my life my whole life

Batam, 1 tahun 7 bulan 11 hari...

2011-07-11T17:40:00.006+07:00

Ya... Tak terasa waktu sudah berjalan semenjak aku pertama menginjakkan kaki di pulau yang sebelum aku tiba disini, banyak dibilang sebagai surga barang murah. Especially "Electronics"... yeah. aku ga terlalu heran sih. maklum, ama negara tetangga aja jaraknya deket banget kalo diliat dari peta. Dan emang udah aku bukti'in... Cuma 45 menit ke Singapore dan 1 jam ke Johor Bahru Malaysia.

Dan memang hampir kebanyakan barang elektronik khususnya Telpon Seluler dan laptop banyak berasal dari negara tetangga kita ini. dan tentu saja garansi yang diberikanpun berlaku untuk internasional, bukan buat nasional.

Hmmmm... gosip barang elektronik dengan harga murah yang mengakibatkan maraknya penjual "Henpon","leptop","kamera" tipe terbaru dengan harga yang bisa dibilang lebih miring dari menara pisa di italia dan calon gedung baru anggota parlemen negara kita tercinta ini (hhehe)...

Dengan modus mengatasnamakan kota batam, banyak sekali korban yang tertipu karena ketidaktahuan dari si pembeli sehingga termakan oleh harga murah yang murahnya sudah melebihi batas kewajaran.

karena tuntutan kerjalah yang bikin aku musti tinggal di pulau ini, sekaligus ingin mengalahkan rasa penasaranku untuk tinggal di luar Jawa yang notabene sudah hampir semua jalur pernah aku lewati (ya masih banyakan yang belom)...

Bosan, jenuh, penat, hmmm... apalagi ya?!?!... semua itu sering juga muncul. Penyebabnya tidak lain dan tidak bukan... KELUARGA... yah, nabi memang menganjurkan kita untuk hijrah, karena rejeki terhampar luas diluar sana. tidak harus di kota asal kita.

Prinsip itulah yang dulu aku pengen buktikan, tinggal di Jakarta 2 minggu di Kuningan yang diikuti dengan kaburnya diriku (merasa belum cocok aja sama lingkungan jakarta), pdahal belum dicoba sampai 1 bulan, 2 bulan, 3 bulan dan seterusnya seperti halnya aku sekarang ini di Batam. Belum kerja lagi itu waktu di Jakarta (baru mau training)...

Who knows?!?!... even i'm not realize that i've live in Batam for that numbers of days. believe it or not.

Hal lain yang membuat aku sudah merasa ga betah di Batam. Suasana alam, air terjun dan dinginnya hawa pegunungan yang ga pernah ada di Batam. mau nyari air terjun, musti ke Sumatera yang notabene mahal diongkos. adanya cuma pantai... ya wajar sih...namanya aja di kepulauan... hhehe

Beda kalo di Jawa. dengan motor bebek dan modal bensin aja udah bisa ke Madakaripura (post sebelumnya)...

benar kata seorang teman waktu pengajian perdana di sini. BATAM= Bila Anda Tiba Anda Menyesal dan BATAM= Bila Anda Tabah Anda Menang.

sepertinya pepatah itu benar adanya. yang pertama, ada seorang teman yang sudah tinggal disini dari tahun 1987. hijrah dari tempat asalnya di Jawa. tahun dimana aku baru saja dilahirkan di dunia ini. beliau membuktikan bahwa pepatah yang kedua bisa dijalani.

Dan aku, lebih memilih yang pertama. dimana pemandangan tandus dan gersang serta warna tanah yang baru pertama kali aku lihat. sungguh berbeda dengan apa yang ada di pikiran sewaktu akan menuju Batam.

Tapi terlepas dari semua itu. Batam indah dengan segala kelebihan dan kekurangannya.

Bangunan bertingkat mulai berdiri disana sini. Mall yang mulai bertambah banyak layaknya kota metropolitan... pulau ini terus bersolek dengan slogan Visit Batam... dan tentu saja dengan simbolnya jembatan Barelang yang menghubungkan 3 pulau Batam-Rempang-Galang... sesuai dengan namanya.

Dan tentu saja banyaknya warga yang berasal dari Jawa, membuat diriku ga merasa seperti ditempat asing. suasana kekeluargaan khas Jawa masih terasa disini. ga banyak sikap egoistis individualis yang konon seperti Jakarta (CMIIW).

membaurnya antar etnis, agama membuat aku bisa lebih menghargai dalam hal bersosialisasi dan berteman.

Hmmmm.. Berapa lama lagi ya aku masih bisa tinggal di pulau sekaligus kota ini??

Time will answer it...

Udah dulu ah... udah laper, mau sarapan dulu... soto kuali... lain kali dilanjut (kalo inget)... hehhe...

Note: gambar bersumber dari http://www.batam-center.web.id...

Waterfalls... Great Madakaripura...

2011-04-20T13:21:00.003+07:00

Waterfalls..... Mountain.... I miss all of it...
Kegiatan alam... khususnya pegunungan... hal yang paling saya sukai... ga tau kenapa,,sejak kena racun Touring sama anak-anak kampus... tapi lokasi yang paling saya sukai... this place called MADAKARIPURA... bertempat di Probolinggo, Jawa Timur... lokasi ke tempat ini ga terlalu familiar dimana petunjuk jalan ga sebanyak petunjuk jalan kalau mau ke Gunung Bromo... perjalanan hampir 3 jam lebih dari Malang dengan bersepeda motor (*penggemar Touring berat di ongkos jadi ga pake Moge-mogean...) ga menyurutkan tekat bulat saya ama temen-temen... Nyampe disana pertama bakal disuguhi patung Patih Gajah Mada (*gambar patung Gajah Mada dari www.eastjava.com)...

Yup.. tempat ini konon digunakan patih Gajah Mada untuk bersemedi lho... dari patung Gajah Mada ini dilanjutkan dengan jalan kaki menuju ke Air Terjun Madakaripura... udah ga sabar banget nih pengen tau kaya apa sih air terjun yang katanya orang-orang bagus banget... Ternyata sebetulnya udah tersedia jalan yang dibuat oleh dinas pariwisata (CMIIW) buat para pengunjung menuju ke Air terjun... tapi sayang, musibah longsor dan banjir bandang menghancurkan sebagian besar jalan. hal itu terlihat dari bongkahan batu raksasa yang banyak terdapat di sekitar jalan menuju air terjun... Bisa dibayangkan dahsyatnya bencana itu, bahkan kata guide kami (*lupa namanya) ada beberapa pengunjung yang ikut terseret sampe sekitar 2km dari lokasi air terjun.... serem banget dah bayanginnya... Tapi diluar semua itu,, pemandangan yang super duper luar biasa benar-benar tersaji didepan mata... air terjun yang sangat indah... suaranya,,dinginnya hawa air terjun berasa banget... segerrr... sayangnya kita datang waktu musim kemarau,,jadi intensitas air terjunnya ga seseru kalau musim hujan... tapi gapapa yang penting keindahan alam ciptaan Yang Maha Kuasa ini tetep dapat dinikmati... Luar Biasa!!!
Hmmm.... i really miss all of that activity which i couldn't do or find that such a lot of fun... sometime i really hope that it was my job... adventure,,backpacking,,touring especially waterfalls... but here i am... working at semiconductor company...

wassalam

Best Regards,
Sony

FUTSAL as my day off activity....

2011-04-19T19:21:00.007+07:00

FUTSAL!!!!!....

The only sport activity i always did in every day off... hmmm... that player with number 13 is me... hhaha...

Setelah 4 hari kerja (maklum, shifting engineer...) kalo libur pasti hiburannya ke lapangan futsal... Olahraga melepas stress kerjaan (prasaan ga pernah stress ama kerjaan...:D), kumpul bersama yang dalam bahasa jawanya Srawung (CMIIW...) dan bisa ketemu temen baru bikin pikiran dan hati ini berasa fresh...

Kalo maen bareng orang2 tua (*maksudnya senior--30++) yang olah raga ga cuma kaki,,kepala ama tangan yang olah raga... perut sama rahang ini lebih keras lagi olahraganya... Guess what?? Yak...Teeettt... Ketawa terpingkal-pingkal sampe guling-guling di lapangan... hhaha... kedengaran sedikit lebay bin alay,,tapi emang begitu kenyataanya... Malah kalo boleh bikin grup lawak pasti lulus semua nih orang tua-tua... maklum saya muda sendiri (*hhahhahha...)...

Saya sangat salut ama orang tua-tua ini... Setiap libur pasti Futsal,,rumah jauh bukan halangan,,panas matahari batam bukan halangan,,banci nggodain dijalan bukan halangan (*lhoohhh)... oopsss... maaf yang terakhir ga ada tuh... ckckck... jangan sampe deh...

setelah futsal,,pasti dilanjut makan siang dulu... paling sering sih ke SOTO KWALI asli SOLO cabang Penuin... sayang lupa ambil fotonya... yasudahlah... intinya adalah... ENAKKK... ditambahi lanjutan lawakan dari orang tua-tua lagi... maklum paling muda saya... hhaha... diulang lagi...

laen lagi kalo sama anak-anak muda,, maksudnya yang seumuran,,kalo lebih tuapun ga jauh-jauh amat kaya yang tua-tua... maen sama mereka ini bener-bener skill,,energi n semuanya deh... benar-benar menguras tenaga poll-pollan... pernah maen 1 jam doang,,rasanya kaya 2 jam ga pake berhenti... maen cepet,,kick n rush ala EPL (*cieee sok british),, tic-tac pass ala Barcelona (Madrid ngga... hhaha fans Barcelona nih saya).. sorry yang Madrid,,ga ada maksud apa-apa... hhehe.... Peace...

Kalo sama team muda-muda ini biasanya futsal cuma kalo off day habis shift malem... soalnya habis shift malem libur jadi berasa 3 hari... yang kurang tau silakan hubungi dokter.. hhehe... becanda ding... tapi untuk pembahasan kok bisa berasa 3 hari dan laennya bakal saya posting di trit yang laen aja... kepanjangan kalo disini (*ngeles... padahal bingung juga jelasinnya)...

mereka semua temen satu perusahaan di UNISEM... Universitas Semiconductor... hhaha...

Laen lagi ceritanya kalo Futsal ama anak-anak beda perusahaan... kaya foto dibawah... dari kiri TS gan,, Fitrah-Infineon,,Habib-Citra Tubindo...

Ada yang dari Infineon,,Citra Tubindo,,UNISEM,,dll...(*Lupa nama perusahaanya,, hhehe)... Futsalnya rutin tiap Jum'at Sore start jam 6... maen ama anak-anak ini campur aduk rasanya (*menurut saya sih)... maklum,,lebih sering maen sama anak UNISEM,,habis maen ama anak-anak ini musti nunggu saya dapet libur pas jum'at juga yang mana (*woi bahasanya) dalam 1 bulan aja kadang cuma sekali libur pas jum'at... tapi sama juga kaya maen sama anak-anak muda UNISEM,,olah raga beneran... cuma dikit olah raga rahang ama perutnya... hhaha...

kalo habis futsal pasti nongkrongnya di Pondok Kuliner... menu macem-macem... udah jadi langganan temen-temen dari saya belom ikut futsal sama mereka... dan yang pasti ENAKKKK... walaupun harga cukup mahal,,tapi kalo rasa emang ga bisa bo'ong (*kaya iklan nihh..)...

yahhh... begitulah kegiatan futsal saya gan... tiap libur/off day/day off/prei... yang laen,,secondary activity... hhhehe... hope you all enjoyed...

saran dan kritik silahkan dikirimkan lewat pas pos terdekat... insyaAllah,, ga nyampe... kalo mau cepet ya isi komeng aja.. ehhehe....

wassalam

Best Regards,
Sony

Lama ga update nihhh

2011-04-15T16:01:00.004+07:00

Hmmmm....
Selamat Sore semua!!! Lama banget nih ga mengunjungi blog sendiri... kangen juga nulis lagi...

aktifitas yang sebenerya ga terlalu padat, tapi sempet bikin mood buat nulis ilang... setelah banyak baca-baca blog dan banyak artikel-artikel yang menurut kemampuan otak aku "BAGUS" keinginan untuk aktif lagi di dunia blog mulai nongol lagi.

Banyak cerita dari berbagai kegiatan (yang belum sempet aku post) yang sebenernya pengen banget aku tuangin ke blogku yang paling pertama ini, tapi utang ngelanjutin posting yang kemaren-kemaren aja belum sempet (udah hampir lupa malah...hehe..) masa mau jump to next stories... Yeahh right... sebenernya ga ada sih yang bakal meperdatakan atau mempidanakan (wuikkk... nemen e), ahh tapi aku pikir mending santai aja deh...

Mungkin segitu dulu saja kawan...
Semoga harimu indah, senyummu cerah dengan anugrah dari Sang Maha Pencipta.

Wassalam.

Best Regards,
Sony

Sent from Laptop Putih Buluk tapi Tercinta...

November 12-21, 2010 Batam-Surabaya 1st post

2010-11-27T14:42:00.005+07:00

Seperti umumnya setiap orang yang bekerja diperantauan, PulKam atau Pulang Kampung merupakan satu hal yang paling dinanti. Berkumpul bersama sanak saudara di kampung halaman setelah sekian lama tak bersua. Begitu juga dengan diriku yang belum genap 1 tahun bekerja di perantauan dalam hal ini di Pulau Batam. Pulau yang dikenal dengan kota industri atau kota pekerja karena memang kebanyakan warga disini bekerja pada sector industri baik sebagai operator, teknisi, maupun engineer, dsb.

Perjalanan ini aku mulai tanggal 12 Nopember 2010 hingga 21 Nopember 2010. Pagi itu, hari ketigaku bekerja shift malam, hampir semua operator tempatku bekerja sudah pada pingin nitip oleh-oleh kalo ntar kembali dari Surabaya dan salam buat pujaan hati yang bakal aku jemput atau datangi. Padahal waktu itu status masih belum “accepted”. Aku Cuma bisa bilang doain aja semoga “goal” macam main sepak bola aja. Tepat seminggu sebelum hari kepulangan, aku hampir nyerah nyari oleh2 buat calon pujaan hati yang setahu aku sangat suka sama hal yang berbau Doraemon. Cari-cari dari toko mainan satu ke yang lain, yang ada kalo ga action figure, boneka atau hiasan mobil yang pake solar cell buat ngegerakinnya. Padahal aku piir oleh2 macam gitu udah umum banget. Akhirnya iseng2 nyari di salah satu forum, ternyata ada juga yang jual aksesoris yang hampir ga pernah aku temuin di toko mainan manapun. Aksesoris itu sih Cuma proyektor yang mengeluarkan cahaya berupa gambar dan bisa berputar karena emang pake motor. Aku pikir oleh2 ini aku hadiahin buat teman tidur waktu malam dan yang special karena gambar yang dikeluarkan sama proyektor init uh gambar Doraemon. Ada yang lagi naik Bulan, sekedar ketawa, dkk sama background bintang2.

Akhirnya aku pesan tuh barang dan ga pake lama, pas barang nyampe langsung aku coba dan hasilnya bagus juga waktu malam dikamar. Cuma yang agak bikin kecewa tuh suara motornya cukup ngeganggu juga. tapi diluar itu semua, aku Cuma berharap kalo calon pujaan hati bakal suka, bener2 suka bukan karena terpaksa suka buat ngehormatin pemberian. Bagiku lebih baik terus terang bilang ga suka daripada bermanis2 didepan padahal sebenarnya ga suka.

Kembali lagi ke tanggal 12. pas nyampe rumah, ga pake lama langsung sholat dhuha dulu lalu langsung tancap gas nyari oleh2. sempet bingung juga mau bawa oleh2 apa, orang dadakan begini nanti sore sudah berangkat. Akhirnya seperti biasa batam yang dikenal ya kek pisang yang emang udah diklaim sebagai oleh2 khas dari batam. Selain kek pisang, pesenan kakakku yaitu coklat ga lupa aku bawa, dan titipan temen yaitu jajanan import. Requestnya sih yang dari Singapore, busyet dah ini temen emang, aku aja ga pernah beli jajanan impor dari Singapore, eh dia malah minta yang begituan. Ya udah aku nyari deh, tapi cari muter2 adanya mentok cuman jajanan dari Malaysia. Ya udah daripada pusing2 beberapa jenis jajanan impor itu aku beli sekalian. Yang penting impor. Mau suka apa kaga urusan belakang deh. Hhehe.

Semua oleh2 sudah siap, tinggal menunggu jam pemberangkatan dari rumah. Aku sudah minta tolong Doni, teman serumahku buat nganterin ke bandara jam 2 aku udah minta doni nganterin. Belum ada ¼ perjalanan kok ada perasaan aneh. Perjalanan treus berlanjut sampe pas depan pabrik pan*soni* aku langsung teriak ke Doni, “Don , waduh lali. Kek e keri nang omah. Bahaya iki. Balik sek ae yo? Jik nutut kan?” yang artinya kurang lebih “Don, waduh lupa Kek-nya (kek pisang) tertinggal di rumah. Bahaya nih. Balik dulu aja ya? masih keburu kan?” dan Doni langsung menyanggupi, puter balik dan kembali ke rumah buat ngambil kek pisang. Perjalanan kembali dilanjutkan. Bandara Hang Nadim, nama bandara untuk kota Batam sudah dekat, setelah sampai Donipun langsung pulang dan aku langsung masuk ke Bandara untuk mengurus boarding pass.

Sambil menunggu jam kepulangan yang emang masih 2 jam kurang aku sholat ashar dulu skalian istirahat di musholla. Lumayan bisa ngelurusin punggung (tidur) sebentar. Hhehe… jam udah menunjuk diangka 4.15, aku bangun dan masuk ke ruang tunggu penumpang di gate 1, tempat ruang tunggu penumpang Batavia Air, karena aku emang bakalan pake jasa tuh maskapai. Bukan apa-apa, penerbangan rute Surabaya-Batam yang tanpa transit Cuma ada 3 setau aku (*yang murah). Dan yang paling murah waktu aku cari tiket emang cuman Batavia Air. Sedangkan yang 2 lagi Citilink sama Lion Air harganya udah mahal amit. L… dan aku pulang itu belum beli tiket buat ntar balik dari Surabaya ke Batam, karena aku pikir ntar aja deh mepet-mepet tanggal balik siapa tau kalo udah mepet harga bakal di korting abis gara-gara pesawat belum penuh.

Di dalam ruang tunggu aku pasang headset n dengerin musik dari MP3 kesayanganku yang masih hidup dari jaman awal kuliah sampe sekarang. Hhe. Sambil baca buku dari mas Safir Senduk tentang “Karyawan yang pingin makmur”. Ga tau kenapa aku jadi suka beli buku beberapa bulan terakhir ini, tapi sayangnya dari beberapa buku yang aku beli baru 1 yang udah tamat. Hhaha. Payah banget dah. Ini semua gara-gara internet dan laptop, hhe jadi aku lebih sering didepan laptop daripada baca buku-buku. Ya udah lah, tapi aku sedang berusaha menamatkan semua buku yang aku beli dan segera action bukan Cuma sekedar selesai baca, karena dari salah satu buku yang aku baca “The Power of Kepepet” jadi orang jangan Cuma “NAKO” No Action Know Only. Kata-katanya itu lho.macam jenis kaca aja…hehhe.. ngga ding… MANTAB!!!... langsung menusuk.

Lagi asyik baca eh ada SMS masuk coba buka, berharap dari “Dia”, eh ternyata si Fandy, temen seangkatan di kantor. Dan dia ternyata juga pulang hari itu juga pesawat yang sama juga. Busyet. Aku pikir dia naik Udara Singa “Lion Air”. Soalnya dia beli tiket kena 600an yang merupakan harga khas dari Lion. Padahal aku Cuma kena 450an. Hhhee… beda jauh om. Lumayan kan 200. Bisa buat beli jajan. Hhehe.

Jam udah menunjukkan 17.00, tapi kok belum disuruh masuk ya, bakal delay nih, pdahal schedule jam 16.40. Rasanya udah males aja nih, kalo bakal delay. Soalnya aku udah janji bakal jemput si Dia di terminal Bungur. Kebetulan si Dia juga mau pulang dari Kediri naek bis. Aku takutnya ntar pesawat belum nyampe dia udah nyampe duluan. Bakal kacau deh. Kan kasihan Dia ga ada yang jemput. Hhehe… padahal emang aku yang pengen jemput.

Ga ada 10 menit akhirnya penumpang dipersilahkan masuk ke pesawat. Akhirnya… Langsung berangkat deh pengenku. Ga usah nunggu masuk semua. Kelamaan. Hhehe… setelah semua masuk dan siap berangkat aku SMS si Dia kalo pesawat udah mau berangkat n perkiraan sekitar 2.5 jam baru nyampe Surabaya. Selama perjalanan aku tidur terus sambil pasang Headset buat dengerin MP3. Padahal aku biasanya pasti ngobrol sama tetangga sebelah kalo lagi naek pesawat, biasa buat temen ngobrol. Tapi hari itu, badan capek semua, habis masuk malem ga tidur sama sekali sampe waktu pulang. Jadi lumayan 2 jam buat tidur di pesawat. Sampe kue dan minuman gratis dari awak pesawatpun hampir ga aku makan gara-gara saking pulasnya tidur. Hehhe. Tapi ga tau kenapa pas awak pesawat nawarin teh atau kopi aku bangun juga dan milih teh. Ya udah deh aku abisin semua kue sama teh yang dikasih trus langsung setup tidur lagi. Ga kerasa pesawat udah hampir nyampe Surabaya, awak kabin udah keliling ngecek penumpang, headsetku pun juga disuruh dilepas dulu. Ya udah aku matiin aja sekalian MP3ku. Lagian udah deket.

