 37 percent stake in TOM Group.
A spokeswoman for Hutchison Whampoa would not comment on the report.
The news has caused a surge in the company's share prices by as much as 50 percent on Monday.
The report came on the heels of a US$240-million investment in Facebook by Microsoft last month in a deal valuing the website at US$15 billion.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Baltic Dry Index. Time for the Delayed Correction?
The trend is as good as the recent Gold Rush. Too good to be true. The anticipated correction has been delayed maybe until now. It should fall for better good.
YTL Power Powering Up
Although recent YTL Power quarter result was nonetheless a bit disappointing, it is in my opinion a give and take situation given the reduced reliance on the contribution of operational profit in Malaysia. Frankly speaking, there are too many factors that may shake the entire economics fundamental of this developing country and those are not something that can be resolved by passing a bill or getting rid of some political party. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez able to ride through waves of critism and face detrimental challenges from his opponents, even though his own intentions are doubtfully genuine. He got the charism and strong voice. Deterministic of wills show the capability of one's leadership.
Pardon me, but I see no corresponding in any of the governing party leaders at this point of time. They are simply too reactive and slow in reacting to persisting issues regardless of whether it is political, social or economy. The portray of Dr. M is truly deep inside the mind of the common. Do we still need Dr. M .. literally? No I say. He is way passed his retirement age, give him a break. We DO need someone who is visionary and with inviolatable ruling direction that give pressures to external forces rather than pushing the limit on his own people.
Ok, back to YTL Power. The intention to raise gas, electricity and petrol tariffs is here for sure. Since the price pressure will be passed back to back to consumer, no significant negative material impacts to YTL Power earning shall be foreseen. Earnings from Wessex UK will be increased in next few quarters given the changes in their tariff.
What I'm more interested in still the same old questions: When the shopping will begin? Acquisitions are imminent.
I reiterated my estimate towards YTL Power fair price at RM3 in 3 month time.
Pardon me, but I see no corresponding in any of the governing party leaders at this point of time. They are simply too reactive and slow in reacting to persisting issues regardless of whether it is political, social or economy. The portray of Dr. M is truly deep inside the mind of the common. Do we still need Dr. M .. literally? No I say. He is way passed his retirement age, give him a break. We DO need someone who is visionary and with inviolatable ruling direction that give pressures to external forces rather than pushing the limit on his own people.
Ok, back to YTL Power. The intention to raise gas, electricity and petrol tariffs is here for sure. Since the price pressure will be passed back to back to consumer, no significant negative material impacts to YTL Power earning shall be foreseen. Earnings from Wessex UK will be increased in next few quarters given the changes in their tariff.
What I'm more interested in still the same old questions: When the shopping will begin? Acquisitions are imminent.
I reiterated my estimate towards YTL Power fair price at RM3 in 3 month time.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Wa have warned you now, Don't get Shocked when We do it later.
What he really tried to say is that the government certainly would not implement any actions that have negative impacts to the people’s CONTRIBUTION to the national money making cow, aka TNB. In another perspective, Petronas's contribution to the government will be magnified by a few order when it tunneled through the shallow pocket of the PEOPLE before getting back into the hand of the government and selected few.
I have no issue paying my petrol consumption at reasonable market price, but the transparency of the resulting savings whereabouts is what concerns me.
Let me summarize the article in my own words:
No Timeline To Review Fuel Subsidies, Says DPM
By Tham Choy Lin
HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today any review of gas and petroleum subsidies by Malaysia must not impact adversely on the people and national power supplier Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).
"We do not want the people to be overburdened with any review of the price of gas and petroleum products but at same time, we are mindful not to undermine the market worth of strategic companies like TNB," he told a news conference after spending the day meeting global fund managers.
Najib said there is no timeline for a review but if it takes place, it will be made concurrently with a tariff review.
Malaysia's policy on gas and petroleum subsidies was raised by the fund managers who were also interested in Malaysia's economic direction, market liquidity and Islamic banking, he said.
He said the fund managers had noted the reforms and also measures by the government to generate more liquidity in the market, and he referred to today's listing of Sime Darby on Bursa Malaysia as "successful, beyond our expectations."
The debut of Sime Darby with a 26 percent premium came as Najib kicked off the second leg of an international investment roadshow in this international financial centre where he met about 50 portfolio and asset managers.