Finally, the plane arrived successfully. Tanpa menghiraukan himbauan awak pesawat untuk tidak mengaktifkan Telpon Selular sebelum pesawat berhenti dengan sempurna dan masuk ke dalam terminal, aku udah nyalain cellphoneku semua.. hhehe… seperti biasa, SMS masuk langsung borongan. Ada yang dari Papaku, Cak Rip, Josua dan si Dia. Yang pertama kali aku baca tentu SMS dari Papaku yang suruh telpon kalo udah nyampe pesawatnya. Dan yang kedua pasti dari si Dia. Ternyata isinya “Ati2 y!!! ntar jangan lupa jemput” hehhe… seneng banget rasanya ati ini, udah ga sabar pengen ketemu. Trus sms dari si Josua, isinya dia ga bisa jemput soalnya masih kerja,tapi cak rip yang bakal jemput soalnya cak rip lagi di rumah. Cak rip telpon, “Wes mudun during?” udah turun belum?, aku bilang “iki jik parkir pesawat e” ini lagi parkir pesawatnya. Ga lama papaku juga telpon “papa udah di bandara, di depan loket taxi” aku bilang”wah cak rip juga njemput, udah nyampe bandara juga” kata papaku lagi “ya udah gapapa, sekalian aja”

Setelah keluar dari pintu kedatangan akhirnya aku bertemu lagi sama Papaku, rambutnya udah di pangkas rapi, jadi kelihatan ga sangar lagi, hhee… bagus deh.. biar kelihatan masih muda lagi… hhehe… ga lama cak rip juga nongol… ya udah jadi deh cak rip sekalian aku ajak maen ke rumah dulu. Ditengah jalan ke rumah papaku pengen mampir makan Kikil. Kikil langganan papaku ada di derah Waru sehabis jembatan laying n sebelum terminal bungur kalo dari arah Sidoarjo. Itu kikil paling enak menurut papaku. Ckckck. Waduh. Padahal aku paling ga doyan sama yang namanya kikil walaupun belum pernah nyoba, tapi mau gimana lagi, itung- itung pengalaman lah… lagian di Batam aku belum nemu orang yang jual kikil. Hehhe…

Tapi ya gitu deh… ga abis aku makan tu kikil… hehhe.. cak rip pun juga ga abis… ternyata dia juga ga doyan sama yang namanya kikil… hhaha… padahal sama papaku cak rip disuruh nambah… hhaha… akhirnya perjalanan dilanjutkan nyampe rumah. Masuk ke rumah wajah ibu dan kakakQ akhirnya aku lihat lagi… hehhe… seneng banget bisa bertatap muka lagi sama seluruh keluarga dan semua sehat… Hmmmm… sudah berapa lama aku ga pulang ya? Hhehe…

Langsung aja cak rip aku suruh masuk, kami cerita-cerita panjang lebar gimana kabar anak-anak dan persiapan buat rafting besok pagi sama ibuku juga. Tapi ibuku akhirnya masuk kamar karena udah ngantuk. Ga berapa lama 4 SMS langsung masuk sekaligus, setelah aku cek ternyata si Dia udah nyampe dari tadi di terminal. Waduh, langsung ga pake lama aku langsung pamit pergi lagi jemput si Dia, cak rip juga sekalian pulang. Motor distater langsung aku tancap gas dan cak rip aku tinggalin… hehe.. sorry cak… ternyata naik mio enak juga, apa karena kebiasaan naek motor bebek biasa yang maen di kaki. Kalo maatic kan Cuma maen di tangan. Itu yang aku suka dari motor matic. Kaki ga capek oper kopling sama ngerem belakang. Hhehe… si Dia tadi aku suruh tungguin di mushola kalo udah nyampe. Dan Finally, at the first time I see her face again. Dag… dig.. dug… hhehe… kumat deh… grogi… padahal dia malah kaya cemberut gitu gara-gara aku lama banget jemputnya. Katanya udah setengah jam dia nungguin. Ya aku bilang kalo SMSnya itu baru masuk n langsung borongan gitu, ga tau kenapa. Setelah naik ke atas motor dia ngajakin makan dulu. Busyet aku pikir udah jam segini kok belum makan, tapi emang dia belum sempet makan soalnya berangkat pas Maghrib n perjalanan 3 jam baru nyampe Surabaya.. hhha.. ternyata deket Batam-Surabaya daripada Kediri-Surabaya.

Si Dia ngajakin makan di McD karena di Waru ada McD baru.. ya udah aku ikutin aja maunya, pdahal aku udah bilang kalo aku udah makan, jadi aku nungguin si Dia makan aja. Aku pikir, cepet banget nih wilayah berubah, showroom udah berubah jadi supermarket Gi*nt, sebelahnya McD, sebelahnya pom bensin, ada juga RS Mitra Keluarga. Wooow… bener-bener berubah…

Setelah parkir kitapun masuk dan dia bilang “aku yang pesen makan kamu yang cari tempat” aku cari tempat diluar karena pengen liat suasana outdoor Sidoarjo waktu malam, ternyata banyak banget orang merokok. Bikin ga nyaman, maklum aku udah ga ngerokok lagi… hehhe… akhirnya kita pindah dalem. Ternyata si Dia pesen 2 porsi. Aku tanyain tuh satu lagi buat siapa, eh dia bilang buat aku. Waduh aku kan udah bilang kalo aku udah makan, tapi mau gimana lagi, ya udah aku makan deh… lagian enak ini daripada kikil… hhehe…

Selesai makan kita ngobrol-ngobrol, sampe pada suatu momen, dia menanyakan kebenaran niatku waktu nembak Dia, dia Tanya macem-macem dan intiya dia Tanya harus sekarangkah jawabnya. Aku bilang ga harus, lebih baik dipikir dulu sampe memang manteb mau jawab terima atau tolak. Kalo dia pengen aku ketemu ibunya dulu, karena dia udah cerita perihal ini ke ibunya. Ya udah ga berapa lama aku nganterin Dia pulang. Dan sesampainya di rumah ibunya keluar dan aku dikenalin ke ibunya. Dasar geblek, aku bilang mau langsung pamit aja, soalnya udah malem. Aduuuhhhh…. Tapi emang udah malem sih. Udah jam 11.30 malem. Kan ga enak bertamu malam-malam banget. Kaya ga tau jam aja.

Ya udah aku pamit pulang, nyampe rumah ternyata aku inget belom sholat.. ya udah sholat dulu, setelah itu langsung pindah ke kasur kesayanganku yang empuk sekali. Mata udah hampir merem 100% eh ada telepon. Busyet aku pikir siapa nih telpon tengah malem gini, serem amat. Ternyata telpon dari si Dia… langsung melek mata ini ga ada ngantuknya…dia nanyain udah tidur ya, aku bilang aja hampir melayang.. hehe.. kita ngobrol sampe aku pindah keluar rumah karena masku gangguin aja. Sambil panen digigitin nyamuk, dia bilang soal yang tadi waktu makan. Dia mau jawab dan Guest Whattt???

She said YES.
Langsung ¾ ga percaya apakah ini bener, aku Tanya lagi emang bener tuh jawabnya dan dia jawab bener kok. YIiiiihhhaaaa… ternyata di terima… Yeessss… langsung deh kita ngobrol ini itu sampe ga terasa udah jam 1 tapi ga tau kok jadi ga ngantuk, padahal besok pagi kita mau berangkat ke probolinggo buat rafting. Akhirnya dia bilang tidur aja deh, biar besok ga kesiangan. Gila aku sampe ½ jam baru bisa tidur dan bangun jam 5. Buat sholat subuh…

Aku teringat jadi hari ini adalah hari dimana dia menerimaku. Weeeww… masih sedikit ga percaya…

Hmmmm… capek juga ternyata nulis… ga bayangin kerjaan para wartawan, reporter, pembuat novel, penulis buku,dkk… salute to them… really…

Tapi whatever, sampe sini dulu aja deh… ntar sambung lagi (*kalo sempet)… yang pasti blog ini sekarang aku dedikasikan untuk sesuai dengan judulnya My Life My Whole Life.

See you on next post… (udah utang berapa posting ya? Pada belum ada lanjutannya)

New Hobby with New Gear

2010-10-16T10:02:00.005+07:00

Halo semua... lama nggak update blog, akhirnya bisa juga nyempetin ngupdate...
sebelumnya mohon maaf kalau cerita tentang KEDIRI-nya terpaksa aku "cut" karena udah agak lupa dan foto dokumentasinya ada yang kurang lengkap. InsyaAllah bakal diupdate cerita tentang KEDIRI (ga tau kapan)...

oke,,ga pake lama.. langsung saja, posting kali ini bercerita tentang hobby baruku yang emang sebelumnya suka banget sama fotografi, tapi belum pernah punya kamera sendiri.. mentok semua punya temen,,jadi ga bisa setiap saat dipake..
akhirnya,,setelah hampir setaun cari duit sendiri alias kerja, kesampaian juga beli kamera.. tapi sebelum mendapat kamera ini, aku udah hampir 3 bulan browsing, nanya ke temen2 buat rekomendasi sebelum beli kamera. sampe sempet bingung bakalan beli DSLR atau prosumer.. karena emang waktu itu dana yang aku alokasiin sekitar 3.5-4.5...

eh,ga tau gimana,
aku nemuin blog temen SMPku.. Karen Djuanda namanya...sekarang dia stay di Jepang... blognya berisi foto2 outdoor activity.. iseng-iseng aku tanya,pake kamera apa tuh? kata dia "aku cuma pake kamera prosumer"... "merk apa ren?" tanyaku... "Panasonic LUMIX DMC LX3"... aku pikir itu kamera DSLR yang udah pake tele gitu, secara hasil jepretannya luar biasa keren menurutku... kondisi low lightpun hasilnya juga bagus, ga seperti pocket camera kaya punya temenku (ga bermaksud menghina lho.. hehe)... aku cek harga di Indonesia eh, mahal banget yak buat kamera model gitu... ga percaya,aku langsung nanya sama mbah google...
dapet diforum, ternyata nih kamera emang layak dihargai mahal karena memang kualitasnya... tapi satu yang aku ingat dari forum itu bahwa "The Person Who Behind The Camera" itu yang lebih penting.. sebaik apapun kameranya kalau emang dasarnya masih beginner pasti kalah sama yang ahli walaupun cuma pake pocket camera... hhehe... akhirnya dengan mengumpulkan segenap kekuatan dan keberanian,, kamera itu sampe juga ketanganku... hhe

okelah, katanya ga pake lama kok malah cerita panjang lebar yak.. okelah.. ini beberapa hasil jepretan yang aku ambil dengan mainan baruku... selamat menikmati dan kalau bisa tolong dikomentari atau dikritik buat kemajuan bersama... hhehe

ini boxnya

ini juga boxnya...

ini boxnya juga...

ini boxnya lagi... hehhe

ini lens capnya...
ini ID buat kerja (ga nyambung nih)

ini gitarnya (punya Darwis)

ini lens capnya lagi...

ini bagnya...

kameranya mana??
sorry... ga ada gambarnya... lha mau jepret pake apa?? hapeku aja kameranya rusak.. hhehe...

sekian ceritanya... cerita selanjutnya tentang Hobby touring yang akhirnya bisa dijalanin lagi... hhehe... see you at next post...

Memories in Kediri

2010-07-23T07:07:00.012+07:00

posting kali ini menceritakan pengalamanku berlibur bersama 4 orang Koplakerz yang punya hobi touring de East Java. Kalau biasanya pas liburan kita sering pergi ke Malang, kali ini kami memutuskan untuk pergi ke lokasi yang agak jauh dikit. KEDIRI namanya... Rencana sebelumnya kami mengira bakal lebih banyak lagi temen2 koplakerz yang mau ikut,, secara waktu pembahasan acara berangkat,, hampir separuh kelas semangat pengen ikut... tapi apa mau dikata... mulut tak selalu sama dengan perbuatan... hehehe... agak kasar
kedengarannya...Jadi H-1 tinggal tersisa 5 orang ini termasuk aku yang lebih memilih touring daripada berlibur di Surabaya yang sudah mulai membosankan dan PANAS... And the day has come... sebelum berangkat,, seperti biasa kami kumpul dulu di rumahku... maklum jalur tengah antara rumah temen2 sebelum berangkat kalo mau berlibur ke malang atau manapun...
Hari itu aku seperti biasa jadi "Boncengers" alias penumpang di "Supri" eh "Supra"-nya Robby,,
terus ada Mbah Erik yang duet dengan "Kirana"-nya Cak Rip alias Arif
dan Unang atau jenk U'un dengan "Mio whity"-nya...
dengan sangu pamit ke ortuku - yang dianggap bolo dhewe (baca: teman sendiri) kalo sama teman2 kampusku- kami berangkat ke KEDIRI

Dengan motto "backpack ga tau bondho" (backpack ga pernah modal) kita menyusuri jalanan ke KEDIRI yang tanpa disadari ternyata kita semua ga ada y
ang tau jalur menuju KEDIRI... yang kita tau hanya KEDIRI itu pasti melewati kota ini,,ini dan ini...dan bencana itu datang... kita tersesat,, nyasar entah kemana dan hanya bermodal papan penunjuk jalan,,kita PD aja... tapi entah kenapa akhirnya kita mamutuskan untuk berheti sejenak,, mending telpon temen yang ada di Kediri dulu daripada nyasar terlalu jauh.. hhehe
Dan ternyata dugaan kami ga salah... kita sudah salah jalur... beruntung kita ga tersasar terlalu jauh... perjalan kami lanjutkan,, kali ini kami membuntuti bus yang memang ke arah Kediri - daripada tersesat lagi.. hehhe...jalanan ke arah Kediri khususnya waktu melewati kabupatennya ternyata ga terlalu besar,, bahkan cuma ada 2 jalur,,padahal jalur ini dilewati kendaraan umum seperti bus.. ga kebayang macetnya kalau ada bus atau truk yang mogok... udah gitu jalanan bergelombang dan ada yang berlubang.. kaya gambar satu ini...

Setelah hampir 2 jam aku ngerasa kok kelihatannya ga sampai-sampai ya... apa kita salah jalur lagi,, tapi kami ini berada di jalur bareng dengan bus yang emang ke arah Kediri,, mestinya bener dong...

Setelah berapa lama dengan pantat yang sudah mulai terasa panas dan bakal jadi tambah tipis,, kami melihat sederetan pagar warna merah,, dan ternyata itu adalah pagar milik pabrik Gudang Garam... huffhhh... kita sudah di kota Kediri nih... perasaan senang juga bingung,, kok udah dikota tapi jalanannya masih kecil ya... hhhee... tapi whatever lah yang penting kita udah di Kediri... berhubung kita berangkatnya hari Jumat,, dan waktu sudah siang,, jadi kami memutuskan untuk melakukan sholat Jumat dulu di masjid terdekat...
Dan karena yang non-muslim cuman mbah Erik,, jadi beliaunya nunggu diluar deh... sorry Mbah.
selesai sholat Jumat,, kami memanggil mbah Erik buat makan siang dulu ,, lumayan ada yang jual bakso di halaman masjid... tapi kami berpikir untuk tidak makan 1 porsi karena pasti nanti waktu mampir ke rumah temen pasti disuruh makan lagi.. hhehe- itu yang kita harapkan...
jadi kamipun cuma memesan bakso Rp 3000,- doang... hahahahha... kaya makan pentol / cilok aja... Namanya juga "backpack ga bondho"...

Setelah selesai makan,, unan SMS temen yang emang rumhanya di Kediri supaya njemput kita di Masjid,, biar kita ga tersesat kalau mau ke rumah temen kita itu...
selang 15 menitan,, temen kita pun datang... Prabowo Hadi namanya... tapi kita biasa manggilnya Bowo,, padahal dulu waktu kenalan dia maunya di panggil Hadik... tapi entah kenapa kita ngerasa nama itu terlalu gaul buat dia... hehhee... jadi deh kita manggilnya BOWO.
..kamipun dibawa ke rumah si Bowo dan dugaan kami lagi2 tidak meleset... kita seua disuruh makan... busyettt.... ini yang emang kita tunggu...
Tapi dengan gaya sok jaim,, kita alasan masih capek,, tadi udah kenyang- tapi berharap kita dipaksa harus makan... hhehhe... dan harapan itu emang terjadi,, kita tetep disuruh makan... hhahha... ya udah deh kita makan... mana lauknya enak2 lagi....

usai kita makan kita balik lagi ke kamar si Bowo,, beruntung kamar si Bowo i
ni besar,, jadi muat buat kami ber-6... dan apa tuh..... ada PS ternyata.. wah... pas banget nih... capek2 maen PS... bukannya istirahat gara2 pantat tipis,, aku malah asyik maen PS sama adiknya si BOwo yang ternyata punya bakat kaya masnya... yaitu extreme action... bayangin tuh adiknya turun kebawah lewat tangga dalam rumah dan ternyata masuk lewat jendela lantai 2... Padahal masih SD kelas 3 (kalo ga salah)... busyet nih anak... ckckckck.... cuma bisa geleng2 doang...
Seharian kita dirumah sampe malam, dan ternyata Bowo punya adik cewe yang juga udah kuliah... langsung deh temen2 pada ga mau maen keluar,,, enakan di rumah... hhehe... maklum di kampusku terkenal dengan kampus para pria,, bahkan di kelasku aja cuma ada 5 cewe dari total 30 anak... sedih banget kalo ngebayanginnya...
tapi malam harinya kita keluar walau hujan masih rintik2... karena kita mau nj
emput teman kita Nurhadi atau biasa dipanggil Ponidi... dia emang niat ikut tapi naik bus soalnya masih ada urusan sama pacarnya di Surabaya... dan setelah kita jemput di depan kantor pos kita langsung meluncur menikmati malamnya kota Kediri yang cukup sepi... maklum masih midweek...

Kita nongkrong di depan stadion Brawijaya sambil minum kopi,, jus,,teh,,dll... kita mulai membahas destination place for tomorrow... kita pengennya sih ke gunung Kelud,, secara kita semua emang hobinya ke gunung.... tapi apa mau dikata ternyata gunung Kelud ditutup karena waspada banjir lahar dingin... ya sudah,,, akhirnya kita memutuskan untuk ke Goa Puh Sarang,, wisata air deras (lupa namanya),, air terjun Besuki... oke kira2 itu tujuan wisata kita untuk di Kediri kali ini... kita pulang kembali ke rumah si Bowo dan membawa Ponidi juga... maklum kita lama ga kumpul2 bareng... liburan semester sih...

Esoknya kita udah siap berangkat dan sudah sarapan juga tentunya.... soalnya Ibunya si Bowo ini bilang kalo kita ga boleh makan di luar... harus makan di rumah... hhhhahaha... baik betul ibunya Bowo ini....
oke deh sampe disini dulu cerita "Touring de Kediri"-ku.. ntar cerita selanjutnya bakalan aku posting soon... mumpung lagi libur... jadi ada kesempatan buat ngetik... hhhee...

"Salam Koplak".....

di bawah ini adalah kami yang suka melakukan "Touring de East Java"...

Touring member with prens... (Tory, Pon, and Bowo) at Puh Sarang

-Robby-

-Aku-

-Yunan--Mbah Erik--Cak Rip-

14 Alasan kenapa manusia enggan berubah

2010-07-23T06:42:00.000+07:00

Perubahan itu bukan datang dari orang tersebut

Gangguan terhadap rutinitas

Perubahan menimbulkan ketakutan-ketakutan terhadap hal baru

Tujuan perubahan tidak jelas

dimana belum tentu semua orang mampu melihatnya. tugas kita adalah membuat apa yang kita lihat dapat juga dilihat oleh orang lain

Perubahan menimbulkan rasa takut akan kegagalan

>>> Banyak yang memilih agar jangan sampai kehilangan (play to not lose) daripada bermain untuk menang (play to win). kita harus beranai menghadapi kegagalan. bagi kita kegagalan adalah Ibu Penemuan

Pengorbanan yang diberikan terlalu besar

>>> Mereka yang berpikir bahwa pengorbanannya > dari manfaat yang akan diterimanya.

Sudah puas dengan kondisi sekarang

>>> Manusia akan mengalami zona kenyamanan (comfort zone) dan memeluk erat2 selimut kenyamanannya (security blanket)-nya. cara mengubahnya yaitu membuatnya sadar bahwa dirinya yang dapat merubahnya.

Pikiran negatif

>>> Orang yang berpikiran negatif selalu menciptakan halangan dan dapat kita temui dimanapuk kita berada. tapi hukum alam mengatakan mereka yang tidak mau berubah akan menemui kesulitannya sendiri

Para pengikut tidak punya respek terhadap pimpinannya

>>> Pemimpin bisa gagal melakukan perubahan kalau pengikutnya kurang respek. tanpa integritas, seorang pemimpin tak akan diikuti, kata2nya tak akan bertuah.

Kecemasan seorang atasan

>>> Mereka ingin berubah tapi tidak mau menerima masukan, mereka kadang menganggap kritikan sebagai serangan terhadap dirinya, bukan cambuk perbaikan.

Perubahan bisa berarti kehilangan sesuatu

>>> Dalam perubahan setidaknya ada 3 kelompok yang berbeda dalam menerima akibatnya. Mereka yang dirugikan, mereka yang tidak banyak berpengaruh, mereka yang bakal diuntungkan. setiap piak harus diupakan agar menerima akibat dalam porsi yang sama

Perubahan menuntut tambahan komitmen.

>>> Dalam hal ini yaitu waktu. mustahil kita mengubah sesuatu tapi tidak berani mengawalnya. kita harus berada dalam perubahan itu bersama-sama

Berpikir sempit

>>> Pikiran yang sempit akan menciptakan halangan dengan alasan untuk kebaikan versi mereka sendiri

Terperangkap tradisi

>>> Manusia yang masih terikat tradisi bisa sangat sulit untuk berubah

Ready to Ibukota

2010-06-01T17:43:00.005+07:00

pagi itu pukul 05.12... seorang teman menelepon... dengan kondisi mata yang masih berat aku angkat tuh telepon dan tiba2 langsung kaya ada yang teriak marah "Son,, wez tangi?? budhal jam piro kon??"(arti: Son,,sudah bangun?? berangkat jam berapa??)...
Aku yang belum tahu siapa yang telepon,,begitu mendengar suaranya langsung deh tahu siapa nih orang... hahha... temenku yang paling semangat dalam situasi apapun... Taufan Al.....

langsung deh aku bangkit dari kasurku buat mandi n sholat shubuh... seteleh selesai sholat n ngaji aku langsung nyiapin semua keperluan buat berangkat menuju Ibukota Negara buat menghadapi ujian masuk salah satu perusahaan BUMN yang konon bergaji sangat tinggi untuk ukuran BUMN...

Jam 6 aku sudah siap dan temanku si Topan aku biasa manggilnya udah gedor2 pintu rumah kaya orang mau nagih utang.. busyet dah nih orang... semangat apa ngamuk pikirku... daripada ntar pintu rumahnya rusak,, langsung aja aku buka tuh pintu... Si Topan langsung ngomel (menurutku) "Sido budhal ga kon?? aku ae sing ngeterno..."

aku pikir perasaan berangkatnya jam 7, tapi nih anak udah pengen berangkat aja... La kalau berangkat sekarang emang aku mau ngepel bandara dulu aku bilang gitu ke dia... setelah itu kita ngobrol2 dulu sambil nungguin jam 7... ngobrol ngalor ngidul dari membahas hal biasa samapi masalah agama... wah aku jauh banget ketinggalannya kalau masalah agama... tapi gpp,,aku jadi bisa menambah ilmu lagi... akhirnya waktu udah menunjukkan jam setengah 7,, aku udah siap mau berangkat..

ehhhh,,
helmnya ternyata cuma ada 1... udah deh,,jadi bingung mau pinjem helm siapa... helm temen yang udah aku mau pinjem ternyata anaknya udah keburu jogging di Occarina (tempat wisata yang ada di Batam-ada waterboomnya lho)... wah gimana nih,,udah mau berangkat baru sadar kalau helmnya kurang.. aku pinjem motor si Topan ini sebentar buat pinjem helm temen di blok lain... dasar apes helmnya lagi ngumpul semua di rumahnya mbak Novi (temen 1 perusahaan) dan orangnya lagi ikutan Hash Run di Pulau Subang... yang ada mbak Rina,,tapi helmnya juga lagi di rumah mbak Novi... ya udah akhirnya balik lagi ke rumah n aku bilag ke Topan "ga nemu helm,,ga usah pake helm aja"... tapi si Topan ga mau,padahal aku bilang ntar aku yang tanggung semuanya kalau ada apa2... hehehe.. berhubung udah bingung....

tapi iseng2 nanya tetangga sebelah (Bu Djoko),,, eh ada... soalnya kebetulan pak Djoko lagi cuti pulang ke Surabaya... Selamat deh... akhirnya kami siap ke Bandara... begitu aku mau pake helmnya pak Djoko,, si Topan nyletuk" masak yang pake helm itu kamu Son"... aku langsung ketawa.... Soalnya Helm yang punya Topan kaya Helm pelengkap kepala aja,, ga ada tingkat keamanannya, sedangkan helm dari bu Djoko bermerk dan pasti standard.... hehehe... oke deh helmnya aku kasih ke Topan,,karena dia yang jadi drivernya...

akhirnya kita berangkat ke Bandara,, aru 1/4 perjalanan ehhhh,,hujannn... Topan nanya,gimana mau terus apa nyari mbalik nyari taksi... aku bilang aja,,terus aja lanjut... udah terlanjur basah... dan ga ada 100 meter,,eh jalanan kering... busyettt dah,ujan lokal... perjalanan pun berlanjut dan ga berapa lama,,, ujan lagi.. busyettt bener dah... seperti tadi kita lanjut aja menerabas tuh ujan... dan emang bener ga seberapa jauh udah terang lagi... perjalanan berlanjut melewati jalan yang ga pernah aku lewati kalau ke bandara,, sampai bingung aku,,takut kalau nyasar..hehe..

akhirnya perjalanan udah hampir sampai bandara,, pas didepan pintu gerbang bandara... BYUURRRR.... langsung ujan deres... waduhhhh.... busyettt.... udah tanggung banget... jadi deh basah kuyup cuma dari depan bandara sampai lobi... aku sih kasihan sama si Topan... kita ga bawa jas hujan masalahnya....

begitu samapai di bandara,, si Topan langsung pamit,, soalnya ada acara... aku berterima kasih banget sekaligus ga enak ati,, soalnya udah nganterin,, ujan2 pula.. dia cuma bilang semoga sukses ujiannya... akhirnya aku masuk ke dalam bandara,, bayar boarding pass n menunggu si burung besi mengantarku ke Ibukota Negara.... pesawat berangkat sesuai schedule dan akhirnya terbanglah aku ke Jakarta...