Najib said Malaysia's economy, which reported a 6.7 percent third quarter growth this week, has become more resilient and diversified to better weather external shocks, thanks to structural reforms taken over the past three years.
And he expected the pace of growth to remain on track in the final quarter to meet Malaysia's target of 6 percent growth this year with a low inflation rate of up to 2 percent.
"There is enough momentum in the domestic economy, consumption and investment flows are strong, the prices of commodities are also strong. Even in the event of a downturn in the global economy, the impact will be slight and it will not be as great as compared to a few years ago," he said.
On the level of interest in Malaysia's new economic corridors, the Deputy Prime Minister said the investors wanted to size up developments on the ground first, especially at the Iskandar Development Region in southern Johor.
"This is only the beginning and it will take time. We expect by the middle of next year to see quite significant development on the ground for them to see and to address sceptics," Najib said.
Najib began the day over breakfast with more than a dozen international fund managers and held discussions with five more groups of investors during the day.
He met key officials and portfolio managers from funds such as ABN Amro Asset Management, Capital International Research Inc, HSBC Halbis Partners (Hong Kong) Ltd, ING Investment Management, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Blackrock, Invesco, AIG and RBC Investment Management.
Another participant was Bank for International Settlements head of treasury for Asia Pacific, Miranda Tam.
His high-profile delegation includes Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Lillian Leong, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Azman Mokhtar and Securities Commission executive director for issues and investment Datuk Kris Azman Abdullah.
-- BERNAMA
I have no issue paying my petrol consumption at reasonable market price, but the transparency of the resulting savings whereabouts is what concerns me.
Let me summarize the article in my own words:
"Gas, Petroleum and Energy tariffs are FOR SURE going to be increased. We are going to squeeze people's money for the sake of increasing the financial outlook of our beloved GLC companies and thus foster the financial strength of our political parties, which in turn selectively creating more wealthly fellows in our nation.
There is no schedule on when all these plans will kick off, but I can only pledged you to get ready for it when the time comes. "
No Timeline To Review Fuel Subsidies, Says DPM
By Tham Choy Lin
HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today any review of gas and petroleum subsidies by Malaysia must not impact adversely on the people and national power supplier Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).
"We do not want the people to be overburdened with any review of the price of gas and petroleum products but at same time, we are mindful not to undermine the market worth of strategic companies like TNB," he told a news conference after spending the day meeting global fund managers.
Najib said there is no timeline for a review but if it takes place, it will be made concurrently with a tariff review.
Malaysia's policy on gas and petroleum subsidies was raised by the fund managers who were also interested in Malaysia's economic direction, market liquidity and Islamic banking, he said.
He said the fund managers had noted the reforms and also measures by the government to generate more liquidity in the market, and he referred to today's listing of Sime Darby on Bursa Malaysia as "successful, beyond our expectations."
The debut of Sime Darby with a 26 percent premium came as Najib kicked off the second leg of an international investment roadshow in this international financial centre where he met about 50 portfolio and asset managers.
Najib said Malaysia's economy, which reported a 6.7 percent third quarter growth this week, has become more resilient and diversified to better weather external shocks, thanks to structural reforms taken over the past three years.
And he expected the pace of growth to remain on track in the final quarter to meet Malaysia's target of 6 percent growth this year with a low inflation rate of up to 2 percent.
"There is enough momentum in the domestic economy, consumption and investment flows are strong, the prices of commodities are also strong. Even in the event of a downturn in the global economy, the impact will be slight and it will not be as great as compared to a few years ago," he said.
On the level of interest in Malaysia's new economic corridors, the Deputy Prime Minister said the investors wanted to size up developments on the ground first, especially at the Iskandar Development Region in southern Johor.
"This is only the beginning and it will take time. We expect by the middle of next year to see quite significant development on the ground for them to see and to address sceptics," Najib said.
Najib began the day over breakfast with more than a dozen international fund managers and held discussions with five more groups of investors during the day.
He met key officials and portfolio managers from funds such as ABN Amro Asset Management, Capital International Research Inc, HSBC Halbis Partners (Hong Kong) Ltd, ING Investment Management, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Blackrock, Invesco, AIG and RBC Investment Management.
Another participant was Bank for International Settlements head of treasury for Asia Pacific, Miranda Tam.
His high-profile delegation includes Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Lillian Leong, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Azman Mokhtar and Securities Commission executive director for issues and investment Datuk Kris Azman Abdullah.
-- BERNAMA
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