Batam in my eyes

2010-05-25T11:26:00.005+07:00

Ga terasa, sudah hampir 6 bulan merantau ke pulau tempat para pekerja. -BataM-. Jadi teringat sama postingan saya yang lama (januari_journey to the west). Banyak cerita,,ilmu,,pengalaman dari yang enak sampai yang kurang mengenakkan. Okelah, yang enak dulu aja yang saya ceritakan. biar nulisnya semanagat. hehe...

Pengalaman yang menyenangkan pertama,

ternyata teman-teman 1 angkatan ada sekitar 20an orang. padahal kata orang-orang biasanya 1 angkatan ga ada 10 orang. Semua dari kampus Jawa Timur n Jawa Tengah, tepatnya ITS,Malang(lupa nama kampusnya,,kampus bahasa gitu) sama dari UGM n Sanata Dharma Salatiga. Dari awal masuk jemputan ternyata anak-anaknya sama gilanya kaya temen-temen saya kuliah. jadi sayapun merasa seperti udah kenal dari lama. padahal baru ngerasa kalau kita ini teman 1 kantor y pas di mobil jemputan. padahal 1 pesawat. Yang paling parah ternyata teman sebangku pas dipesawat ternyata juga teman 1 kantor. dan itu baru saya sadari setelah di mobil. padahal di pesawat juga udah ngobrol-ngobrol...Parah...

Pengalaman yang menyenangkan kedua,

Fasilitas tempat tinggal yang diberikan ternyata di perumahan umum dan bisa dibilang perumahan yang cukup elit. bukan nyombong, soalnya inipun pengalaman pertama saya tinggal diperumahan macam gini. hehhe. walaupun rumahnya bukan rumah yang besar, tapi bisa saya simpulkan cukup nyaman karena semua fasilitas didalamnya sudah ada dan memang sengaja diberikan oleh kantor. tapi ga boleh dibawa pulang kampung lo...
Dengan sistem cluster, membuat sistem keluar masuk perumahan hanya melalui 1 pintu gerbang. ini membuat tingkat keamanan menjadi lebih baik. Walaupun kalau mau Sholat ke Masjid harus jalan dulu sekitar 10-15 menit.

Pengalaman menyenangkan ketiga,

Situasi kerja yang ternyata sangat kekeluargaan. Ga ada yang namanya unsur senioritas. Anak baru harus mau disuruh gini disuruh gitu. Semuanya sangat membantu dalam proses pembelajaran karena kami semua bekerja dalam tim. Ga ada yang namanya merasa paling hebat. mulai dari level operator yang semuanya wanita mulai dari yang muda(17 tahun aja ada) sampai yang sudah ibu-ibu(40an hehe),,teknisi dari yang muda samapai yang udah senior banget,,dan level engineer yang udah senior-senior... semuanya bercampur baur sampai serasa udah ga ada gap umur lagi,,apalagi dalam hal bercanda... ternyata yang udah senior pun kalo bercanda masih aja kaya jaman kuliah atau SMA malah... hahahha...

tapi itu baru beberapa pengalaman menyenangkan yang sempat saya tulis aja... sebenarnya masih banyak lagi pengalaman-pengalaman lain yang juga sangat menyenangkan dan seru... tapi sekarang waktunya berbagi pengalaman yang kurang menyenangkan dong...

pengalaman kurang menyenangkan pertama

Cuaca di Batam ini panasnya minta ampun... cuma keluyuran pake motor dari jam 1 sampe jam 3 aja nyampe rumah langsung kelihatan belang dikaki... apalagi pas pake sandal japit... udah deh... kelihatan banget kaya zebra... ehhehe..kuda kali...

petunjuk jalan yang kurang jelas

di Batam ini jalan utama cuma beberapa aja jumlahnya, tapi papan penunjuk jalan itu hampir ga jelas semua. pengalaman terburuk saya pas pengen nyari jalan alternatif belok kiri melewati perempatan (diBatam dikenal dengan nama Simpang) lampu merah.. bukan jalan protokol lain yang saya dapat... eh malah jalanan makadam (semacam jalur motocross)... busyet... jalan alternatif kok masih berupa tanah semua pikirku...
Dan setelah mencoba mengikuti jalur eh,,malah tembus daerah ga jelas dan berakhir di perumahan.. busyett.. dimana nih??? Berbekal sok tahu,, saya ikutin aja jalan yang ada.. dan ternyata kembali ke Perempatan TADI!!!!.... parah banget... (sayanya)
bisa juga tersesat di kota kecil... ckckckck...

angkutan yang banyak modelnya

angkutan disini didominasi sama model bison dan carry... dengan model kendaraan yang hampir sama mambuat kit harus pinter-pinter nyegatnya.. salah-salah ntar kaya teman saya, yang dengan pedenya ga pake nanya sopir langsung naik aja... eh ternyata bukan rumah yang dituju,, malah nyasar ke jalan antah berantah... ketawa saya kalo mengingatnya... hahaha
kalau soal gaya nyetir sih paling hampir sama aja kaya kota-kota lain... ada yang brutal ada yang kalem,,macem-macem deh pokoknya...

Kalau banjir jalanan jadi berwarna kuning

tanah di Batam ini banyak mengandung bauksit, jadi memang kurang atau bahkan ngga' cocok buat jadi perkebunan maupun persawahan... dan satu lagi... di Batam ga ada SUNGAI... adanya cuma parit-parit atau kali kecil gitu... dan sudah psti kalau hujan deras banget dan lama.... banjirlah yang jadi lakonnya... sama kaya kota-kota lain... yang bikin eda tuh di Batam kalo pas banjir berhubung tanahnya kuning otomatis jalanan jadi ikutan kuning... sampai-sampai kendaraan kalau habis hujan-hujan pasti kelihatan super duper jelek banget penampilannya... kaya kendaraan yang ga pernah dirawat gitu,, tampak berkarat disana sini... pokoknya ngga banget deh...

sejauh ini sih cuma sedikit pengalamanku yang kurang menyenangkan selama tinggal di Batam... cuma masalah cuaca,,jalanan,,angkot... itu yang saya alamin sendiri... ga tahu kalau orang lain...

gambar yang saya kasih cuma gambar banjir aja ninh... soalnya yang lain ada di harddisk yang lain. hehehe...
itulah sekelumit pengalaman saya sampai saat ini tinggal di Batam yang penuh warna warni...
satu-satunya yang belum aku jelajahi adalah dunia malam disini yang konon kota lebih hidup saat malam hari daripada siang hari.... hehehe... mungkin lain waktu (buat cari berita aja..ga yang lain)

Facebook Benahi 'Bug' Hapus Teman

2010-05-25T06:49:00.002+07:00

INILAH.COM, Jakarta – Facebook menyatakan telah membenahi cacat yang menyebabkan peretas bisa menghapus teman tanpa disadari pemiliknya. Bug itu fatal karena semua kontak teman bisa hilang.

Cacat tersebut dilaporkan pada Rabu (19/5) oleh Steven Abbagnaro, seorang mahasiswa Marist College di Poughkeepsie, New York. Masalah itu ditambal oleh Facebook setelah IDG News Service memberitahu isu tersebut, sebagaimana dilansir Yahoonews.

Bug tersebut merupakan variasi dari kerentanan yang diketahui Facebook sepekan sebelumnya, di mana mampu mempengaruhi satu rentang fitur di situs tersebut.

Peretas mampu memanfaatkan cacat tersebut untuk menghapus semua kontak teman korban.

Seorang pengguna bisa tertipu untuk mengklik sebuah link web berbahaya sementara masih log-in di Facebook.

Facebook telah berjuang keras pekan ini untuk memperbaiki bug tersebut, di mana banyak permintaan telah dibuat. Penyakit baru tersebut hadir karena kesalahan programming kode web di situs itu dan peneliti keamanan mengkritik karena tidak memperbaiki dengan segera.

“Kami sedang dalam proses melakukan audit penuh dan membangun proteksi tambahan untuk tipe serangan potensial di antara basis kode,” ujar Simon Axten, juru bicara Facebook. “Kami mulai bekerja seketika kami mempelajarinya dan mendorong perbaikan dengan secepatnya.”[ito]

JOgja and MICE

2010-05-25T06:24:00.007+07:00

INILAH.COM, Yogyakarta - Yogyakarta memiliki potensi dan berpeluang menjadi kota tujuan wisata MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition), karena memiliki fasilitas yang cukup lengkap untuk mendukung kegiatan itu.

"Makin banyak kegiatan yang berkaitan dengan MICE, akan memperkokoh posisi Kota Yogyakarta sebagai kota tujuan wisata MICE," kata Ketua Forum Silaturahmi Insan Pariwisata Indonesia Sarbini, di Yogyakarta, Sabtu (17/4).

Menurut dia, di Yogyakarta banyak hotel serta gedung pertemuan yang memiliki standar MICE, dan siap menggelar berbagai kegiatan, baik skala nasional maupun internasional, misalnya seminar, konvensi, dan pameran.

"Kegiatan MICE yang digelar di kota ini akan berdampak positif bagi sektor pariwisata. Selain itu, banyaknya kegiatan MICE akan memberikan keuntungan yakni meningkatnya penghasilan masyarakat di daerah ini, termasuk para pemangku kepentingan pariwisata," katanya.

Misalnya, kata dia, produk kerajinan, rumah makan atau restoran, dan hotel akan diuntungkan dengan makin banyaknya kegiatan MICE, baik nasional, regional maupun internasional.

Ia mengatakan pihaknya berupaya mempromosikan Kota Yogyakarta sebagai kota MICE, baik di dalam maupun luar negeri, dengan mengikuti berbagai pameran pariwisata.

Selain itu, menurut dia, perlu mengundang wartawan media cetak maupun media elektronik dari luar negeri ke Yogyakarta, dengan harapan mereka menulis tentang pariwisata di daerah ini.

"Dengan makin banyaknya kegiatan MICE di Yogyakarta, saya yakin upaya mewujudkan daerah ini sebagai daerah tujuan wisata MICE terkemuka di Indonesia bisa menjadi kenyataan," katanya.

Berdasarkan data di kantor Dinas Pariwisata Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY), sampai sekarang tercatat di daerah ini terdapat 33 hotel berbintang, dan 835 hotel melati, disamping sejumlah gedung pertemuan yang bisa mendukung Yogyakarta sebagai tujuan wisata MICE.

Forum Silaturahmi Insan Pariwisata (Fosipa) Indonesia yang berpusat di Yogyakarta memiliki anggota dari kalangan pelaku usaha wisata, baik pengelola hotel, restoran, jasa transportasi wisata, dan pramuwisata se Jawa-Bali serta sebagian Sumatera. [*/mor]

Desain Rumah via Web dengan Floor planner

2010-05-24T20:23:00.007+07:00

Buat teman-teman yang hobi atau pengen belajar dengan bikin desain-desain interior rumah kaya yang ada dibrosur-brosur pengembang perumahan, situs ini bisa jadi salah satu sarana... lewat situs ini,kita bisa bikin sendiri rancangan model rumah yang kita impikan. Menu-menu yang adapun ga kalah sama software-software CAD (Computer-aided design) karena emang situs ini dibuat berbasi CAD kali ya...hehhe...

Tapi memang situs ini dirancang hanya untuk membikin desain rumah.

.. bukan desain yang lain seperti pesawat, motor,dll... namanya juga Floorplanner,,kan udah jelas fungsinya untuk apa... hehe...

Untuk dapat menggunakan fasilitas yang ada, pertama kita harus daftar dulu sebagai member... Untuk personal account yang gratis, temen-temen akan diberi jatah untuk dapat membuat satu perencanaan dengan jumlah design sampai dengan lima.

Untuk memulai menggambar, temen-temen pun tinggal memilih tool untuk objek yang akan dibuat dan menggambarkannya pada kertas kerja yang disediakan. Di sini temen-temen bisa merancang dalam mode dua dimensi (2D), sedang untuk melihat hasilnya, temen-temen dapat pula pula melihat dalam mode tiga dimensi (3D).
Harus diingat, biar dapat menjalankan aplikasi Floor Planner ini, browser yang temen-temen pakai harus sudah mensupport Adobe Flash Player.
Gambar - gambar ini salah satu hasil karya penulis sendiri... (maklum kalau jelek,, masih newbie juga dibidang ginian)
kecuali logonya... itu hasil nyomot dari mbah Google

Tips Sederhana Membuat Read More di Blog

2010-05-24T17:34:00.003+07:00

Lagi-lagi soal membuat fasilitas Read more.. atau Selengkapnya.. pada template baru (XML), topik ini rupanya yang paling banyak di baca dan di minati oleh para blogger baru. Hal ini terlihat dari banyaknya komentar yang masuk pada artikel tersebut, ada yang girang karena sudah merasa berhasil dan ada juga yang sedikit kecewa karena masih menemui kegagalan.
Dengan masih adanya kegagalan-kegagalan tersebut, maka dapat di tarik kesimpulan bahwa metode yang saya sampaikan ternyata masih kurang untuk di pahami. Dari itu tentu harus di pikirkan cara yang tepat dalam penyampaian suatu panduan. Beberapa waktu yang lalu ada sebuah komentar yang masuk pada salah satu artikel saya (artikel yang mana saya lupa dan sedikit malas untuk membuka dokumen komentar) bahwa metoda penyampaian tersebut sangatlah mudah untuk di pahami, maka pada kesempatan kali ini saya akan mencoba metoda tersebut pada artikel membuat fungsi Read more.. atau Selengkapnya...

Saran saya, ketika anda melakukan Editting pada kode template, sebaiknya jangan memakai browser Internet Explorer terutama Internet Explorer 6, pakailah browser lain semisal FireFox ataupun Opera.
Kenapa jangan memakai Internet Explorer? ini merupakan pengalaman pribadi saya ketika melakukan editting sering menemukan pesan error ketika memakai IE, dan apabila memakai browser lain pesan Error tersebut tidak muncul (proses edtting sukses), dan saya pernah membaca di blogger forum banyak yang melaporkan isu ini dan pihak blogger sendiri menyarankan untuk sementara memakai browser lain selain IE (maaf lupa catat alamat link nya).
Bagi yang belum sukses membuat fungsi read more..., coba ikuti langkah berikut ini :
Langkah #1

Klik Pengaturan

Klik Format

Pada layar paling bawah, ada text area kosong disamping tulisan Template Posting, isi tesxt area kosong tersebut dengan kode di bawah ini :

Klik tombol Simpan Pengaturan

Pemasangan kode ini di maksudkan agar pada saat posting artikel, kode tersebut langsung muncul tanpa harus menuliskan terlebih dahulu, jadi membantu kita agar tidak harus selalu mengingat kode tersebut.

Langkah #2

Klik menu Dasboard

Klik Tata Letak

Klik tab Edit HTML

Klik tulisan Download Template Lengkap.

Silahkan save dulu template tersebut, ini di maksudkan untuk mengurangi resiko apabila terjadi kesalahan ketika melakukan editting pada template, kita masih punya back up data untuk mengembalikannya seperti semula

Beri tanda centang pada kotak di samping tulisan Expand Template Widget , lihat gambar di bawah :

Tunggu beberapa saat ketika proses sedang berlangsung

Silahkan anda cari kode berikut pada kode template milik anda :

Hapus kode diatas, lalu ganti dengan kode di bawah ini (klik pada tombol untuk menandai):

Klik tombol Simpan Template
Selesai.

Cara Posting Artikel

Klik menu Posting

Klik menu Edit HTML, maka secara otomatis tampak kode yang telah kita setting tadi, yakni :

Tuliskan artikel yang ingin tampak pada blog sebelum kode :

Tulis keseluruhan sisa artikel sesudah kode di atas tadi dan sebelum kode :

Klik tombol bertuliskan MEMPUBLIKASIKAN POSTING

Klik tulisan Lihat Blog(di jendela baru) untuk melihat hasil dari postingan kita, kemudian lihat apakah hasilnya sukses atau tidak. Jika tidak, mungkin ada bagian yang terlewatkan. Coba lihat kembali langkah diatas

Mudah-mudahan dengan adanya postingan ini tidak ada lagi yang mengalami kegagalan dalam membuat menu Read more...
Bagi anda yang mengikuti tutorial ini dan mengalami kegagalan, jangan panik ketika blog anda menjadi amburadul (katanya begitu dalam komentar), upload kembali backup templatenya dan nanti akan kembali ke keadaan semula sebelum di edit.
Selamat mencoba !

sumber : http://kolom-tutorial.blogspot.com/2008/01/trik-mudah-membuat-more.html
-blog Kang Rohman-

Update Status di Facebook via "Terserah"

2010-03-09T22:38:00.011+07:00

heran dapet email dari engineer lain katanya update status "via BlackBerry" bisa lewat emulator. iseng2 baca tutorialnya, awalnya tertarik. tapi gara2 harus pake download softwarenya dan itu juga cukup besar (buat ane) trus harus install ini, install itu,, konfigurasi ini,,itu jadi ngebikin ane kagak berminat deh jadinya.

browsing pengen yang "for iPhone" eh malah ketemu tutorial yang bisa "via apa aja"...

setelah dibaca dan dipraktekkan... ternyata,,,, BERHASIL.....

berikut tutorial yang bisa ane kasih (buat ownernya: jangan marah om,, ane lupa nama web ente,, jadi kagak ane tampilin nama webnya.. tapi intinya ane pengen berbagi ilmu aje)

1. Login account ente
2. scroll sampe paling bawah,, cari tab Developer

3. cari logo "start building..."

4. isi Website Name dengan nama terserah (itu ntar yang keluar di status ente dengan ekstensi "via ...")
5. isi website url dengan nama web/blog kamu.. kalo ga punya ya terserah lah,,yang penting valid atau mau pake URL ane...(http://www.ciptoleksono.co.cc) :)
6. language default aje
7. klik next step

8. di step 2
download aja filenya,,trus klik test setup and continue.

9. cari tulisan "Social Markup" yang ada di bagian kiri frame dan klik

10. copy scriptnya,,taruh aja di notepad atau apalah terserah.. yang penting save dengan ekstensi *.htm atau *.html...

11. setelah itu jalanin file tadi dan INGAT!!! koneksi internet harus ON... setelah masuk ke browser... ketik aja status yang mau dimasukin ke FB and klik Post... and jangan forget... harus Login dulu kalo belum login lho...

dan coba buka situs facebook and cek.... TaDa..... your updated status "via yours"

Selamat mencoba... kini update status ga harus beli BB,,iPhone atau repot2 install aplikasi... yang penting gengsi kagak kalah... malah lebih elit.. hehehehe..

bikin aja "via perusahaan pribadi"

Words of Wisdom

2010-02-20T05:49:00.003+07:00

- Before failure enters your mind, hide success in your heart
- Success is never final, and failure never fatal. It is courage that counts.
- The only person who is successful is the one who has learnt how to relearn and change
- A sucessful man i one who does today what he is thinking of doing tomorrow
- Believe in hard work. no one will hand you the future. The ladder to success is steep, but take one step at a time and you get to the top

- Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.
- If the going seems easy, you are going downhill.
- In all things, success depends on previous preparation, and whitout such preparation, there is sure to be failure.
- A winner makes committments, a loser makes promises.
- A posistive attitude is essential for success.
- If we encountered a rich and experienced man, we should ask him what books he read.
- Reap the fruits of your talents, walk wth pride down the road of life, be humble in your success, and share in the phrases and joy of others.

- Great things are not done by impulse but be a series of small things brought together. (Vincent Can Gogh)
- There's no substitute for hard work. (Thomas Edison)
- It's not wheter you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up. (Vincent Lombardi)
- You must remain focused on you journey to greatness. (Les Brown)
- The time is always right to do what is right. (Marthin Luther King, Jr.)
- Paying attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich. (Henry Ford)
- The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything. (Theodore Roosevelt)
- If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort. (Dave Weinbaum)
- Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practise. (Anton Chekhov)
- People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. (Earl Nightingale)
- An invesment in knowledge pays the best return. (Benjamin Franklin)

Hacking PSP 3006

2010-02-20T05:15:00.004+07:00

2 hari yang lalu penulis n 2 temen berhasil juga ngeFlash PSP versi 3006 punya temen yang hebis kena ShutDown...

baru tau kalo PSP versi ini ternyata kalo shutdown bakalan ga bisa maen game2 gratisan yang dikasih waktu beli... padahal baru beli 1 minggu sebelumnya.

sempet takut harus bayar ganti rugi,, padahal harganya aja 2jt lebih... masag belom gajian disuruh ngegantiin..

untung yang punya sangat kekeluargaan.. jadi sempet beberapa hari PSPnya di-nganggurin.. Tanya-tanya ke Mbah Google... ada banyak sih tutorialnya.. donlotin semua referensi...
tapi y gitu,, kalo ga jelas tutorialnya y comment2 yang isinya menyatakan kalau tutorialnya Hoax alias bo'ongan...

masih belum menyerah... tanya ke senior yang juga maniak gadget,, beliaunya juga belom nemu caranya.. saran yang dikasih mending bawa aja ke tokonya minta di-Flashin daripada nyoba2 ntar MATOT.. paling sekitar 150.000... wah pikir penulis lumayan tuh duit buat yang lain...

karena pikiran tentang sayang sama uang yang harus dikeluarin... dengan modal nekad(seperti waktu ngeflash HP sendiri),, coba aja.. tutorial dari situs psp-hacks... finally... success... soalnya sebelumnya coba pake tutorial yang laen2 ga ada efek sama sekalli... pikir penulis payah nih tutorial.. kog ga berfungsi buat gue...

berkat situs psp-hacks... gue bisa mainin lagi game2 kesayangan... dan yang psti penulis ga perlu keluarin duit buat benerin PSP... sekaligus dapet pengalaman berharga...

memang lebih baik gagal setelah mencoba daripada tidak mencoba sama sekali. karena semua orang berhasil setelah mengalami kegagalan dalam melakukan percobaan...

4 Makanan Agar Sukses Berhenti Merokok

2010-01-12T06:22:00.002+07:00

VIVAnews - Keinginan berhenti merokok sangat besar, tapi kebiasaan buruk yang merusak kesehatan itu tak kunjung berhenti. Makanan apa saja yang membantu para perokok menghentikan keinginan mengisap tembakau? dan makanan apa pula yang memicu keinginan merokok?

Studi Univesritas Duke menemukan ada empat jenis makanan yang dapat membuat rasa rokok menjadi tidak enak. Mengkonsumsi makanan ini secara teratur membantu melenyapkan rasa rokok yang membuat orang ketagihan.

* Buah-buahan

* Sayur-sayuran

* Produk susu

* Minuman non-karbonasi seperti air putih dan jus buah

Di samping itu ada tiga jenis makanan yang membuat merokok kian nikmat. Para perokok yang berniat berhenti, sebaiknya menghindari :

* Daging

* Kopi

* Minuman beralkohol

Meskipun belum dapat dijelaskan lebih jauh, peneliti menduga makanan tertentu memicu produksi air liur yang menjadikan rokok terasa lebih enak atau kurang enak.

Penelitian yang sama menawarkan beberapa produk makanan lezat sekaligus menjaga diet.

Buah : makanan penutup berupa salad dari berbagai buah-buahan manis

Sayuran: resep makanan dengan bahan kembang kol, cabai, brokoli dan sayuran hijau lainnya

Yogurt: yogurt pina colada atau citrus berry smoothie layak dicoba

Keju: pizza sayuran dengan taburan keju, lasagna karamel pun layak jadi santapan lezat untuk diet sekaligus sehat.

journey to the wezt

2010-01-09T04:25:00.005+07:00

seperti cerita biksu Tong dan kera sakti dkk.. penulis juga melakukan perjalanan ke Barat unutk melakukan tugas yang mulia...

perjalanan dimulai dari tgl 8 Des 2009. pesawat take off.. kejadian lucu terjadi saat pesawat mau take off.. ternyata AC pesawat tidak menyala sehingga hawa didalam pesawat menjadi PUANAS...

mbak pramugari yang sebelum masuk pesawat pada cantik2 menjadi luntur semua n menjadi tidak menarik dipandang... tapi untung baunya masih wangi... coba BB.. wah sudah muntah ntar... ga ngebau gimana coba... orang aq udah duduk eh mbaknya malah masukin tas orang pas didepan ane persis.... busyet dah...

AC yang tak kunjung menyala menyebabkan para penumpang mulai gerah dan mulai usill berkata "AC.. AC..."

ane pun ikut aja... AC... AC...

tapi kalo ane cuman ikut-ikut ada penumpang lain yang malah berani ngomel2 sampe kenceng cewek lagi... "mbak kita ini mbayar.. suruh pilotnya nyalain AC atau kita ga usah terbang ini. layak nggak sih pesawatnya?"
sangar dah tu penumpang...

ada juga bapak2 yang ngomel2... tapi cuma dari seatnya doank... kalo penumpang cewe tadi sampe berani nyamperin tempat pilot... padahal pesawat udah mau take off di runway...

NAH... pas udah di Runway n maw take off.. eh mesin pesawat mati... wah... tambah rame nih di dalem pesawat...

penumpang cewe n bapak2 tadi ngomporin ayo turun aja... pesawatnya layak ga sih...
mending dicek dulu... daripada ntar ada masalah pas udah terbang...

ane yang notabene baru ke2 kalinya naik pesawat juga sempet mrinding juga... habis ane kagak bisa berenang coy.... klo sampe jatuh di laut kaan serem...

tapi akhirnya mesin nyala n pesawat take off dengan lancar....

tapi ya itu... ACnya kaga terlalu dingin...

ada kejadian lucu lagi buat ane....

pertama maw duduk ane ngebayangin enag nih kalo duduk sebelahan cewe cantik... hehehe...

eh dapetnya malah cowok... dasar nasib... klo mikir sebelah cewe pasti deh dapetnya cowo atau ibu2...

tapi selang berapa menit... mbak pramugari datang n bilang masnya salah seat... harusnya dibelakang...

horeeee.... yes bukan sama cowo... setelah tu orang pindah.. ane berencana duduk deket jendela... kan ane suka tuh pemandangan dari langit...

PAS ane maw duduk d pinggir jendela... ada cewek nyamperin.. "mas,, saya yang dipinggir jendela"
buset... ane pikir... gila ada orang yang udah taw ane dipinggir jenbdela,, ane malah disuruh pindah... setelah ane liat nomor seat ane... eh emang bener tu cewe harusnya dipinggir jendela... udah deh... duduk dipinggir jalan ga bisa puas liat pemandangan....

ane kagak ngajak ngobrol tu cewe... malez banget awalnya....

tapi selang ga berapa lama qta ngobrol basa-basi... ane pikir tu cewe maw jadi TKI atau maw ke Spore...

pas maw mendarat ane ngobrol lagi... dan ternyata eh ternyata.... tuh cewe juga maw kerja di tempat yang sama dengan ane... jiakakakakakakakk.... baru taw pas udah landing d batam.... tiwas mikir sing aneh2

ealah..lah... njekethek iwak asin....

n sekarang ane kerja di Universitas Semiconductor(UNISEM)... semoga aja lancar2 aja n yang paling utama... IMPIAN ANE KELUAR NEGERI WITH MY OWN MONEY OR COMPANY'S MONEY COME TRUE... AMINNNN...

pengalaman di Jakarta Nov,29 - Dec,3 2009

2009-12-05T09:19:00.006+07:00

tanggal 30... pagi..brangkat ke Jakarta naeg Pesawat... first experience on flight... exciting.. but too short... nyampe jam 10... bingung maw naek apa... taxi plat kuning.. takut mahal ama diputer2in... nyari taxi plat item deh...

eh.. apv.. 160rb.. lumayan... ber3 nyampe kuningan di ariobimo... langsung ketemu ma temen lama.. Satrio Hasan..
ni temen penulis waktu dulu di Lab suruh menghibur kakak2 senior dengan cara maen gitar dari malem sampe pagi... walaupun ga maen tapi qta disuruh nungguin si Cuki... tapi penulis diperbolehin pulang jam 12 karena emang ga bersalah.. (Niat penulis sebenrnya pengen dengerin maen gitar sambil nungguin ujan reda ga tawnya disuruh ikut nemenin.. T.T)... panjang deh...

ketemu satrio nyamperin kos2an yang udah dicariin... temen penulis yang cewe udah fix... jadi penulis nitip tas dl n nyari kos2an lagi... soalnya kos yang dicariin satrio bwt penulis ternyata melewati bak sampah... kalo ujan bok... Baunya...

truz ada lagi.. lewat kali yang ITEM banget... baunya jg gitu... mana depan kos kuburan... suereeemmm... tapi hiburannya lingkungannya.. wah... HOt Pants Bok.. Geulis pisan euy...

ah tapi ga lah...

katemu deh sama Mas Fery.. Kakak sepupunya si Dedy temen seperjuangan nyari kos... muter2... muter2.. dari 1 tempat kos ke tempat yang lain... dari yang jalan besar sampai yang masuk ke dalam gang buntu... harganya itu lho.. kog ga ada yang kaya di surabaya... 300 udah bagus... disini 400 ga dapet kipas... ada yang masuk gang... wah.. payah lah...

tapi kata temen emang harga kos di daerah kuningan emang mahal2 ga ada yang murah.. namanya juga kawasan segitiga emas...

puter2 lagi.. maw nyari yang daerah perbanas.. tapi takut ntar kejauhan ma kantor... kan Main Purpose nyari kos yaitu kos yang deket... biar ga pake transport.. hwhwhwh...

akhirnya keputusan dibuat... yang 400rb tapi depan jalan besar... paling murah dah tuh... kondisi lumayan...air bersih... kipas angin tambah 15rb... tv 20 ataw 35 gt...
tapi ga bisa buat nyimpen motor.. motor dititpin diujung jalan..ada penitipan motor... repot dah... tapi gpp... kan tujuannya ga pake transport...

langsung deh take a rest... besoknya maw ke Ariobimo... Maw nanyain informasi masuk kerjanya kapan soalnya sampe hari keberangkatan ga ada yang dikasi kabar kpan masuknya.. pdahal pas interview dibilangin bkal dikabarin via email...

y udah yang penting istirahat dl... liat besok deh... soalnya sama temen2 juga niat ke Ancol... lagi ada diskon 50%... lumayan... trakhir ke Ancol dulu pas masih kecil... sampe lupa...

udah deh.. itu dulu aja.. capek nulisnya.. tulisan lainnya disambung lagi di artikel lainnya...

dillema

2009-11-28T05:10:00.005+07:00

once in my life.. i have to choose which one is the best 4 my own future.. both of them are big company.. but which one i have to choose???

terinal Purabaya punya videotron...

2009-09-30T12:32:00.003+07:00

“Wah jadi persis bandara undara Juanda !!! Informasi nya jelas banget, dengan adanya informasi tarif begini penumpang jadi terhindar dari ulah nakal kru bus dan calo” ucap Farid (31) pegawai perusahaan pengolahan tembakau, saat dimintai pendapatnya mengenai videotron baru di terminal Purabaya (Bungurasih) Surabaya ini.

Layaknya papan informasi elektronik di Bandara udara yang memajang informasi keberangkatan maskapai penerbangan, videotron tersebut berisi informasi : Jam keberangkatan, Nomor Kendaraan, Nama PO (Perusahaan Otobis), Tujuan, Kelas, Tarif, baik tarif bawah maupun tarif atas.

Planet mirip bumi

2009-09-20T10:58:00.002+07:00

Planet Mirip Bumi Ditemukan di Luar Tata Surya
ESO

Ilustrasi planet
/

Jumat, 18 September 2009 | 11:06 WIB

BEIJING, KOMPAS.com — Beberapa ahli astronomi telah menemukan planet berbatu di luar sistem tata surya kita, dengan kepadatan yang terbukti sama dengan Bumi, demikian laporan studi oleh satu tim Eropa.

Planet itu, yang dikenal sebagai COROT-7b, ditemukan pada Februari tahun ini oleh teleskop antariksa Eropa, COROT, yang telah melacak bintang tersebut yang diputarinya.

Planet itu berjarak sekitar 500 tahun cahaya dari Bumi di dalam gugus bintang Monoceros, Unicorn. Meskipun para ilmuwan telah mencari kehidupan di langit dalam waktu cukup lama, ada dugaan bahwa satu planet memerlukan permukaan padat untuk menunjang kehidupan.

Dari lebih 300 exoplanet yang dikenal, itu adalah planet pertama yang ditemukan yang tidak besar dan mengandung gas.

Temuan mengenai planet berbatu dengan kepadatan seperti Bumi membawa kita satu langkah lebih dekat untuk menemukan planet lain yang serupa dengan planet kita.

Meskipun planet itu sangat panas dan kekurangan air berarti tampaknya planet tersebut tak bisa menampung kehidupan, para ilmuwan mengatakan, hal itu tetap menjadi satu langkah penting karena itu memperlihatkan planet berbatu benar-benar ada.

Temuan tersebut akan diterbitkan di dalam jurnal Astronomy and Astrophysics, terbitan 22 Oktober.

BNJ
Sumber : Antara

2009-07-27T14:44:00.001+07:00

Setting email (Gmail) dihandphone Sony Ericsson G502 :

Menu > Pesan > Email > Account >

Account baru lalu :

> Nama Anda : Ketik nama (bebas terserah nama siapa saja juga boleh)

> Alamat Email : xxxx@gmail.com

> Nama Pengguna : Nama account saat pertama kali membuat email

> Kata Sandi : Password untuk masuk (login) ke alamat email kalian

Lalu keluar perintah informasi “Sambung ke internet untuk memeriksa setting email …………” pilih TIDAK, agar tidak mendownload settingan email , pilih YA akan mendownload setting email secara otomatis, setelah pilih opsi TIDAK maka akan muncul halaman selanjutnya :

> Jenis Sambungan : pilih POP3

> Server : Server untuk pesan masuk (POP3) ketik : pop.gmail.com

Server untuk pesan keluar (SMTP) ketik : smtp.gmail.com

Sampai disini pembuatan account email untuk di Handphone belum selesai,bila account baru telah dibuat (jadi) langkah selanjutnya :

Menu > Pesan > Email > Setting >

> Download : Rubah settingan Download sesuai selera atau seperlunya saja.

> Umum : Rubah settingan (hanya untuk “isyarat email” dan “tanda tangan”) sesuai keinginan.

> POP3 (Surat Email Masuk) : > Enkripsi ganti menjadi : SSL > Port ketik : 995 > Sambung dengan : Sesuai dengan jenis simcard yang digunakan (Indosat : Satgprs).

> SMTP (Surat Email Keluar) : > Enkripsi ganti menjadi : SSL > Port ketik : 465 > Sambung dengan : Sesuai dengan jenis simcard yang digunakan (Indosat : Satgprs).

Settingan email untuk di handphone sudah selesai .. BELUM (coba download email … pasti belum bisa) karena masih ada tahap 1 lagi yang harus dikerjakan.

Sekarang login account email (Gmail) dari PC atau LAPTOP setelah masuk klik “Pengaturan” (pada sisi kanan atas) setelah keluar halaman pengaturan lalu klik “Meneruskan dan POP/IMAP” pada bagian Download POP klik “Aktifkan POP untuk surat yang datang mulai sekarang” lalu pada bagian Akses IMAP klik “Nonaktifkan IMAP” lalu klik Simpan Perubahan.

Sekarang setiap Email yang masuk dapat langsung diteruskan (Download) ke Handphone tanpa bantuan Aplikasi Push Email dari pihak ketiga, pastikan bahwa Alamat Email tersebut bukan Alamat yang digunakan saat SIGN UP FACEBOOK, karena nanti pemberitahuan (Notification) dari Facebook dapat ikut diteruskan (Download) ke Handphone yang akhirnya bisa menguras sisa PULSA handphone kalian, lebih baik buat Account Email baru yang khusus hanya untuk keperluan surat menyurat saja. OK

ini diambil dari pujowibowo.wordpress.com

italia kalah vs mesir

2009-06-19T05:12:00.004+07:00

Piala Konfederasi
Italia Ditundukkan Mesir
Kris Fathoni W - detiksport

AFP
Johannesburg - Juara dunia Italia harus merasakan kekalahan pertamanya di Piala Konfederasi 2009 setelah dihantam Mesir 0-1. 'Tim Firaun' pun jadi wakil asal Afrika pertama yang sukses mengalahkan Italia.

Ketangguhan Italia di laga pertama melawan Amerika Serikat tak lagi terlihat saat berhadapan dengan Mesir, Jumat (19/6/2009) dinihari WIB. Satu gol dari Mohamed Homos dan penampilan apik kiper Essam El Hadary membungkam timnya Marcello Lippi.

Kemenangan ini bikin Mesir menyamai poin Italia di Grup B. Keduanya sama-sama punya poin tiga hasil dari dua laga, menguntit Brasil yang ada di pucuk klasemen dengan enam poin.

Dengan hasil ini, persaingan di Grup B jadi kian sengit dan Italia harus menggantungkan asanya untuk lolos di partai terakhir. Tidak akan mudah, karena lawan yang bakal dihadapi adalah Brasil.

Jalannya Pertandingan

Giuseppe Rossi yang tampil apik dalam laga pertama Italia mendapatkan peluang pertama dalam laga ini. Namun, upayanya di menit ke-12 masih melewati gawang begitu saja.

Rossi kembali mendapat kesempatan pada menit 26. Dengan kaki kirinya, bola di tendang meski kiper Essam El Hadary dengan sigap masih bisa menepis. Dua menit sebelumnya, kiper itu juga berhasil mengamankan tendangan Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Lima menit menjelang turun minum, Mesir yang tampil gigih menguji kesigapan Gianluigi Buffon lewat tendangan keras Hosni Abd Rabou. Buffon masih bisa menepis untuk mengamankan gawang.

Akan tetapi, Buffon tak berkutik di ancaman berikutnya. Dari sepak pojok, bola dilayangkan ke muka gawang di mana ada Mohamed Homos yang tak terkawal dan menanduk bola. Si kulit bundar sukses bersarang dalam gawang Italia.

Sembilan menit memasuki babak kedua, umpan terobosan lambung nan jitu dikejar Iaquinta yang tampak lolos dari offside. Sayang buat Italia, kendalinya kurang apik sehingga kiper masih bisa mengamankan.

El Hadary sekali lagi unjuk gigi setelah kembali mementahkan upaya Iaquinta. Kali ini bola ditahan degan kaki El Hadary pada menit 70.

Seperti peribahasa tak ada gading yang tak retak, demikian pula dengan permainan El Hadary. Tiga menit sebelum bubaran, dia membiarkan umpan silang Iaquinta yang disangkanya melebar padahal nyatanya bola masih mengarah cukup dekat ke gawang walau hanya membentur tiang.

Susunan Pemain:

Italia: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 19-Gianluca Zambrotta, 4-Giorgio Chiellini, 5-Fabio Cannavaro (captain), 3-Fabio Grosso; 8-Gennaro Gattuso (20-Riccardo Montolivo 57), 10-Daniele De Rossi, 21-Andrea Pirlo; 23-Fabio Quagliarella (7-Simone Pepe 64), 15-Vincenzo Iaquinta, 17-Giuseppe Rossi (9-Luca Toni 57)

Mesir: 1-Essam El Hadari (captain); 6-Hani Said; 7-Ahmed Fathi (17-Ahmed Hassan 80), 4-Ahmed Said, 20-Wael Gomaa, 14-Sayed Moawad (15-Ahmed Farag 69); 22-Mohamed Aboutrika, 11-Mohamed Shawky, 8-Hosni Abd Rabou, 12-Mohamed Hommos; 9-Mohamed Zidan (10-Ahmed Eid 56)

Tugas Akhir

2009-06-19T04:59:00.003+07:00

ga terasa Sidang Tugas Akhir sudah semakin dekat... kuliah, maen, dll bentar lagi abis... Judgement day akan datang... Saat hari itu tiba... harus kusiapkan diri dan mentalQ...

semoga kelancaran dan pencerahan selalu menemani jalanQ kemanapun arah yang kutuju...

Amin...

Tugas Akhir... Semoga nilai yang nanti kuperoleh tidak hanya berupa nilai pada selembar kertas bahwa aku LULUS... Ga munafik sih.. aku emang pengen dapat nilai IP bagus ,,kalo bisa cummlaude lagi... tapi setelah mendengar pernyataan Pak Hermawan K... Nilai jangan dijadikan kepintaran seseorang... harus dibuktikan dengan action...

Percuma donk menang IP tapi ga bisa praktenya... (aku bisa ga nih??!!)...BULLSHIT...

sebenarnya ini sih sebagai bahan renungan aja... secara diriku ini anak Diploma 4 yang masih belum banyak diakui keberadaannya bahkan sama pemerintahan sendiri...

padahal secara praktek kami yang lulusan Diploma 4 yakin bisa lebih baik dari S1 yang lebih banyak makan teori doang....

emang sih proses masuk S1 harus lewat SPMB yang susah dan aku bilang masuk D4 sini ga terlalu sulit....

tapi untuk hal kuliah sama fasilitas.... aku bilang dan Dosenku sendiri bilang.. fasilitas dan skill anak Diploma ga kalah sama S1... paling yang kalah kita ga pernah atau jarang berlatih tentang how to make a good presentation and persuade audience... but tentang skill,,, bisa diadu.....

akhir kata mohon maaf kalo ada kata yang kurang berkenan dihati pembaca skalian....
ini cuma intermezzo aj.... Peace....

how to persuade people

2009-04-09T07:25:00.001+07:00

KOMPAS.com - Membujuk adalah salah satu kemampuan paling penting yang diperlukan seseorang untuk membuat orang lain mengikuti kehendaknya. Kemampuan ini tak hanya dapat diterapkan di dunia kerja, tetapi juga di rumah, atau dalam kehidupan sosial lainnya. Mungkin Anda melihat tidak semua orang diberi kemampuan ini, namun sebenarnya membujuk bisa dipelajari.

Dengan mempelajari trik persuasi, Anda juga mengetahui kapan seseorang berusaha mempengaruhi Anda. Menurut Jay White, penulis kolom di DumbLittleMan.com, salah satu keuntungan terbesar yang akan Anda peroleh dengan memiliki kemampuan ini adalah, Anda tak akan kehilangan uang begitu Anda menyadari seorang petugas penjualan mendesak Anda membeli sesuatu yang tak Anda perlukan.
Inilah sembilan trik yang dapat Anda terapkan untuk dapat membujuk dan mempengaruhi orang lain:
1. Bercermin dengan orang lain. Lakukan hal ini dengan menirukan gerakan tangan, membungkukkan badan ke depan atau belakang, atau berbagai gerakan kepala dan lengan lainnya. Kadang-kadang kita melakukannya tanpa sadar, namun bila Anda menyadarinya, pelajari lebih lanjut. Beberapa hal yang perlu diingat adalah Anda harus melakukannya dengan halus, dan buat jeda sekitar 2-4 detik antara gerakan orang tersebut dengan gerakan Anda.
2. Kelangkaan. Inilah yang paling sering dilakukan seorang pembuat iklan. Kesempatan memiliki sesuatu terlihat sangat menarik ketika persediaan begitu terbatas. Hal ini akan berguna untuk orang yang memang sedang membutuhkan, namun yang lebih penting, inilah metode persuasi yang harus diwaspadai. Berhentilah, dan pertimbangkan seberapa sering Anda dipengaruhi berita bahwa sebuah produk sedang langka? Jika memang produk itu langka, tentu akan ada banyak permintaan untuk barang tersebut bukan?
3. Membalas budi. Ketika seseorang berbuat baik pada kita, kita sering merasa dituntut untuk melakukan sesuatu untuknya. Jadi, jika Anda ingin seseorang melakukan sesuatu untuk Anda, Anda bisa memberikan sesuatu yang baik untuknya lebih dulu. Di lingkungan rumah, misalnya, Anda bisa menawarkan untuk meminjamkan peralatan memasak, tangga, atau apa pun, kepada tetangga yang terlihat sedang membutuhkan. Tidak masalah kapan, atau dimana Anda melakukannya, kuncinya adalah menghargai hubungan yang ada.
4. Waktu yang tepat. Orang cenderung setuju atau menurut pada Anda ketika mereka merasakan kelelahan secara mental. Sebelum Anda meminta sesuatu pada seseorang yang mungkin tidak akan langsung disetujuinya, cobalah untuk menunggu sampai ada kesempatan dimana mereka baru saja melakukan sesuatu karena terdesak. Temui dia saat hendak pulang dari kantor, dan katakan apa yang Anda mau. Seringkali jawabannya adalah, "Besok deh, aku kerjakan."
5. Keserasian. Teknik ini kerap digunakan para petugas penjualan. Seorang salespeople akan menjabat tangan Anda saat sedang bernegosiasi. Dalam benak kebanyakan orang, berjabat tangan artinya bersepakat, sehingga dengan melakukannya sebelum kesepakatan tercapai, petugas sales seolah sudah mendapatkan transaksi yang ia inginkan. Cara yang tepat untuk melakukannya pada kegiatan sehari-hari adalah membuat seseorang bertindak sebelum mereka memutuskan. Misalnya, Anda mengajak seorang teman jalan-jalan, dan Anda ingin menonton film (padahal sang teman sedang tidak ingin). Anda bisa langsung mengajaknya ke bioskop sementara teman Anda sedang membuat keputusan akan menonton atau tidak.
6. Obrolan yang cair. Saat sedang berbicara, seringkali kita menggunakan frasa seperti "Mm..." atau "Maksud saya..." dan kata-kata lain yang menimbulkan jeda di tengah pembicaraan. Hal seperti ini sebenarnya menunjukkan rasa kurang percaya diri kita, yang dengan sendirinya membuat kita kurang persuasif. Jika Anda yakin dengan apa yang Anda katakan, orang lain pun akan mudah terbujuk dengan apa pun yang Anda katakan.
7. Menggiring. Kita semua terlahir menjadi pengikut. Kita sering memperhatikan apa yang dilakukan orang lain sebelum kita bertindak, karena kita membutuhkan penerimaan dari orang lain. Secara sederhana, cara efektif untuk menggunakan kebiasaan ini adalah dengan menjadi pemimpin, membuat orang lain mengikuti Anda. Misalnya, Anda sedang menghadiri seminar, dan memilih duduk di tengah-tengah. Begitu seminar dimulai, sang MC meminta hadirin untuk mengisi bangku-bangku kosong di depan. Nah, cobalah untuk menjadi orang pertama yang menggiring orang lain untuk menempati bangku tersebut.
8. Benefit. Tunjukkan pada orang lain apa keuntungan bagi mereka jika melakukan tindakan yang Anda sarankan ini. Namun perhatikan apa yang Anda sampaikan. Anda harus mengatakannya dengan optimis, mendorong, dan menyenangkan mereka. Sikap pesimis dan mengkritik tidak akan membantu. Coba ingat bagaimana Obama memenangkan pemilu akhir tahun lalu. Kata kuncinya adalah "Yes, we can!". Mengatakan hal-hal buruk tentang orang lain, seperti yang dilakukan John McCain, tidak akan membuat orang bersimpati.
9. Teman-teman dan penguasa. Kita cenderung akan mengikuti atau terbujuk oleh seseorang yang berada di posisi yang lebih tinggi. Ini menjadi contoh yang baik untuk waspada akan "serangan" persuasif yang sedang dilakukan terhadap Anda. Di pihak lain, menjadi cara yang baik pula bagi Anda untuk melakukannya pada orang lain karena Anda akan terkejut betapa mudah membuat orang menyukai Anda dan memperoleh kekuasaan di antara kelompok Anda.

UFO comes again

2009-04-09T05:45:00.002+07:00

Isu benda terbang aneh alias UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) tetap menjadi kontroversi. Laporan mengenai temuan UFO terus bermunculan.

Di London, Inggris, seorang fotografer amatir menjepret foto UFO yang mengeluarkan cahaya terang di langit malam hari.

Pria bernama Ahmad Zaigham itu memfoto UFO tersebut dari rumahnya di South Harrow, North West London.

"Saya sedang menyaksikan program TV ketika secara kebetulan saya melihat cahaya aneh di langit dan saya langsung terkesima," ujar pria berumur 30 tahun itu seperti dilansir harian Inggris, Telegraph, Rabu (8/4/2009).

Zaigham yang bekerja sebagi teknisi komputer itu berhasil mengabadikan sebuah foto UFO tersebut saat benda tak dikenal itu diam selama beberapa detik di langit.

"Setelah itu benda tersebut bergerak ke atas dengan cepat dan naik dengan kecepatan luar biasa, menyamai kecepatan sebuah jet tempur dengan kekuatan penuh," ujarnya.

Diimbuhkan Zaigham, cahaya yang dikeluarkan benda tersebut belum pernah dilihatnya seumur hidup. "Cahaya yang keluar dari benda ini merupakan sesuatu yang belum pernah saya lihat. Saya pikir tak ada pesawat yang memiliki cahaya seperti itu," pungkasnya.

Penampakan UFO itu dilihat Zaigham pada Selasa, 7 April menjelang pukul 20.00 waktu setempat. Dikatakan Zaigham, dirinya akan meneruskan foto itu ke NASA untuk investigasi lebih jauh.

Apple Releases iPhone 2.2 Update

2008-11-24T13:26:00.001+07:00

Apple has rolled out a software upgrade for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch that adds new features and fixes some stability bugs.

The Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps application has received the most improvement, as iPhone users can get a closer view of locations with Street View. To access this, users have to choose a location on the map and a red icon will appear next to it. In Street View, users can zoom and rotate using the multitouch controls, but the iPhone lacks the Compass Mode that T-Mobile's G1 sports.

Need GPS navigation? Check out Garmin's 2GB SD card that can be plugged into a Palm smartphone In this Over The Air Weblog, Eric Zeman tests out MagicJack, which promises you'll never need to pay for another phone call. To good to be true? InformationWeek's Mitch Wagner demonstrates some of the latest features found in FireFox3.
InformationWeek's Mitch Wagner demonstrates some of the latest features found in FireFox3.
The updates also improves Google Maps by integrating walking and public transportation directions, adjusting the user interface, and adding the option of sharing location via e-mail with a Google Maps link inserted. The Google Maps updates only appear to affect the iPhone 3G and not the original handset or iPod Touch, presumably because it involves constant network access.

The firmware update also adds the ability to download audio or video podcasts directly to the device on the go via Wi-Fi or cellular data networks. In September, Apple pulled the iPhone Podcaster application from the App Store because the company said it duplicated functionality of the desktop version of iTunes. The company faced criticism because at the time over-the-air downloads of podcasts to iPhones weren't possible.

The iPhone's Safari browser also has received some tweaks, including a search bar next to the address bar and performance enhancements. The App Store application has received some polish with the user experience, and customers are now encouraged to rate applications before they're deleted.

Other improvements include improved formatting of HTML e-mail, the ability to turn the auto-correction off, and improved sound quality for the Visual Voicemail. To get the update, connect your iPhone to iTunes and click the "Check for Update" button.

Google To Seek Pre-Installation Of Chrome On PCs

2008-11-24T12:24:00.004+07:00

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) reportedly plans to convince computer makers to pre-install its Chrome Web browser on PCs, a move that would escalate the battle against market leader Internet Explorer fromMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT).

In addition, Sundar Pichai, Google VP of product management, told The Times that the company planned to launch a major marketing push behind Chrome once Google finished with beta testing and launched the final version in January.

The startup lets users grab Internet video and mark it up. The tags stay even if the video moves. Jean-Raymond Naveau, VP of product development with Stakeware, demos the company's Register with Veedow, tell it what you like and it will deliver personalized shopping recommendations based on member input.
Jean-Raymond Naveau, VP of product development with Stakeware, demos the company's
"We will probably do distribution deals," Pichai told the London newspaper. "We could work with an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and have them ship computers with Chrome pre-installed."

If successful, such a strategy could help the company boost use of the browser, which currently stands at less than 1% of Web users. Microsoft has more than 70% of the market, while Mozilla's Firefox has almost 20%. Because browsers are people's windows to the Web, the software is an important avenue for steering users to online services.

Pichai said Google would launch a major push to get its browser before the public, once the software is out of testing mode. "We will throw our weight behind it," he told the newspaper.

Pichai also said that Google planned to launch versions of Chrome for Linux and Apple's Mac OS X in the first half of next year. The current version of Chrome only runs on Windows.

Microsoft plans to ship next year the final version of Internet Explorer 8, which is currently undergoing beta testing. The company said this week the final version could come as early as the first quarter. IE8 includes a number of new features, particularly in the area of privacy.

InformationWeek has done its own breakdown of Google Chrome. Download the report here (registration required).

If you haven't seen Chrome in action yet, take a spin through our Google Chrome image gallery and have a look at the browser that's being touted as a game-changer.

Going Green??? Don't forget Software

2008-11-23T10:59:00.003+07:00

CIOs shouldn't limit their focus to server and storage hardware when launching energy-efficiency programs.

By Bob Violino
August 15, 2008

Going Green? Don't Forget SoftwareWhen people think of “green” IT efforts, chances are they consider areas such as server consolidation, energy-efficient storage and other hardware-related initiatives. After all, servers and storage systems are consuming much of the power in data centers.

But software can also play a significant role in running more environmentally friendly technology infrastructures. CIOs who fail to look at how software can help reduce energy consumption are missing out on good opportunities to make their organizations greener.

There are three distinct areas to consider when it comes to green software efforts, says Richard Hodges, founder and CEO of GreenIT, a consulting firm that specializes on the emerging field of environmentally sustainable IT and communications systems.

First, software “needs to drive hardware decisions [that] create the eco-footprint of IT,” Hodges says. “The more efficient your applications and system software is, the less hardware is needed to run it. Less hardware means less power, less cooling, less material used and less electronic waste.”

The second area encompasses software tools that can be used for measuring and managing the eco-footprint of IT. For example, Hodges says, software is available to help organizations figure out what hardware and software they actually have, and what they can do with it. Specialized applications can be used for automatically managing desktop power consumption. “There are numerous software tools available for data center power monitoring and management,” he says.

The third area is comprised of software tools that support information and communication technology-driven innovation. For example, Hodges says, corporate social responsibility software automates reporting and supplants basic record-keeping tools such as spreadsheets. Other software, such as dashboards and enterprise sustainability reporting, will become an important new product area for software and will help drive the realization of sustainability goals, he says.

“Greening, [also called] sustainability or eco-responsibility, is not a fad,” Hodges says. “It is a major, long-term trend,” and any enterprise that wants to be successful must have a sustainability plan and partner with the right people to execute it. “That plan should explicitly address the role of IT, which is too often overlooked,” Hodges says. “CIOs are well-positioned to take a leadership role for the sustainability program of the entire enterprise and demonstrate their credentials as strategic thinkers.”

When implementing greener IT operations, Hodges says CIOs should adopt what GreenIT refers to as the ER3 Principle: Eliminate, then reduce, reuse and recycle. “This is particularly true for software,” he says. “The results are better eco-performance, reduced IT costs and more-efficient overall operations.”

Hodges says the biggest mistake organizations can make with a green IT effort is not making a long-term commitment and developing a systematic process that assesses opportunities, quantifies benefits and develops a practical plan for efficiency and innovation.

What’s at stake if organizations fail to implement strategic plans for green IT? For one thing, they could miss out on immediate opportunities for a competitive advantage, Hodges says. For another, there’s “the long-term inevitability that if you don’t develop an ongoing process to make your operation more efficient and eco-responsible, somebody will come in to make you do it.”

HP, Sun Applying IT to Environmental Goals

2008-11-17T14:39:00.001+07:00

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The world of IT has a long ways to go to improve its environmental footprint: one has only to look at the often-cited statistic that the industry contributes the same amount of emissions as the global air travel industry for an example.

But in addition to the many ways that IT manufacturers and tech professionals are improving the performance of their computers, servers and data centers, high-tech solutions to more bricks-and-mortar corporate environmental issues are increasingly coming to the fore.
The new HP Handheld sp400 All-in-One scanner and printer. The new HP Handheld sp400 All-in-One scanner and printer.

Two cases in point: yesterday both Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems unveiled new and upgraded solutions to problems that companies are facing every day.

HP teamed with UPS to develop a new, paperless printer and wireless device that can save time and significant amounts of paper. Sun Microsystems gave its OpenEco.org climate-management website a significant upgrade. Both technologies bring the companies' IT expertise to decidedly non-IT arenas.

The new HP-UPS printing system is a wearable and hands-free, mobile scanning and printing device that the companies say will save over 1,300 tons of paper each year by printing shipping information directly onto boxes. UPS already brought the scanners to 41 of its package centers in the United States, and plans to expand that number to 55 centers in the next two months.

From the physical to the virtual, Sun Microsystems yesterday unveiled an overhauled version of its OpenEco.org emissions-mapping website to incorporate emissions data from many different types of sources. Based on a social network model like Facebook or LinkedIn, OpenEco.org encourages business leaders to measure and share the emissions associated with their facilities, whether they're office buildings, data centers or hospitals. The only requirement for joining OpenEco.org is sharing emissions data, which companies can do transparently or anonymously.

Launched just over a year ago, the site is still on the fledgling side, but yesterday's updates to the site's functionality bring more flexibility and the ability to compile more accurate data for businesses.

HP, Sun and Toshiba Put ‘IT’ in Green

2008-11-17T14:37:00.001+07:00

The IT industry has had its knuckles rapped on environmental issues this week. A few vendors are taking matters into their own hands to better the environment and their every day operations, reports GreenerComputing.

Hewlett-Packard jointly developed a wearable printer-scanner with UPS to decrease the shipping company’s paper use and make its sorting and shipping more efficient. According to InformationWeek, HP is now free to sell the sp400 All-in-One mobile printer to anyone, including UPS’ rivals. HP is hopeful the device will be the first of a growing market segment.

Sun Microsystems revamped its OpenEco.org Web site. The social site equips its members with tools to calculate, compare and reduce carbon emissions. The enhancment to the site enables users to create a graphic of their carbon footprint from a number of sources such as business travel, electricity usage and mobile sources, says this InfoWorld article.

Toshiba is making plans for the long term. The company released its Environmental Report 2008 and outlined details of its strategy for its Environmental Vision for 2050 initiative. Toshiba has invested in renewable energy and plans to use clean nuclear power and geothermal power in its global operations. In addition, its long-term goal is to reduce the environmental impact of its own products and be a major contributor in increasing environmental efficiency by 10 percent over the next 40 years.

Skype Adds Calling to Mobile Phones

2008-11-17T13:53:00.001+07:00

All Glenn Fleishman on Hardware Posts
More Business Center Blogs

Skype announced yesterday software that can be used with 50 Java-enabled mobile phones made by Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson to receive calls from the Skype network and to SkypeIn phone numbers on the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Outgoing calls placed to Skype users and via SkypeOut, its gateway for outbound PSTN calling, will work just in six countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden, and the UK) as well as Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

This extension of Skype's offering to mobile phones, with calls placed over data networks operated by cellular carriers, is an interesting mix of models. Skype is, on the one hand, challenging operators high margins in handling voice calls, but, on the other, will require that users of this service have typically expensive data plans over which the calls are placed.

It's possible that the margins on the data side are so good that cell companies can come out ahead. In the U.S., customers typically need at least a $40 per month voice plan to add a $20 to $60 per month data service; the average is closer to $40 per month for unlimited data on the phone. Data rates tend to be higher and not set to unlimited - which means 5 GB per month in the U.S. before carriers start to get agitated - in Europe. Asian nations vary as to the amount and affordability of data plans.

U.S. carriers typically don't allow the kinds of phones that would run Skype's software, as most phones sold here have a mechanism through which authorized software passes before it's allowed to run on a phone and a network. It's unclear to me whether any Java-enabled phone in the U.S. could simply use this software. I expect we'll hear about that soon.

But if you read the fine print on U.S. carriers' descriptions of what they allow over their data networks, you may be in for a surprise, something that signals that money may be there to be made even with Skype-over-cellular. Verizon some months ago added VoIP to its list of approved mobile broadband services--and they were formerly the most restrictive carrier as to what they allowed on their network.

Intel Launches Core i7 as PC Demand Softens

2008-11-17T13:48:00.002+07:00

Intel began sales of its high-end Core i7 desktop chips in Tokyo late Saturday night, bringing to market a series of processors that are significantly more powerful than any of the company's current desktop products.

In a move intended to stoke demand among Japanese PC enthusiasts, shops in Akihabara, Tokyo's main electronics district, stayed open past midnight to put the first Core i7 chips on sale. The launch preempted a San Francisco news conference planned for Monday, as signs increasingly point to softening global demand for computers.

"This is a major new architecture for Intel and to be able to launch it here first to the user-community that Akihabara supports is a really exciting thing for us to do," said Steve Dallman, vice president of sales and marketing and general manager of Intel's worldwide reseller channel organization, shortly after the midnight launch. He was referring to the PC hobbyists and gamers who crowd the areas electronics stores in search of components to build their own computers.

"One of the features in the new processor I think they are going to be very excited about is Turbo-mode," he said. "There's also Turbo-tuning, which allows them to go in for the first time and tune 20 different parameters to optimize the performance of the processor."

The 3.2GHz Core i7 965 Extreme Edition is priced at US$999, while the 2.93GHz Core i7 940 and 2.66GHz Core i7 920 are priced at $562 and $284, respectively. Additional versions of Nehalem targeted at other market segments, including laptops, are expected to be released next year.

Several hundred people crowded stores that were open from around 10pm until 1am Sunday morning to check out the new chip and buy it. It was offered alongside compatible motherboards and other components.

"We ran-out of the high-end ones, the 965 processors, and the motherboards above ¥40,000 (US$410)," said Keisuke Kurashi, manager of the Faith store in the electronics district.

Core i7 is the first chip series based on Intel's Nehalem architecture to hit the market. Manufactured using a 45-nanometer process, these chips differ from Intel's existing products in several ways, most notably with the inclusion of an on-chip memory controller and faster links that connect the processor with main memory.

The chips that went on sale late Saturday aren't for the average user.

The first Core i7 processors were designed for systems aimed at gamers and other high-end users, and not the mass market, said Bryan Ma, director of personal systems research at IDC Asia-Pacific.

Despite the challenging economic environment, the release of Core i7 gives Intel a boost by strengthening its desktop product line and will keep the company one step ahead of rival AMD in the high-end desktop space. "They need to stay competitive," Ma said.

The Core i7 launch comes as overall PC demand is weakening in markets around the world. To what extent the new chips will convince buyers to upgrade their systems remains to be seen, and industry observers will be watching closely.

On Wednesday, Intel sent stock markets diving with a warning that it's fourth-quarter revenue will be sharply lower than the company's earlier estimates, signaling that demand for PCs was falling short of expectations. The chip maker also warned that gross margins, a broad measure of the company's profitability, will be lower than expected at 55 percent instead of the previous estimate of 59 percent.

"Revenue is being affected by significantly weaker than expected demand in all geographies and market segments," Intel said in a statement.

Intel said the revised gross margin estimate was primarily caused by lower revenue projections, but also blamed "other charges associated with the weaker-than-expected demand environment."

Those other charges include the cost of excess capacity and inventory write-offs, according to a research note put out by Credit Suisse analyst John Pitzer, who said the slowdown in PC demand will persist beyond December.

"We expect the weaker demand environment to persist into at least 1H09," Pitzer wrote, referring to the first half of next year.

As a result, Pitzer lowered his 2009 revenue forecast for Intel to US$33.8 billion, a decline of 12 percent compared to his 2008 forecast. He also said Intel's gross margin could fall to 50 percent during the first quarter of 2009 due to lower revenue, the cost of carrying excess production capacity, inventory write-offs, and startup costs for Intel's upcoming 32-nanometer process technology.

2008-11-17T13:26:00.003+07:00

Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

twitter doc
Web 2.0 is viewed as "me-too" social networks or widget sites said Mr O'Reilly

The economic downturn will not sound the death knell for Web 2.0 firms say analysts and experts.

But, they warn, tough times are ahead and to weather the downturn Web 2.0 must grow up focus on real problems.

"You have to conclude, if you look at the focus of a lot of what you call 'Web 2.0', the relentless focus on advertising-based consumer models, lightweight applications, we may be living in somewhat of a bubble, and I'm not talking about an investment bubble," said Tim O'Reilly, who coined the phrase "Web 2.0".

"It's a reality bubble," he said.

Mr O'Reilly, widely regarded as an industry visionary, bemoaned the frivolous applications on Web 2.0 sites that, for instance, let people throw sheep, poke friends or send virtual drinks.

"For me, Web 2.0 is about the internet as platform and its power to harness collective intelligence," Mr O'Reilly told the BBC.

"Areas like the smart power grid, collective action on early disease detection or disaster response, or personalised medicine are all examples of how the principles that drove the consumer internet can be applied in other areas," he said.

It was a message he drove home at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco.

Capital crunch

Mr O'Reilly told attendees: "If there is a silver lining in the downturn, it's that we're going to clear a lot of the clutter. We're going to remind people of what matters."

Companies that cannot bring value would not survive, he suggested.

...there are enormous problems to be solved and enormous opportunities.
Tim O'Reilly

Said seasoned venture capitalist John Doerr: "The good ideas will get funded. Most of the profits made in the venture capital business, if not all of them, are made by 5% of those firms.

"They are going to keep funding the good ideas but they won't be on as attractive terms and it's now a buyers' market instead of a sellers' market," said Mr Doerr

"But liquidity? How is it that we get those companies to produce a return for their employees and investors? That is another question. We might not see liquidity for the next three or four years," he said.

For angel investor Ron Conway the Web 2.0 world has a lot of life left in it.

"I don't think the hammer is going to come down on all these Web 2.0 companies," he said. "I think companies in the video space, in cloud computing, in social networking and what we call social communities will all continue to thrive.

"I see innovation continuing to happen and the mobile market playing an important role. It is still in its infancy and will see massive growth."

Consolidation

For those at the consumer end of Web 2.0 the upside of the downturn is its potential for injecting some rigour into the business.

"What we have seen in the last three or four months is that funding has pretty much dried up for internet Web 2.0 companies," said Chris de Wolfe, co-founder of MySpace.
MySpace logo, AP
Social sites are being urged to tackle serious issues

"Thus you have seen VC companies come out and tell their companies that they are not going to get any more money," he said. "Consequently many of the valuations for those companies have also gone way down."

But, said Mr de Wolfe that could be a good thing.

"I see a lot of consolidation over the next couple of years. Those companies that don't make sense in this space will go out of business or get acquired by larger companies if they are lucky," he said.

Analysts watching this sector view it with optimism mixed with a heavy dose of reality.

"The good news is there is a huge amount of growth in social networking, online video, voice over IP," said Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley. The bad news is they carry much lower cpm's (cost per thousand impressions) for advertising."

She said the websites exciting her were those dominating the Web 2.0 consciousness.

She cited YouTube's 52% year-to-year growth and 329 million unique visitors; Facebook's 119% year-to-year growth giving it an audience of 161 million people and Skype's 370 million users representing growth of 51%.

"A better place"

But, said Mr O'Reilly, the focus on costs should not divert founders from attacking big issues.

"The next great companies don't come from jumping on the bandwagon," he said. "They come from finding something really meaty and tough and hard and putting your best minds to work on it and making the world a better place as a result.

"I think we have that opportunity brought home to us by this downturn," he said.
Facebook logo
Al Gore said Web 2.0 was in its infancy but is in need of a purpose

Lending weight to this view was former US Vice President Al Gore - now an environmental activist and Apple board member.

At the Web 2.0 conference he issued a plea for Web 2.0 to get serious.

He said: "The purpose I would urge all of you - as many are as willing to take it up - is to bring about a higher level of consciousness about our planet and the intermittent danger and opportunity we face because of the radical transformation in the relationship between human beings and the earth."

Entrepreneurs should not be leery of taking the high ground, said Mr O'Reilly.

"Back when Google first came on the scene everyone dismissed search as 'Yeah, not much of a business there'. And these guys said no we are going to organise all the world's information.

"Then there was Microsoft wanting to put a computer on everyone's desktop. The titans of industry said 'No, the PC is just a toy'. So I feel we are at one of those inflection points where there are enormous problems to be solved and enormous opportunities."

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2008-11-16T18:47:00.002+07:00

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LED - lighting the way

2008-11-16T18:25:00.002+07:00

LED - green lighting

LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology has come a long way in recent years; and it may soon challenge CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) as the green lighting choice.

CFL technology has certainly had a huge impact; allowing millions of us to save substantial cash and carbon dioxide emissions through electricity savings when compared to using standard incandescent globes. In fact, in some countries, the sale of incandescent bulbs will be officially phased out within the next few years.

LED based lighting for domestic applications has recently been getting increasing attention due to advances in technology and reduction in price. LED lighting has been around for years; it's extensively used in applications such as those little red lights on your hi-fi, standby lights on TV's, operation indicators on adaptors and other electronic equipment. For room lighting, it's often used in off-grid setups, RV's and other 12 volt lighting applications.

LED's have no filament to burn out and they generate little heat. Heat is where much of the energy is wasted in an incandescent globe. LED's are illuminated by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material.

Safe, energy efficient and long life

While CFL's only sip electricity and have a very long life in comparison to incandescent bulbs, LED's consume less than half the electricity of compact fluorecent lampgs and last about ten times as long. While there's been concerns raised about the improper disposal and recycling of CFL's as they contain small amounts of mercury. LED's don't have any mercury content at all.

Individual LED's are quite small, so it takes a lot of them to produce an array suitable for lighting an entire room. CFL light output is omnidirectional whereas light from a LED is directional; i.e. more focused - so the application needs to be taken into consideration. In most domestic applications, the lighting appliance will be a long strip, or a cluster of LED's in a lamp fitting set at different angles, or with an array of lenses on the light cover to diffuse the light.

With so many LED's needed in a single light, the type of light it generates and the the materials an LED is constructed from being quite expensive, uptake has been relatively slow; but prices are rapidly dropping.

I had messed around with LED lighting previously, but wasn't really impressed with the light it produced - fine for torches etc., but for use in the home without spending hundreds of dollars on high end lamps; I found the light to be ... odd. I really can't describe it any other way; it was very cold, unnatural and much harsher than traditional fluorescent lighting.

More recently, I bought one of these lights to use in a small shed I have on patch o' dirt in the outback:

LED cabin light

This 12 volt lamp contains 18 LED's, but is very compact, has a total current draw of only 100mA and consumes only 1.26 watts, so it's perfect for my solar power setup. The draws only a quarter of the power of the energy efficient CFL I was using previously - and as anyone running on solar power can tell you; every watt counts.

The LED lamp lights the shed up well and I can read comfortably. While it's still not a "warm" light, I've grown accustomed to it.

Given the lamp should last 100,000 hours; for around 30 bucks it was a good investment. Actually, given the amount I use it, this LED lamp will likely outlast me! I couldn't give you an accurate direct comparison to an incandescent light in terms of intensity, but a guesstimate would be it's as "bright" as a 25 watt incandescent bulb. If you're interested in buying one, try running a search on eBay in your country (that's where I picked mine up from).

OLED - Organic LED

The next big thing in LED lighting is the OLED, which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. These are comprise of extremely thin organic materials layered between two electrodes that produce light when an electrical charge is applied.

One of the main features of Organic LED technology is their flexibility - OLED's could be worn on clothing, embedded in curtains. With further development, it's believed Organic LED's could be cheaper than regular LED technology and also clear the "cold" light hurdle; offering a warmer quality of light comparable to fluorescents and CFL.

Texting bug hits the Google phone

2008-11-16T18:09:00.002+07:00

G1 phone, AFP/Getty
The bug was discovered accidentally by a G1 owner

A text conversation has revealed a big problem with the G1 mobile phone - powered by Google's Android software.

The newly discovered bug causes the phone to restart when owners type in the word "reboot" soon after starting up the device.

Google hurried to repair the problem, which causes the phone to interpret any text entered just after the phone was turned on as a command.

Google has rushed out a fix for the bug which will soon be available in the UK.

The bug was discovered when an owner of the phone typed the word "reboot" into a text message after restarting the phone.

"I was in the middle of a text conversation with my girl when she asked why I hadn't responded," said a user called jdhorvat in the description of his discovery that was posted to Google's problem reporting website.

"I had just rebooted my phone and the first thing I typed was a response to her text which simply stated "Reboot" - which, to my surprise, rebooted my phone."

The phone, which uses the Google-developed Android operating system, is sold by T-Mobile in the UK under the name "G1".

Google has fixed the problem in an update to the phone software that will be automatically installed on users' phones.

"We've been notified of this issue and have developed a fix," said a Google spokesperson in a statement. "We're currently working with our partners to push the fix out."

Users in the US already report receiving the update, and Google told the BBC that users in the UK should receive it by 12 November.

AMD announces fast, energy-saving chip

2008-11-15T11:31:00.002+07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices has started selling the new generation of its Opteron quad core processors for servers, AMD announced on Wednesday, nearly one year after Intel launched its own 45 nanometer chip.

After a troubled launch of its earlier Barcelona chip, AMD waited until the new chip, called "Shanghai," was actually in distribution to make its formal announcement.

The chip is called quad core because each core operates as an independent computing device on the same chip. The size historically refers to the smallest feature on a chip.

The Shanghai chip has high energy efficiency, AMD says. For example, it automatically turns off some parts of the chip when they are not in use, even for short periods of time, the company said.

The Shanghai is designed to work well with so-called virtualization, in which space is saved on servers by running separate "virtual" machines across drives, instead of requiring separate drives for each machine.

AMD said that two versions of the chip are available now, with enhanced versions available in early January.

IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Dell are among 25 systems vendors who will be shipping machines this quarter with the new chip on board, AMD said.

AMD quoted a Hewlett-Packard executive in praise of the new chip. Paul Gottsegen, vice president of marketing for Industry Standard Service, said HP had "experienced unparalleled success over the past four years working with AMD in bringing AMD Opteron processor-based platforms to customers."

The company said that the processors are easier to replace than Intel's. Intel says that is not true.

AMD said it is looking to increase market share with the server. The market intelligence firm iSuppli said it had only 12 percent in the third quarter.

(Reporting by David Lawksy, additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in London; Editing by Gary Hill)

Google Offers Search By Voice, and iPhone Gets It First

2008-11-15T11:28:00.001+07:00

Google is pushing its voice-recognition technology to Apple's iPhone first, before devices running its own Android mobile platform.

The New York Times offered photographs of Google employees Vic Gundotra and Gummi Hafsteinsoon using an iPhone for a voice search. The free application was expected to be available on Apple's App Store on Friday. Google reportedly will soon offer the technology for other devices, presumably including the T-Mobile G1, which uses Android.

"This is an expansion of types of applications Google has already been developing," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "Google has GOOG411, which is the underlying technical engine. They also have a voice-search client for the BlackBerry which is limited to maps. So this is an evolutionary step."

Inside Google Voice Search

Here's how it works: The iPhone user asks a question, such as "Where's the closest Burger King?" or "How wide is the Grand Canyon?" The user's voice is converted to a digital file and transmitted to Google's servers.

Google Search then serves up the results -- in a matter of seconds if the user has a fast wireless network, the Times reports. The search results always include any local information.

"The question with these types of technologies is how good is the speech recognition? It's getting much better, and that's why Google feels this is the right time to introduce this," Sterling said. "Google has confidence now that voice recognition is good enough to open it up to the full Web search as opposed to the much more structured search on GOOG411."

Google is playing catch-up, in a sense. Yahoo and Microsoft already offer a voice-recognition option for mobile phones. Microsoft's Tellme service offers users information in specific categories, such as movies, maps or directions. Yahoo offers voice services through its oneSearch platform.

"In one sense this is new, but it's not new, because Yahoo and Microsoft have been doing versions of voice recognition -- and so has Google -- for some time," Sterling said. "A company called Dial Directions was the first to formally introduce voice search for the iPhone, but it was limited to selected local sites through the Safari browser."

Building a Killer App

Could voice recognition be the next killer app for mobile? The market is growing at breakneck speed. Voice-recognition technology sales topped $1 billion in 2006 for the first time. Datamonitor expects that number to swell to $2.6 billion by 2009.

The market is heating up -- and going global. Voice-recognition software maker Nuance Communications earlier this month acquired Austria-based Philips Speech Recognition Systems for $96.1 million. Philips develops speech-recognition solutions in 25 languages.

Voice recognition on the mobile phone is still not completely accurate, and may not see mainstream use until it improves. But Sterling said it is ever-improving and thinks Google's voice search will be a popular mobile-phone feature.

Specifically, he sees the new Google application for the iPhone as most useful when a user might need to call directory assistance or do a simple search, but can't do it safely on a keyboard while driving. Another benefit is the ability to enter potentially long search queries that would be difficult to type. But accuracy is still a factor.

"This is an evolutionary step in the whole realm of voice search," Sterling said. "So far it has not proven to be the killer app for mobile, but it's getting there and it's very useful in selective situations."

Green your Computer use

2008-11-15T06:50:00.001+07:00

Lightening your computing environmental footprint

Computing has changed the world - a great example is the Internet. It's hard to imagine either not existing.

While computer usage can actually lessen our environmental footprint, for example, being able to work from home or control of farm irrigation and many other tasks, the energy consumption involved with casual computing and gaming generally is massive.

There's not just the actual computer usage related electricity consumption, there's also all the millions of tons of plastic and metal used to create the billions of computers in their various forms now on this planet.

We can all do our bit in lessening our impact and the following are tips for more earth friendly computing, some of which will also save you cash!

- When not in use for extended periods, switch your computer off at the wall to avoid phantom power load consumption.

- Have your power saving/management options enabled and properly configured for periods when your computer is temporarily not in use. In Windows, this can be found in Settings/Control Panel/Power Options

- During usage, only have your screen as bright as you need it - unneccesarily bright screens really chew the juice

- If you're going to use a screen saver, use a blank (black) screen - animated screen savers just consume electricity unnecessarily.

- When buying components and peripheral items, try to choose those that come in the least amount of plastic packaging as possible.

- For your next computer, consider a notebook instead of desktop - these use under 50% the electricity of a desktop machine

- If you can afford it, buy extended warranty with your new system so there's less likelihood of you needing to junk the computer within the first few years if an expensive repair is needed.

- Do you really need a 22 inch screen? When considering your next screen purchase, balance your wants with your actual needs.

- Before purchasing a new computer, consider upgrading the hardware in your current machine. Some extra RAM (memory) or a new hard drive may be all you need to restore life to your current system. According to this site, the energy needed to churn out a new computer is enough to power a system for a decade!

- Following on from the above point; it's not uncommon for Windows to get slower as time goes on. This isn't necessarily your machine, but software bloat. All the updates, installing and uninstalling of software, applications running in the background that you don't really need take their toll and basically clog your machine up; seriously impacting on performance, which in turn is more wear and tear on hardware and increase electricity consumption. Consider doing a reinstallation of Windows and your software. A lean machine will sip less electricity and peform much better.

- When you do replace your current computer system, donate it rather than bin it if possible. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, e-waste is now the fastest growing aspect of the municipal waste stream. You can find places to donate your computer to on Earth911.org

- Consider a refurbished computers for your next purchase. These aren't dusty old machines that have just been wiped over; often they are display models or recent purchase returns with very little wear and tear that are thoroughly checked before sale, and often have the same guarantee that new units do. You can save a ton of cash this way!

The computer recycling problem

While putting a computer in for recycling isn't the worst step your could take, it's important to remember that e-cycling (recycling of electrical components) is a bit of a minefield.

Sometimes they aren't recycled at all and in some instances your computer could be shipped to China (more emissions in transportation) where poorly equipped and impoverished people are set the gruelling task of stripping down the systems and reclaiming some of the precious metals. It's nasty and highly toxic work and just another instance whereby we've been outsourcing our pollution.

If you are going to recycle your machine, check the recycler out - ask about their practices; for example, if the system will be stripped down locally and in safe/environmentally responsible conditions. Also try to keep as many components as you can as backups - for example, the mouse and keyboard.

I learned this the hard way recently when disposing of some equipment, only to find out it wound up in landfill due to the recycler having too many computers.

Cancer scan uses radar technology

2008-11-15T06:45:00.001+07:00

The new system uses radio waves, unlike conventional mammograms

The first breast screening system to use safe radio waves rather than radiation-producing X-rays is being successfully trialled.

The new scan, which took three years to develop, is being tested at Frenchay Hospital near Bristol.

The new system carries the same minor radiation risk as "speaking into a mobile phone at arm's length".

The scans also take less time than the conventional X-rays but produce an image which is just as clear.

Doctors say the machine does not expose patients to the risk of cancer, and a scan takes only six minutes.

Professor Alan Preece and Dr Ian Craddock began developing a breast-imaging device which used radio waves, unlike conventional mammograms, in 2003

Dr Craddock, from the university's electrical and electronic engineering department, said: "This new imaging technique works by transmitting radio waves of a very low energy and detecting reflected signals, it then uses these signals to make a 3D image of the breast.

"This is basically the same as any radar system, such as the radars used for air traffic control at our airports."

You don't have to get to the right angle, there is no squeezing on your breast at all

Theresa Thornton, patient

Mike Shere, associate specialist breast clinician at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) said: "Currently women are diagnosed in three ways; firstly by a clinician, then by using imaging such as mammography and ultrasound and lastly by a needle biopsy.

"The radar breast imaging system came to Frenchay Hospital in September this year and so far around 60 women have been examined using it.

"It takes less time to operate than a mammogram - approximately six minutes for both breasts compared with 30-45 minutes for an MRI, and like an MRI it provides a very detailed 3D digital image.

"Women love it as they compare it to a mammogram and find the whole experience much more comfortable."

The radar breast imaging system is built using transmitters and receivers arranged around a ceramic cup, which the breast sits in.

Theresa Thornton, one of 60 women examined using the new technology, was referred for a mammogram after finding lumps in her breast - subsequently found to be benign.

She told BBC News: "With the new technique its just a cup so you don't have to position yourself into it on certain angles, literally the cup just comes straight up to you, covers your breast and that's it.

"You don't have to get to the right angle , there is no squeezing on your breast at all."

The development team hope that, if the positive results continue, further trials will be scheduled for the next 12 months.

Study shows how spammers cash in

2008-11-15T06:42:00.002+07:00

A tiny response means spammers still cash in (PA)

Spammers are turning a profit despite only getting one response for every 12.5m e-mails they send, finds a study.

By hijacking a working spam network, US researchers have uncovered some of the economics of being a junk mailer.

The analysis suggests that such a tiny response rate means a big spam operation can turn over millions of pounds in profit every year.

It also suggests that spammers may be susceptible to attacks that make it more costly to send junk mail.

Slim pickings

The spam study was carried out in early 2008 by computer scientists from University of California, Berkeley and UC, San Diego (UCSD).

For their month-long study the seven-strong team of computer scientists infiltrated the Storm network that uses hijacked home computers as relays for junk mail.

At its height Storm was believed to have more than one million machines under its control.

The team, led by Assistant Professor Stefan Savage from UCSD, took over a chunk of the Storm network to make it easier to run their study.

"The best way to measure spam is to be a spammer," wrote the researchers in a paper describing their work.

They created several so-called "proxy bots" that acted as conduits of information between the command and control system for Storm and the hijacked home PCs that actually send out junk mail.

The team used these machines to control a total of 75,869 hijacked machines and routed their own fake spam campaigns through them.

The research team created a legitimate looking pharmacy site.

Two types of fake spam campaign were run through these machines. One mimicked the way Storm spreads using viruses and the other tried to tempt people to visit a fake pharmacy site and buy a herbal remedy to boost their libido.

The fake pharmacy site was made to resemble those run by Storm's real owners but always returned an error message when potential buyers clicked a button to submit their credit card details.

While running their spam campaigns the researchers sent about 469 million junk e-mail messages. The vast majority of these were for the fake pharmacy campaign.

"After 26 days, and almost 350 million e-mail messages, only 28 sales resulted," wrote the researchers.

The response rate for this campaign was less than 0.00001%. This is far below the average of 2.15% reported by legitimate direct mail organisations.

"Taken together, these conversions would have resulted in revenues of $2,731.88—a bit over $100 a day for the measurement period," said the researchers.

Scaling this up to the full Storm network the researchers estimate that the controllers of the vast system are netting about $7,000 (£4,430) a day or more than $2m (£1.28m) per year.

While this was a good return, said the researchers, it did suggest that spammers were not making the vast sums of money that some people have predicted in the past.

They suggest that the tight costs might also open up new avenues of attack on spammers.

The researchers concluded: "The profit margin for spam may be meager enough that spammers must be sensitive to the details of how their campaigns are run and are economically susceptible to new defenses."

LTE Vs WiMAX

2008-11-14T19:42:00.001+07:00

WiMAX and 3GPP LTE are the two wireless technologies that will eventually be used to deliver data at a very high speed (up to 100 Mbit/s for WiMAX and up to 300 Mbit/s for LTE) beyond the 3G technologies. This high speed offered by the two technologies is fast enough to potentially replace cable broadband connections with wireless and enable some existing services currently deemed to be too bandwidth-hungry to be delivered using existing mobile technologies.

Contrary to LTE which is still under standardization, WiMAX is already in the market with the first national fixed-WiMAX rollout in the 3.5GHz range was carried out by Wateen Telecom in Pakistan. However, the world's first large scale mobile WiMAX deployment is due in the US. This is the joint venture between Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. and it is expected to reach 120 million to 140 million people in the U.S by the end of 2010. On the other hand, LTE is assumed to dominate world’s mobile infrastructure markets after 2011. As such, some wireless operators such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon have already stated plans to adopt LTE, with major rollouts planned for 2011 or 2012.

As it has been discussed herein, LTE is the natural upgrade path for GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA network technologies that now account for over 85% of all mobile subscribers in the world. On upgrading to LTE, the existing GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA operators can use their current infrastructure (BT towers) integrating with new equipments making the whole process to be cost effective. When compared to WiMAX, an operator has to start from ground zero to setup a WiMAX network. Therefore LTE will have a significant global advantage over WiMAX in the long term.^[14]

Operators & Vendors

Based on core network architectures of WiMAX and LTE, obviously, the two technologies will both be adopted, with LTE be the best upgrading option for GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA and WiMAX mostly appealing to cable operators. This can be seen in the US where by Sprint and Clearwire are aligned behind WiMAX, while Verizon Wireless and AT&T are behind LTE.

WiMAX is under the WiMAX forum, comprises of more than 500 vendors and mobile operators such as Vodafone. The forum was established to promote solutions based on the IEEE 802.16 standards. As for equipment manufacturers, Intel has invested billions of dollars in WiMAX research and chip sets and showed off conceptual mobile Internet devices at the Consumer Electronics. Vodafone as a mobile operator and Motorola Corp they both support WiMAX and LTE. However LTE enjoys a strong support from Qualcomm and Ericsson who decided not to support WiMAX.

From Technical Point of View

Both LTE and WiMAX use OFDMA in downlink and deploy MIMO technology, to improve reception in a single cell site. However a WiMAX network process all the information in a wider channel so as to optimize channel usage to the maximum. LTE, on the other hand, organizes the available spectrum into smaller chunks.^[8]

Since WiMAX sticks with OFDMA in the downlink as well as in uplink, LTE uses SC-OFDMA in uplink. A major drawback of OFDMA-based system is its high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR). As such a high PAPR requires expensive and inefficient power amplifiers which eventually increase the cost of the user equipment and drains the battery faster . Therefore SC-FDMA is theoretically designed to work more efficiently with lower-power end-user devices than OFDM is by grouping together the resource blocks and hence reduce the need for power amplifiers.

Technology Demos

In February 2007, Ericsson demonstrated for the first time in the world LTE with bit rates up to 144 Mbit/s^[15]

In September 2006, Siemens Networks (today Nokia Siemens Networks) showed in collaboration with Nomor Research the first live emulation of a LTE network to the media and investors. As live applications two users streaming an HD-TV video in the downlink and playing an interactive game in the uplink have been demonstrated.^[16]

The first presentation of an LTE demonstrator with HDTV streaming (>30 Mbit/s), video supervision and Mobile IP-based handover between the LTE radio demonstrator and the commercially available HSDPA radio system was shown during the ITU trade fair in Hong Kong in December 2006 by Siemens Communication Department.

In September 2007, NTT DoCoMo demonstrated LTE data rates of 200 Mbit/s with power consumption below 100 mW during the test.^[17]

At the February 2008 Mobile World Congress:

Motorola demonstrated how LTE can accelerate the delivery of personal media experience with HD video demo streaming, HD video blogging, Online gaming and VoIP over LTE running a RAN standard compliant LTE network and LTE chipset. [5]

Ericsson demonstrated the world’s first end-to-end LTE call on handheld and LTE FDD and TDD mode on the same base station platform.^[18]

Freescale Semiconductor demonstrated streaming HD video with peak data rates of 96 Mbit/s downlink and 86 Mbit/s uplink.^[19]

NXP Semiconductors demonstrated a multi-mode LTE modem as the basis for a software-defined radio system for use in cellphones.^[20]

picoChip and mimoOn demonstrated an LTE base station reference design. This runs on a common hardware platform (multi-mode / software defined radio) together with their WiMAX architecture.^[21]

Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated live high-speed video connection over LTE supporting dozens of DVD-quality and high-definition video streams simultaneously, using Alcatel-Lucent infrastructure and LGE devices.^[22]

In March 2008, NTT DoCoMo demonstrated LTE data rates of 250 Mbit/s in an outdoor test.^[23]

In April 2008, Motorola demonstrated the first EV-DO to LTE hand-off - handing over a streaming video from LTE to a commercial EV-DO network and back to LTE. [6]

In April 2008, LG and Nortel demonstrated LTE data rates of 50 Mbit/s while travelling at 110 km/h. ^[24]

Researchers at Nokia Siemens Networks and Heinrich Hertz Institut have demonstrated LTE with 100 Mbit/s Uplink transfer speeds.^[25]

On September 18, 2008, Mobile operator T-Mobile and Nortel Networks achieved data rates of up to 170 Mbit/s for downloads and up to 50 Mbit/s for uploads. T-Mobile, the wireless business of Deutsche Telekom achieved these speeds in a car in range of three cell sites on a highway in Bonn, Germany at an average speed of 67 km/h.^[25]

3gpp LTE

2008-11-14T19:38:00.005+07:00

Long Term Evolution (LTE) describes the latest standardization work by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in the mobile network technology tree previously realized the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA network technologies that now account for over 85% of all mobile subscribers.^[1] In this latest standardization work which started in late 2004, the 3GPP (set out in December, 1998) defines a set of high level requirements (new high-speed Radio Access method) for mobile communications systems to compete with other latest cellular broadband technologies, particularly WiMAX.

In preparation for further increasing user demands and tougher competition from new radio access technologies, LTE is enhanced with a new radio access technique called Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).^[1] Via this technology LTE is expected to improve end-user throughput, increase sector capacity, reduce user plane latency, and consequently offer superior user experience with full mobility.

Unlike other latest deployed technologies such as HSPA, LTE is accommodated within a new Packet Core architecture called Enhanced Packet Core (EPC) network architecture. Technically, 3GPP specifies the EPC to support the E-UTRAN. EPC is designed to deploy TCP/IP protocols thus enabling LTE to support all IP-based services including voice, video, rich media and messaging with end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS). The EPC network architecture also enables improved connections and hand-over to other fixed-line and wireless access technologies while giving an operator the ability to deliver a seamless mobility experience.^[2]

To achieve all the targets mentioned herein, LTE Physical Layer (PHY) employs advanced technologies that are new to cellular applications. These include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) data transmission. Smart Antennas are also deployed to accomplish those targets. Furthermore, the LTE PHY deploys the OFDMA for the Downlink (DU) - that is from the Base Station (BS) to the User Equipment (UE) and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) for the Uplink (UL). These technologies will further minimize the LTE system and UE complexities while allowing flexible spectrum deployment in existing or new frequency spectrum.^[2]

LTE enjoys the support from a collaborative group of international standards organizations and mobile-technology companies that form the 3GPP. However, a strong support comes from Ericsson and Qualcomm who decided not to support WiMAX, the competitor of LTE ^[3]. Alcatel-Lucent is also a key contributor to LTE standards, having held the rapporteur position on the MIMO working group since 2002. Motorola which also supports WiMAX claims to be the leading contributor in LTE standards such as Radio Access Network (RAN) 1 & 2 and a top three contributor to EPC 1 & 2 standards.^[1] The standardization work on LTE is continuing, and Motorola claims to introduce LTE in ‘Q4 2009 ^[4]. However, LTE is assumed to dominate world’s mobile infrastructure markets after 2011.^[5]

Standardization Path

The standardization of LTE started in November 2004, when the RAN Evolution Workshop in Toronto, Canada, accepted contributions from more than 40 operators, vendors and research institutes that included 3GPP members and nonmembers organizations. Contributions were merely a range of views and proposals on the UTRAN. Following those contributions, 3GPP started a feasibility study, in December 2004, so as to develop a new framework for evolution of the 3GPP Radio Access technology towards:

Increased data rates
Reduced cost per bit
Increased service provisioning - that is more services with better user experience
Flexibility in usage of both new and existing frequency bands
High-data-rate
Low-latency
Simple architecture, open interface and packet-optimized RAN technology

Put simply, the study maps out specifications for RAN that are capable to support the wireless broadband internet scenario which is already enjoyed in today’s cable networks – adding full mobility to enable exciting new service possibilities.^[5]

Currently LTE specifications are described in 3GPP Release 8. The 3GPP Release 8 is the latest set of standards that describes the technical evolution of 3GPP mobile network systems. It is the successor of 3GPP Release 7 that includes a set of specifications for HSPA+, the ‘missing bridge’ between HSPA and LTE. Actually HSPA+ is described in both, the 3GPP Release 7 and 8, allowing the designing of simpler ‘flat’, all-IP based network architecture and bypassing many of the legacy equipments required for UMTS/HSPA.^[5]

The specifications of the 3GPP Release 8 standard are assumed to complete at the end of 2008. Obviously the finalization of the 3GPP Release 8 will further progress the market interest in commercial deployment of LTE. The 3GPP Release 8 will compile the completion of 3GPP Release 7 HSPA+ features, Voice over HSPA and EPC specification and Common IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) ^[6].

LTE Key Features

As it has been discussed earlier, technically speaking, a fundamental objective of the 3GPP LTE project is to offer higher data speeds for both DL and UL transmissions. In addition to that, it is obviously LTE to be characterized by reduced packet latency while promising a superior experience in online gaming, Voice over IP (VoIP) videoconferencing and other real-time professional services. Now that based on the feasibility study under 3GPP, the following are the important features of LTE:

OFDMA on the DL and SC-FDMA on the UL

3GPP Release 8 specifies an all-new RAN that combines OFDMA-based modulation and multiple access schemes for the downlink, as well as SC-FDMA for uplink. These new technologies (OFDM schemes) are deliberately deployed to split available spectrum into thousands of extremely narrowband carriers, such that each carrier is capable of carrying a part of signal. This is what is known as multiple carrier transmission.^[2]

To enhance the OFDM schemes, LTE also employs other higher order modulation schemes such as 64QAM and sophisticated Forward Error Correction (FEC) schemes such as tail biting, convolutional coding and turbo coding. Furthermore, complementary radio techniques such as MIMO and Beam Forming with up to four antennas per station are also deliberately deployed for further enhancement of innate spectral efficiency of OFDM schemes.^[5]

The results of these radio interface features are obvious, enabling LTE to have improved radio performance. As such they yield the spectral efficiency up to 3 to 4 times that of HSDPA Release 6 in the LTE DL and up to 2 to 3 times that of HSUPA Release 6 in UL.^[2]^[7] Consequently, theoretically, the DL peak data rates extend up to 300Mbit/s per 20MHz of spectrum. Similarly, theoretical UL peak data rates can reach 75Mbit/s per 20MHz of spectrum as well as supporting at least 200 active users per cell in 5MHz.^[5]

All-IP Packet Optimized Network Architecture

LTE has a ‘flat’, all-IP based core network with a simplified architecture, open interface and fewer system nodes. Indeed, the all-IP based network architecture together with the new RAN reduces network latency, improved system performance and provide interoperability with existing 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies. Within 3GPP, all-IP based core network architecture is now known as Evolved Packet Core (EPC). EPC is the result of standardization work within 3GPP which targeted to convert the existing System Architecture Evolution (SAE) to an all-IP system.^[5]

Advanced Antenna Techniques

LTE is enhanced with MIMO, Spatial-Division Multiple Access (SDMA) and Beam Forming.^[8] These are advanced radio antenna techniques which are complementary to each other. These techniques are deployed for better air interface via enhancing the innate spectral efficiency of OFDM schemes. Furthermore, these techniques can be used to trade-off between higher sector capacity, higher user data rates, or higher cell-edge rates, and thus enable mobile operators to have finer control over the end-user experience ^[9].

System Architecture

Evolved Radio Access Network (RAN)

The evolved RAN consists of the LTE base station (eNode B) that interfaces with the UE. The eNode B contains the PHY, Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Control Protocol (PDCP) layers. Therefore the eNode B performs some tasks such as resource management, admission control, scheduling and enforcement of negotiated UL QoS.

Serving Gateway (SGW)

The SGW guides and forwards user data packets. Furthermore, during inter-eNode B handover SGW acts as the mobility anchor for the user plane. It can also act as an anchor for mobility between LTE technology and other 3GPP technologies. When the UE is in idle state, the SGW terminates the DL data path of the UE and triggers paging when DL data arrives for the UE.

Mobility Management Entity (MME)

MME handles Control Signaling for mobility. When the UE is in idle mode, the MME is responsible for UE tracking and paging procedure that includes retransmissions. MME is also involved in the bearer activation/deactivation process. In addition MME can choose the SGW for a UE at the initial attach and at time of intra-LTE handover involving core Network (CN) node relocation. MME can interact with the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) so as to authenticate the user.

Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)

PDN GW is a point of exit and entry of traffic for the UE. PDN GW performs packet filtering and acts as the anchor for mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX and 3GPP2.^[1]

Networks Upgrading to LTE

LTE is deemed to become a next generation mobile communications standard or 4G mobile communications standard that started with today’s 2G and 3G networks. Technically, the design of LTE is based on today’s 3GPP family of cellular networks that dominated by Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) as well as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). Therefore LTE ensures a smooth evolutionary path to higher speeds and reduced latency to these existing networks.

Contrary to today’s networks that deploy hybrid packet/circuit switched networks, LTE uses the advanced new radio interface. As such to harness the full potential of LTE it requires an evolution from the existing network architecture to a simplified, all-IP environment architecture. This evolution has advantages to operator’s point of view. These advantages include reduced costs for variety of services, blended applications combining voice, video and data services plus interworking with other fixed and wireless networks.

Furthermore since the design of LTE is based on today’s UMTS/HSPA family of standards, it will obvious enhance the capabilities of the existing cellular network technologies to delivery broadband services which were accustomed to fixed broadband networks. In other words, LTE will unify the voice-oriented environment of today’s mobile networks with the data-centric service possibilities of the fixed Internet. To the operator’s point of view, the smooth upgrading of the existing networks to LTE will allow the introduction of LTE’s all-IP concept progressively. As such operator will be able to retain the value of its existing voice-based service platforms at the same get the benefit of high performance in data services delivered by LTE network

[edit] Carrier adoption

Most carriers supporting GSM or HSPA networks can be expected to upgrade their networks to LTE at some stage:
- AT&T Mobility has stated that they intend on upgrading to LTE as their 4G technology, but will introduce HSUPA and HSPA+ as bridge standards. ^[10]
- T-Mobile, Vodafone, France Télécom, Telia Sonera and Telecom Italia Mobile have also announced or talked publicly about their commitment to LTE.
However, several networks that don't use these standards are also upgrading to LTE:
- Alltel, Verizon Wireless, the newly formed China Telecom/Unicom and Japan's KDDI have announced they have chosen LTE as their 4G network technology. This is significant, because these are CDMA carriers and are switching networking technologies to match what will likely be the 4G standard worldwide. ^[11] They have chosen to take the natural GSM evolution path as opposed to the 3GPP2 CDMA2000 evolution path Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). Verizon Wireless plans to begin LTE trials in 2008.^[12]
- Telus Mobility and Bell Mobility have announced that they will adopt LTE as their 4G wireless standard.^[13]

uses of Bamboo

2008-11-14T09:53:00.004+07:00

The amazing grass - bamboo

I think my father has always rued the day he planted bamboo in the front yard of the house I grew up in, much the same he did when he planted prickly pear cactus :). I love my dear old Dad hugely, but what the heck was he thinking?

The bamboo became somewhat of a monster, sending out runners and shoots throughout much of the yard, dozens of feet away from the main plant. These young shoots were like spears that threatened anyone in bare feet.

No matter what he did - hacking, digging, poisoning, depriving it of water; this thing just couldn't be killed - in fact each attempt seemed to make it say "in your face, sucker!" and only spurred it on.

And this resiliance also what makes bamboo such a wonderful plant.

Bamboo is a type of grass of which there are around 1,400 species. I don't remember the type we had but I think it was a 4 letter word my father used to utter each time he looked at it :). The attributes vary between species, but generally speaking it is pest (and dad) resistant, can grow in poor soils and in comparison to other crops, requires little water.

When we think of bamboo, we usually think of Asia; but of all the species, around 900 are tropical and 500 are temperate. North America has species of bamboos in the Eastern and Southeastern United States. There's even several species native to Australia.

Bamboo is the world's fastest growing plant and some species of bamboo can grow up to a foot a day in the right conditions. It's this amazing growth rate coupled with the "spear" type shoot I mentioned that led it to unfortunately also being used as a torture device; the methods of use I won't go into.

On a more positive note, like industrial hemp, the bamboo plant has an extraordinary range of uses. Here's just a few:

baskets, bicycle frames, bird cages, blinds, boats, bridges, brushes, buckets, canoes, carts, charcoal, chopsticks, clothing, cooking utensils, diapers, fans, fences, firewood, fishing rods, food steamer, furniture, garden tools, handicrafts, hats, incense, musical instruments, paper, particle board, pens, pipes, ply ,roofing, scaffold, tableware, toilets, toothpicks, toys, umbrellas, walking sticks

.. and that's really only just scratching the surface.

Another important use for bamboo is food. The shoots are used in many Asian countries as a vegetable - sometimes eaten raw, or steamed and boiled. I can't say I'm a big fan of it, but given a choice between a bowl of bamboo shoots and a bowl of twigs, I'd certainly opt for the bamboo. China makes beer from bamboo, which I've read is quite palatable. Given that, I'm thinking it may also be useful in relation to the production of cellulosic ethanol.

There also appears to be some medicinal applications for bamboo - and even perfume is being made from the stuff!

Bamboo - you can wear it, you can eat it, you can build with it. Bamboo may increasingly replace plastics and wood products - what a marvellous gift from nature!

Consider bamboo alternatives when purchasing items - despite some ongoing debate about the exploitation of bamboo and associated production processes of bamboo goods, it's readily renewable, sustainable and still seems to have a lot less environmental impact than chemical-ridden crops, destruction of old growth forests and petroleum-derived materials.

greener fishing

2008-11-14T09:53:00.002+07:00

Fishing and the environment

I started fishing pretty much when I was young enough to hold a fishing rod. Some of my best memories are of time spent with my father wetting a line in the local lakes and rivers.

When I grew up, both my father and I worked in the fishing industry - trawl, longline, seine, dredging, dropline, traps ... and both of us have our regrets. For example, I will never forget the day we accidentally caught a dolphin with a baited hook (a rare occurrence). Even our skipper, who was a very tough man, had tears in his eyes. Luckily, we were able to release the poor creature.

Our years involved with the fishing industry allowed us to see first hand the damage being done to the aquatic environment and its inhabitants - by both professional and amateur fishermen alike.

While the problems caused by professional fishermen are quite well documented, the casual and sports angler's impact are often overlooked.

Fishing is a wonderful pastime that can double as an important source of food for many people. There's things we can all do to help protect the environment that allows us this privilege.

As someone who assisted in catching literally millions of fish, and regrets much of it, here's my thoughts on "green" fishing methods which have not influenced by any group's agenda :).

Take only what you need

I don't know how many times I've seen good fish rotting on the side of a riverbank or on a jetty as folks couldn't be bothered taking them home. It stinks to high heaven and attracts flies and rodents. Treat each fish you catch as a gift of food and show it appropriate respect. If you absolutely cannot take it with you, throw it back in so other aquatic creatures can feed on it.

Hooks

Stainless steel hooks are strong and resilient - but that's not only in your tackle box. A fish that breaks your line which had a stainless hook at the end is in trouble as it can seriously interfere with feeding. At least with bronzed hooks and other types that corrode, there's a chance the hook will rust out over time.

Bait

While bait from the area local to where you are fishing may be the best option, consider how plentiful it is - take only what you need and if it's in short supply, that area is under stress. Buy bait instead if you can. It's also important to find out where the bait is coming from - some bait sources are from countries where fisheries are not managed. Using baitfish from those areas is contributing to depriving other fish of their crucial food sources.

Fishing line

Tangles of fishing line are a death trap for many sea creatures - some swallow it thinking it's food; it clogs their digestive system and they starve to death. Fishing line also gets caught around the wings of seabirds. You've likely seen gulls and similar birds hopping around on one leg - often that's been caused through fishing line too. Take the stuff with you.

Sinkers

In some areas I fished in, I used to lose a lot of sinkers and never really gave much thought to it. Sinkers are mostly made from lead, a highly toxic, bioacummulative metal. Imagine how much lead must be sitting at the bottom of popular fishing spots. There are now lead-free sinkers on the market made from materials such as bismuth, which is nearly as dense as lead.

Bait bags and other plastic

Like fishing line, the plastic trash left behind in fishing spots or dumped over the side hangs around for a very long time - and it's not just an eyesore. When I was involved in the professional fishing industry, I often opened the stomachs of tuna and sharks to see what they had been feeding on. Even in relatively remote areas, the amount of plastic I used to find was incredible - and that was nearly 20 years ago.

Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? That's where some of it ends up. The oceans may be huge, but they are sensitive and have a breaking point.

Shorelines and river/lake beds

Irresponsible amateur fishermen do a lot of damage not only to the fish, but to the environment that sustains them. The breaking down of delicate riverbanks through foot traffic and SUVs, churning of riverbeds through outboard motors to name just two destructive examples. Additionally, have you ever heard an outboard motor from under the water? - it's incredibly loud and seems much closer than what it is. We need to tread lightly in these areas.

Respect size and bag limits

These laws are in place for a reason - to help protect stocks. Familiarize yourself with local size and bag limits. The extra fish we take, the more undersized fish we take; the less will be available for future because often they wouldn't have had a chance to breed. Additionally there can be other knock-on effects. The decimation of one fish species can lead to another dependent on it being wiped out; or a pest species may proliferate with even worse results for the local aquatic environment.

Reconsider sportsfishing

This won't make me popular among sports fishermen I'm sure.

Tag and release is a nice concept and sounds pretty green; but would you like to be dragged around for minutes at a time with a lump of steel in your jaw? Fish feel pain. It's bad enough using hooks when fishing for food, but for sports, even in tag and release - it's just downright cruel. Capture is incredibly stressful to many species with some such as tuna having the capacity to "cook" their own flesh through stress. I've also pulled up tuna that fought so hard their hearts had burst.

Back in the 80's and early 90's, it wasn't uncommon for big game fisherman in the seaside towns I lived in to capture sharks, get their photo opportunity and 15 minutes of fame, cut out the jaws and then dump what remained out at sea. I'm not sure if that practice is still common, but what a waste of a magnificent creature!

While sportsfishing seemed like a perfectly fine thing to do back then, I question its role now aside from satisfying the hunter instinct and propping up a multi-billion dollar industry.

If you can't eat it or find someone to give it to who will, perhaps leave the fish alone. Or still go fishing, but just tie the bait to the end of the line; sans hook ;).

Most folks will never know the amazing colors of fish such as tuna and marlin and many other species while they are alive - truly beautiful creatures disregarded as dumb animals; even below animals. Fish play an incredibly important role in our ecosystem and not just as food for us or to satisfy old instincts. It's time they got a better deal.

car exhaust chemical

2008-11-14T09:46:00.003+07:00

Chemicals in car exhaust

Car exhaust is a source of carbon dioxide and this component tends to get most of the coverage these days, but there's a whole bunch of nasty toxic chemicals in car exhaust that damage our environment. Let's take a look at a few.

Carbon Monoxide

Colorless, odorless, tasteless, yet highly toxic. Automobile and industrial emissions may also contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming; it's one of theother greenhouse gasses we don't usually hear much about. It occurs naturally in our atmosphere at around 0.1 ppm, but car exhaust without a catalytic converter contains 7,000 parts per million.

Nitrogen dioxide

Toxic by inhalation and can cause adverse health effects at low levels over a long period. It can contribute to acid rain and eutrophication in coastal waters.

Sulfur dioxide

Can cause pulmonary and respiratory distress and acidification of waterways.

Particulate matter

This is basically soot - it's most apparent effect is reducing visibility. It impacts on breathing and respiratory systems, damages lung tissues and causes cancer. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people and animals die prematurely each year due to the health effects of inhaling particulate matter.

Benzene

A carcinogen in humans, benzene is also very toxic aquatic life and can cause death in plants. It is a "precursor" component for formation of photochemical smog.

Formaldehyde

Another known carcinogen for humans, with similar effects to many animals and birds. In an aquatic environment, formaldehyde has a half life of between a day and ten days.

Polycyclic hydrocarbons

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that some Polycyclic hydrocarbons may be carcinogens in humans and animals and can cause harmful effects on skin and the auto-immune system.

Some recent studies have also found car exhaust can create hydrocarbon-based free radicals which can linger indefinitely. These free radicals are believed to cause lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Even with the use of catalytic converters to help break down pollutants that cause smog, it may be creating conditions for the creation of these free radicals to form.

So when you reduce your car usage, take public transport or car pool, even just a bit of gentle exercise by walking to the store instead of driving, it's not just carbon dioxide you're keeping out of the atmosphere, but a lot of other environmentally damaging chemicals too. Even if you do need to drive your car regularly, by using simple gas saving strategies you can reduce your environmental impact and save a stack of cash at the same time.

30 baking soda tips

2008-11-14T09:44:00.001+07:00

Baking soda - 30 handy tips

Kitchen

- A bowl of baking soda in your fridge will help remove excess moisture and absorb odors.

- Sprinkle some in your veggies crisper and cover with a cloth or paper towel for crisper veggies that last longer.

- Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge for cleaning out your refrigerator and benchtops without scratching.

- Dissolve a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in water in a microwave safe bowl, then bring to the boil in your microwave. Allow to sit for a minute or two, then you should easily be able to wipe out any baked on stains, plus your oven will microwave will smell fresher too.

- Sprinkling baking soda in the bottom of rubbish bags will help to control odors as you add trash.

- To give your dishwasher a good clean, run it through a cycle and use baking soda instead of detergent.

- Baking soda can be thrown on stove fires to extinguish the flames. The carbon dioxide generated when the powder burns starves the fire of oxygen.

- Wash chemicals and pesticides off fruits and vegetables in a pot filled with water and 3 - 4 tablespoons of baking soda added.

On a somewhat related note, here's something interesting I came across. Baking soda is sometimes used when boiling vegetables to preserve their color. That practice is not recommended as it destroys the vitamin C content of vegetables.

Earth Friendly Castile
Soap - 2 for 1 offer!

GLT readers can buy a bottle of 64 ounce unscented soap and get one free!. Mabel's soap uses 80% pure olive oil so it's gentle on your skin, hair, clothes - great for all sorts of applications around the home!

General home

- Anywhere that moisture is a problem, such as cupboards under sinks, place a bowl of baking soda to help control humidity. You'll need to occasionally stir the powder for maximum effective life.

- Crayon or texta marks on walls? Try applying baking soda/water paste on an old toothbrush and lightly brush the affected area.

- Water stains on wooden floors can be removed with a sponge dampened in a solution of baking soda dissolved in water.

- Sprinkle some baking soda into your vacuum bag to help reduce musty/pet smells being spread throughout your house when vacuuming.

- Sprinkle baking soda on rugs and carpets before vacuuming as a deodorising treatment. Most carpet powders you buy are baking soda based! Just a brief note on this - not recommended for areas that are very humid as the baking soda may stay in the carpet.

- Mops can really stink out areas where they are stored. If your mop is getting on the nose, don't throw it out, try soaking it in a mixture of 4 tablespoons baking soda and a gallon of water for a while.

- Stains on porcelain sinks, toilets and plastics can be removed by applying a layer of baking soda and then using a damp sponge . I found this to work particularly well on a water stain in a sink that couldn't be shifted otherwise without the use of heavy duty chemicals and scratching the surface.

Plumbing

- As an alternative to caustic soda for clearing blocked drains, throw a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a couple of jugs of boiling water.

Garden

- Baking soda can deter ants - pour a solid line in areas of activity and they won't cross it.

- Mix a tablespoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of (earth friendly) dish detergentent and a gallon of water to make a spray for treating roses against black spot fungus.

Laundry

- Work a baking soda and water paste onto stains prior to washing to help remove them from the fabric

- Half a cup of baking soda added to a full load of washing will help brighten your wash and remove odors.

Workshop/auto

- Mix a paste of baking soda and vinegar and apply with a pot scourer to remove light rusting

- A baking-soda/water paste applied to chrome surfaces, allowed to dry then buffed off will leave chrome shining!

- Baking soda applied to fresh grease and oil spills on your garage floor will draw away the oil, which can then be scraped off.

Pets

- Baking soda lightly sprinkled and mixed into cat litter will help control odor.

- Eliminate odor after you've cleaned up pet accidents by sprinkling over the dampened area with baking soda; allow to dry and then vacuum.

Personal

- Whoofy shoes getting you down? Get a couple of old socks, fill up the toe secitions with baking soda, place into the offending shoes and leave overnight to help remove odors.

- A thick paste of baking soda and water applied to bug bites can provide relief.

- A half teaspoon of baking soda mixed into a glass of water can act as mouthwash.

- Sprinkle baking soda onto regular toothpaste to create a whitening toothpaste

Miscellaneous

- To clean jewelry, use a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, apply the mixture the piece, allow to sit for a couple of minutes, rinse off and then polish with a soft cloth.

- Sprinkle your Christmas tree with baking soda to mimick snow - a much more environmentally friendly alternative to some of those chemical snow sprays!

With so many uses you'll likely use a lot and buying baking soda in small boxes probably won't be too economical. Have a chat to your local baker who may be able to supply you with larger quantities or try contacting a bakery supplies company as some sell direct to the public.

You can also save money on baking soda by re-using it. For example, once it has served its purpose as a fridge deodoriser you can put it down your sink to help keep your drains clear.

brown rice vs white rice

2008-11-14T09:40:00.003+07:00

Brown rice - an environmentally friendlier choice

Brown rice is not only better for you, but it's better for the environment than white rice too.

So what's the difference?

Rice goes through a variety of processes before it's ready for cooking. After harvesting, the seeds are run through a rice huller/husker for milling to remove the outer grain husks. After this process, you're left with brown rice. Nice and simple.

To create white rice, there's added steps. The germ and the inner husk (bran) is removed, the grain is then polished, usually using glucose or talc.

The crazy thing is that these added steps to turn brown rice to white remove nutrients that are sometimes then introduced back in via synthetic sources - this is called fortified white rice. The same type of thing happens in brown bread vs. white bread scenario.

The loss of nutrients is broad and substantial. Plain white rice has far less Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folacin, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron and over dozen other nutrients. Added to that, the dietary fiber contained in white rice is around a quarter of brown rice.

So, brown rice certainly appears to be more healthy, but where does the environmental benefit come from? It's basically down to processing - the less processing of a food, the less energy required. There's also the issue of the synthetic vitamins added back in - produced in laboratories and factories from a variety of chemicals; and these sorts of processes are well known for their negative impact on the environment.

If you're accustomed to white rice, making the switch to brown suddenly can cause a taste bud rebellion - it certainly did for me. It's somewhat of an acquired taste for many people. I suggest adding extra sauces to mask the "wilder" taste of brown rice for a while to allow your tastes to adjust. Once you've acquired a taste for brown rice, it's likely you'll never go back to white.

When you buy rice, because it keeps so well, try and buy in quantity to save on packaging. The rice we buy comes in cloth bags which we've put to very good use after finishing the contents.

Added notes: A couple of readers have pointed out (thanks by the way!) that uncooked brown rice doesn't keep for as long as white rice. Stored in an airtight container, I'm told brown rice will keep fresh for about six months.

Brown rice does take a little longer to cook than white rice, but the time isn't much longer if you pre-soak the rice for a while and cook using the absorption method. This is where you use less water and cover the pot, leaving very little excess water left by the time the rice has cooked - the steam generated using this method also helps speed up the cooking process.

saving energy when cooking

2008-11-14T09:38:00.002+07:00

12 tips for conserving energy when cooking

I was marvelling at how energy efficient my gas camp stove is - 4 pound bottle lasted me 3 weeks - and wondering why the ones in domestic kitchens aren't the same.

Some of the reason is due to the type of gas; but much of the issue is noise - a camp stove is quite noisy compared to a household gas range, but it's this feature that makes it so efficient - the size and number of holes in the burner. It's another example of how we have swapped efficiency for aesthetics to our wallet's and environment's detriment.

We do use a heck of a lot of energy when cooking - think about how long it takes to bring a pot of water to boil on the stove - turned up full blast, it's chewing around 2400 watts per hour. While there may not be noxious fumes pouring out of your kitchen, they are produced elswhere; for example, where your electricity is generated. Coal fired electricity generation is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions; the main culprit causing climate change.

There are some ways to work around the inefficient appliances in our kitchens; here's a few tips

1. Cover up

Where possible, cover up your pots and pans. This will help your food to cook more quickly and generates a higher temperature allowing you to turn down the stove.

2. Taking the heat off

Instead of turning off the stove when the food is done, experiment a little with switching it off just before the food is cooked. An electric frypan can be switched off a minute or two earlier, and oven up to 10 - 20 minutes depending on how well it's insulated and sealed. It may not sound like a huge saving, but particularly with electric stoves, the dollars will add up.

3. Nuke it

Instead of boiling water in a pan; zap it in a microwave instead. In fact, try to use a microwave as much as possible as it will save a stack of electricity.

4. In the raw

What is it with cooking carrots? They taste great uncooked in my opinion; as do many other veggies. Experiment a little more with raw foods. You'll not only save electricity and gas, but nutrients which cooking destroys.

5. Be prepared

I fired up the fry pan tonight and then started slicing and dicing - tch tch; wasted a bit of gas in the process. Always ensure your ingredients are prepared as much as possible for turning on the heat.

6. Slow food

Growing up in the 70's, crock pots were all the rage. These were heavy pots that took ages to cook anything, but cooked at a very low temperature. The idea was to switch it on before you head off to work and by the time you came home, the food was done. Saved power and was delicious too!

7. Hot stuff

Not ready to eat just yet? Instead of having the stove top going to keep it warm, wrap the pot up in a towel - this will help insulate it for quite a while.

8. Splurge on pots and pans

Resist buying cheap pots and pans - they'll cost you more in the long run. A good sturdy, thick walled set will last you a lifetime and while they take a little longer to heat up, the heat distribution is better and they'll also store heat for longer. Glass and ceramic pots and pans are said to be the most efficient, but personally I like heavy steel as I'm a bit of a klutz at times.

9. The right pan for the job

If you can see the heating element or the gas flame is licking a little on the side of the pot or pan, it's too small and much of the heat is being wasted.

10. Keep the door closed

How's your oven door glass looking? It's worth spending the time to keep it clean so you can see in rather than opening the door to check on the food.

11. Drop the pilot

(Apologies to Joan Armatrading). Older gas ovens may have a pilot light that burns 24/7. While it's a small flame, over the period of a day, it uses a lot of gas. Consider switching it off (properly).

12. Water, water everywhere

Only use as much water as you need in a pot. Every extra drop requires more energy to heat and will increase the cooking time.

Observing some or all of the points above won't single handedly save the environment, but when millions of us take these small steps in conserving energy, it certainly adds up!

renewable energy primer

2008-11-14T09:25:00.001+07:00

Renewable energy basics

Renewable energy is a term becoming increasing prevalent in news reports and conversations. So what does it actually mean, what main types of renewable energy sources are there and what are the benefits and disadvantages of each?

Renewable energy definition

Renewable energy is derived from natural resources that can be replenished naturally within a relatively short time frame and with potential to provide energy well into the future.

Why is renewable energy important?

Energy derived from fossil fuels create a heavy toll on the environment. It is the major driver of many wars, unrest and more recently issues such as climate change and global warming have become more pressing.

When fossil fuels are burned, they generate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat within our atmosphere, warming the planet and altering climate in a much shorter time than would occur naturally. This is already having devastating effects such as increased and more frequent droughts and more severe storms.

Additionally, fossil fuels are finite. Oil production from easily accessible reserves is in decline (also known as Peak Oil) and while huge coal reserves do exist, they are also limited. It takes many thousands of years for natural processes to create crude oil and coal, far longer than the rate we are using them.

Renewable energy types

Solar power

Solar power is actually a form of nuclear energy. The sun is a massive nuclear reactor that produces heat and light and will continue to do so for billions of years. We can harness this energy through the use of solar panels, collectors and concentrators to generate electricity and the heating or capture of water.

The main benefits of solar power are the fact that it's an inbound energy source, nothing is taken from the planet. However, equipment needs to be manufactured to harness the sun's rays. Even so the energy payback time, that is the amount of time it takes to repay the energy and resources gone into creating something such as a solar panel, is quite short. In the case of a solar panel, it's around 1.5 years. Given a solar panel has a life of 25 years, this is quite ecologically economical.

Another benefit of solar power is that it can be installed on many homes - allowing a degree of energy independence.

The main disadvantage of solar power is the high cost of equipment and the need for an energy storage system such as a battery bank for when the sun is not shining. Learn more about solar power

Wind power

Wind power is actually a form of solar energy as the sun creates the atmospheric conditions necessary to generate wind. Wind can be harnessed by wind turbines to generate electricity. In some countries wind power is now making up to 10% of energy needs. On a smaller scale, like heat from the sun, wind energy can be harnessed for simple tasks around the home such as drying clothes.

Again, wind turbines are quite expensive, do require more maintenance than solar panels and a storage system is needed for when the wind isn't blowing. Wind turbines can be installed on homes, although in some areas, government regulations forbid them. Learn more about wind turbines

Geothermal power

Geothermal power harnesses the heat from rocks deep below the Earth's surface that have been heated by the Earth's molten core. Water can be injected into holes leading to these rocks to create steam that can drive turbines to generate electricity.

While the construction of geothermal plants are very costly, creating electricity from that point onwards is quite cheap.

The main disadvantages of geothermal power is that it's only viable in limited geographical areas due to the depth of the hot rocks and the availability of water.

Tidal power

As tides move in and out, the water embodies a huge amount of kinetic energy. This energy can be tapped with special turbines that will work regardless of whether the tide is ebbing or flooding.

The major disadvantage of tidal power are the costs involved, corrosion and high maintenance.

Hydro power

Hydro power has been in use for thousands of years. It simply uses the inertia of the flow of a body of water to spin turbines or power a mill for grinding grain.

In more modern times, hydro electric power has supplied many homes with electricity. Unfortunately, this has seen hundreds, if not thousands of waterways around the world dammed to create the necessary water pressure and infrastructure to make the flow of water useful. Many unique wilderness areas have been lost as a result.

Wave power

Another form of harnessing water, wave power utilizes special equipment such as floating structures that move with the waves and are attached to a generator that converts this movement into electricity.

Wave power is still relatively new, but aside from the further refinement and development required and posing navigational hazards, it has few drawbacks.

Biomass

Biomass refers to plant and animal material that can be burned to generate energy. It can take the form of crops, crop waste, trees and animal waste. While these are renewable resources, biomass has similar challenges to fossil fuels in that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse/toxic gases are generated when combusted.

Proponents of biomass point out that in some ways, the burining of biomass is carbon neutral. Unlike fossil fuels, biomass is derived from organisms on the surface that have in some way extracted carbon from the surface, or very close to it. When combusted, this carbon is simply returned to the atmosphere and earth. However, a fine balance needs to be maintained between burning and growing, otherwise the generation of greenhouse gases will exceed what the biomass source is storing.

Biogas

Biogas is methane gas; a byproduct of decomposition, livestock production, cultivation of certain plants and landfills that can be captured and burned. The burning of methane gas is more desirable than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere as methane has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) 62 times that of carbon dioxide.

Biofuel

Biofuel is liquid fuel such as ethanol or biodiesel created from plant material and more recently, algae. Again, it presents some of the same challenges of burning anything. Additionally, the use of food crops as fuel has caused prices of some grains such as corn to skyrocket in recent years. A United Nations food expert went as far to describe using food as fuel as a crime against humanity.

Research into refining the cellulostic ethanol process is continuing - this is where more woody stock and crop waste can be converted into ethanol rather than the crop itself, but a more promising technology is the use of algae to create biofuels.

Is nuclear power renewable energy?

Some believe since Earth-based nuclear resources are so vast, it could be considered renewable. However, coal was also thought to be in such great quantities, it would never run out. So in keeping with the definition, nuclear power can't really be considered a renewable energy source as it would be consumed faster than the natural elements could be produced.

The future of renewable energy

Increasingly, governments around the world are turning to renewable energy to end our dependence on fossil fuels. As you can see from the above, the environmental friendliness difference between various renewable energy types is quite vast and to rely on some of the options would likely cause as many problems as we are now experiencing. Technologies such as solar, wind, wave and tidal power would appear to be the most gentlest alternatives in relation to the well-being of our planet.

white sugar vs raw sugar

2008-11-13T20:47:00.005+07:00

What's the difference between white and raw sugar in terms of environmental impact? What about raw and brown sugar - are these the same product?

Let's take a brief look at how each of these cane sugar variations are created.

How raw sugar is made

Sugar cane is initially pressed and the juice is then mixed with lime to achieve the desired ph balance and to help settle out impurities. The resulting liquid is reduced through evaporation, then a centrifuge used to separate sugar crystals. It is then dried further to produce granules. The brown color of raw sugar is due to presence of molasses.

How white sugar is made

"White" sugar is created in a couple of ways.

Mill white sugar is the result of sulphur dioxide being introduced to the cane juice before evaporation. It effectively bleaches the mixture.

In the production of refined white sugar, which is the most common product in the Western world, the raw sugar syrup is mixed with a heavy syrup and run through a centrifuge again to take away the outer coating of the raw sugar crystals.

Phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide are then added to the juice which then combine and absorb or trap impurities. Alternatively, carbon dioxide is used to achieve the same effect.

The resulting syrup is then filtered through a bed of activated carbon to remove molasses and then crystallized a number of times under vacuum. It is then further dried to produce white refined sugar like we buy in the store.

Brown sugar

Brown sugar is refined white sugar with a molasses syrup mixed in, then dried again.

Sugar use in other countries

While the sugar cane plant is a somewhat thirsty plant, it's one of nature's best photosynthesizers. In many countries, simple crushed sugar cane is the way you get your sugar fix, or other treats that require little further processing of the sugar cane.

Sugar cane and the environment

Environmentally speaking, the less processing required means the less energy used, less waste products and fewer chemicals.

While whole or crushed sugar cane can be difficult to source in the city, out of the options remaining, raw sugar is the more earth friendly option and brown sugar oddly enough is the worst choice.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of food processing sequences that take something out of a food, only to add it back in later on, such is the case with brown sugar. Another example of this is breadmaking flour that has most of vitamins destroyed in the milling/bleaching process only to have vitamins needed to be added back in.

The bad news about sugar and the environment doesn't end with how the syrup is processed into a final product.

Effluent and waste from sugar mills creates major problems for local environments. Pesticides and herbicides applied during cultivation contaminate the ground and water supplies. Added to these problems is the firing of sugar cane prior to harvesting which pumps millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other chemicals into the atmosphere each year. Natural habitats in sensitive areas are often cleared in order to grow sugar cane to meet increasing demand.

Do we need added sugar?

Our collective sweet tooth causes far more damage than just cavities. Our sugar choices should go beyond the type of sugar we buy or the type that's present in products we purchase; it's also a question of consumption levels. The simple fact of the matter is that most of us have no need for the amount of added sugar we consume. Sugars can be made by our own bodies through the conversion of carbohydrates present in many foods, or through various forms of sugar other than glucose present in fruit and vegetables.

white bread vs brown bread

2008-11-13T20:46:00.001+07:00

Switching from white to brown bread

I'll admit it, I was a white bread freak, it took many years for me to switch from white to brown/wholemeal; even though I knew that the latter was better for me and the production of brown bread was more earth-friendly.

The difference in taste between white and brown bread is significant, as is the texture and obviously the way it looks. When you are brought up on white bread, it can be really difficult to make the change. The way it was successfully introduced to me recently after many failed attempts was through "quasi" brown breads such as light rye. The taste difference was more subtle, which made for the perfect stepping stone to true wholemeal. These days I actually prefer brown bread to white. Try this strategy on your recalcitrant family member :).

There's some other things you might like to point out about white vs. brown as sometimes the words "because it's better for you" just don't cut it with a white bread addict:

White bread is made is from wheat flour from which the bran and germ have been removed. This is where much of the nutritional bread value is. White bread is lower in zinc, fiber, thiamin, niacin, trace elements and "good" fats and oils. White bread in many countries has to be fortified with vitamins and minerals *by law* during the bread making process. These are usually sprayed into the mix. It's somewhat ironic that the nutrients that are removed from wheat are re-added by this means. Nature provides, we destroy, then add it back in via a man made form.

Once the bran and germ is removed, the flour is bleached using potassium bromate, benzoyl peroxide or chlorine dioxide gas. Potassium bromate is also known as Bromic Acid or Potassium Salt. It's an oxidizing agent, can be fatal if swallowed, is harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin and may also cause kidney damage. Benzoyl peroxide is another irritant that can kill animals, birds, or fish, and cause death or low growth rate in plants. Chlorine Dioxide is also a pesticide and even though it breaks down very quickly, it is ranked in the USA as one of the compounds most hazardous to the environment.

So even before the baker adds his chemical magic, there's some pretty solid cons relating to white bread. Another point to note is that anything that needs "refining" requires more energy resources to do so.

By the way, just because bread is brown in color doesn't necessarily mean it's brown bread in the traditional sense of the term, i.e. meaning whole wheat or wholemeal. Check out the ingredients on the bread that you buy and ensure that the first ingredient is whole wheat or wholemeal flour rather than enriched wheat flour or just wheat flour. Enriched/wheat flour is the same type of flour used in white bread. The presence of caramel also is an indicator that it's not true brown/wholemeal bread as caramel is used as a coloring agent. A couple of other ingredients to avoid if possible are fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil/fats; aka trans fats.

The general rule of thumb is the less ingredients in the bread and the presence of wholemeal flour as the major ingredient, the better it is for you - and the planet.

disposable vs rechargeable batteries

2008-11-13T20:44:00.002+07:00

Rechargeable and disposable batteries - the environmental impact

I wouldn't call myself a gadget freak, but in my work and given I spend a good deal of time away from a mains power supply, I use a lot of battery powered equipment. I started using rechargeables some years back and it's definitely saved me a lot of cash.

But what about the environment?

I guess it's a bit of a no-brainer that if you use one of something compared to a zillion, it's got to be better for the planet, but not if the one of something is one zillion and one times toxic :). So I decided to take a look at how rechargeable batteries stack up against their disposable counterparts.

Disposable and rechargeable battery types

Disposable, or dry-cell batteries are usually the alkaline type. They used to contain very high levels of mercury, but the amounts used have greatly decreased over the last couple of decades and some brands use none at all. Still, many do contain a small amount of mercury and given the massive waste involved should be avoided, or at the very least, recycled. In 2006, 40 billion disposable batteries were sold worldwide! According to the EPA, Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell disposable batteries every year.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult finding places that will actually recycle disposable alkaline batteries. Many recyclers separate them from rechargeables and they do wind up in landfill anyway.

A service I came across in the USA for alkaline (and rechargeable) battery recycling is Big Green Box, which is just a box you can dump batteries into and when it's full, send it back to the recycler. You can purchase a box for your home or office, or utilize one that's in one of the participating stores mentioned on their site.

Button batteries are a problem as a great deal of metal is used for their comparatively small size and they can contain mercury, silver, cadmium, lithium, or other heavy metals as their main component. Thankfully, due to the increasing price of raw materials, these are a desired recyclable item.

Rechargeable batteries used to be quite environmentally toxic beasties, containing cadmium (NiCad batteries). These days the most commonly sold batteries are Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH). NiMH batteries have a better life and performance than Nicads and don't contain as toxic heavy metals, so they are a "greener" choice.

If you own a notebook, it's likely the battery in it is Lithium-ion. These are the top of the line in terms of performance and the type we'll see in cars of the future. Again, a more environmentally friendly option than NiCads.

You can also buy rechargeable alkaline batteries, but these peform poorly and will cost you more in the long run - and you'll create more waste.

Regardless of the lower environmental toxicity of today's rechargeable batteries, they should definitely be recycled rather than thrown in the bin to wind up in landfill.

Where to recycle rechargeable batteries

If you're in the USA or Canada, try Call2Recycle, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) program's web site for further information.

In Australia, BatteryWorld stores offer a free service.

In the UK, there's a free recycling program called BatteryBack

Environmental savings

According to a study by Uniross carried out in 2007, the production of rechargeable batteries have the following advantages over disposables (comparing serviceable life):

- 23 times less potential impact on non-renewable natural resources
- 28 times less potential impact on global warming
- 30 times less potential impact on air pollution (ozone pollution)
- 9 times less potential impact on air acidification
- 2 times less potential impact on water pollution

Getting the most from rechargeable batteries

I made a few mistakes using rechargeable batteries in the beginning, so I offer the following tips so you might avoid the same. These simple tips will help ensure you get the maximum life from your rechargeables

- If you're going to buy rechargeables - keep track of them :). Being small critters, batteries are easier to lose. Given that a rechargeable battery in itself is more toxic to the environment than a single disposable alkaline; if you keep losing them and keep buying more, it defeats the purpose. Have a central point in the house or your car where you store flat ones. I also mark each battery set (eg. mb1, mb2, mb3, mb4) so there's equal 'wear', rather than mixing old ones with new ones.

- Avoid using the batteries at high temperatures and store out of direct sunlight

- Recharge regularly

- Avoid overcharging the rechargeable battery

Cost savings

As mentioned, you can not only lighten your environmental footprint, but save a ton of cash by using rechargeable batteries.

A pack of 4 rechargeable batteries I purchased a short while ago cost me around $20. They'll be good for at least 500 recharges, likely more. A battery charger costs anywhere from about $10 -$30. The cost to recharge the set works out to to be just a couple of cents each time. So, in total, even factoring in the charger, a set of 4 AA will cost around $50 for their serviceable life.

A comparable set of heavy duty disposables cost around $2 - and that's at a discount price. The equivalent usage would cost $1000!

Environmentally and financially, rechargeable batteries just make more sense. If you can, try ditching your disposable battery habit and reap the rewards.

Recycling electronic equipments

2008-11-13T20:41:00.003+07:00

Electronics need to be recycled

Go to any garbage dump and you're likely to see computer monitors, printers, stereos, tvs etc. popping up everywhere. Not only do these products take up landfill space, electronic circuitboard componentry and casings contain all sorts of environmentally hazardous materials.

Before purchasing electronic gizmos and gadgets, consider the following environmental hazards that go into their production and ask yourself - do you really need it?:

- Fumes from ammonia and acids
- CFCs, or chloroflouro carbons
- acid and alkaline solutions
- copper baths
- catalysts
- etchants
- aqueous metals
- plating baths
- metals, including nickel, silver, copper, lead

.. that's not to mention the electricity consumed in their production, nor the oil used to make the plastics and transport the goods.

The electronics industry also uses tetrabromobisophenol-A (TBBA). It's a compound to help make circuitboards fire resistant. A harmful byproduct of TTBA is Methyl bromide - a pesticide, acute toxin and ozone depleting substance.

Once electronic equipment has outlived it purpose, contact your local council for options for responsible disposal. Many councils can point you to a recycling program. If the equipment is still serviceable, rather than dumping it, also consider Freecycling the items.

Yet another option is to inquire with the manufacturer if they have a recycling program - a word of warning though; some companies' recycling programs simply mean that they dump the items in developing countries in massive landfills where impoverished people are then paid a pittance to strip out useful components - without adequate training or protection.

recycle electronic equipment : environmentally responsible

2008-11-13T20:39:00.001+07:00

HP expands its product return and recycling program in order to reach more customers and create convenient ways for people to discard used or unwanted electronic equipment in an environmentally responsible manner. ...

... "The company will host a series of product collection events in the United States throughout the summer to raise awareness and increase the rate of electronics recycling among consumers. The collection events, which will accept a range of products from any manufacturer, will be held from June through September in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Oregon.
During the local product collection events, customers can drop off a broad range of products from any manufacturer at no charge. All products collected will be recycled at one of HP's approved recycling facilities across the United States. These facilities operate under HP's global recycling standards, which ensure responsible product recycling.
HP is on target to meet its global goal to recycle 1 billion pounds of hardware and HP print cartridges by the end of 2007. In 2005, HP recycled approximately 140 million pounds of hardware and HP print cartridges globally – an increase of 17 percent over the previous year. Since the company began recycling, it has recycled 750 million pounds in total. HP's recycling program operates globally in more than 40 countries, regions and territories and seeks to reduce the environmental impact of IT products, minimize waste going to landfills and help customers conveniently discard products in an environmentally sound fashion. Plastics and metals recovered from products recycled by HP have been used in new HP products, as well as a range of other uses, including auto body parts, clothes hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays and roof tiles. " ...

MeiN ErsteR BloG

2008-10-18T16:17:00.000+07:00

Dies ist mein erster Blog

des Semesters Kurs ist 7 ...

Die ersten neuen werden ...

denn das war nie lange in der post....

hehehehe....

sok negara mana gitu.....