NEWS: Halal apps for iPhone growing in popularity

KUALA LUMPUR: The Halal Industry Development Corp's (HDC) iPhone applications took centrestage at this year's World Halal Research summit here, offering assurances to Muslims in search of products that are Jakim-certified and restaurants that are halal.

HDC said the halal apps come in three modules that dispense the information in a timely and relevant manner. The first module is a "locator" that enables the easy finding of places to eat within a 15km radius of the user which are halal-certified.

The second module is a "directory" that provides a comprehensive listing of companies with related details that aims to encourage business-matching worldwide.

Thirdly, the "news & knowledge" module provides users with a mix of various information, current news and knowledge.

Mobile service operator DiGi Telecommunications' corporate affairs division director Zaiton Idrus said the company recognised the demand for mobile Internet services in Malaysia, a trend that is largely driven by the increased use of smartphones.

"This market trend and the availability of the halal apps present an opportunity for us to deliver on our value proposition, and to provide relevant, simple and innovative services to meet the needs of a large segment of Malaysian customers," she said.

On TV

The halal apps first made their debut in February on TV3's popular programme Malaysia Hari Ini. Its ensuing milestone development included its launch in the Apple iTunes store, where 4,937 downloads were recorded by global users after only three weeks.

By May 2010 the figure swelled to about 15,000 on the domestic front. This figure is expected to expand by 20%-30% by next year.

To maximise global outreach, HDC has enhanced its relationship with DiGi, an authorised dealer of the iPhone that aims to promote and brand the Halal Malaysia concept.

HDC chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said the corporation is grateful to be associated with the halal industry through the iPhone apps, especially in light of the corporation's mission to uplift the notion of halal as not being only a religious concern.

"There is shared synergy between the preferred lifestyle of high quality, safety and assurance, and smart technology," he said.

Jakim is the Department of Islamic Advancement of Malaysia. - Bernama

NEWS: Microsoft keen to partner Govt on cloud computing

ALREADY PRESENT: MYEG is one example of cloud computing being used to deliver e-government services in Malaysia, said Ananth.

PUTRAJAYA: Software giant Microsoft is keen to work with the Malaysian Government to harness cloud computing in pursuit of initiatives such as connected government and innovation-based economy.

"Just as we saw how the personal computer revolutionised the work environment and the way we worked, played and connected with our families in the 1980s, cloud computing will do the same, here and now," said Microsoft Malaysia managing director Ananth Lazarus.

Cloud computing has grown in popularity in recent years because it allows individual and business users to pay for using applications hosted online instead of buying, installing and maintaining software.

Speaking at a half-day seminar on Cloud Computing Enabling Innovation in Malaysia here, Ananth said: "The cloud is not just about consumers and corporations. Government organisations can rely on the cloud to improve transparency as well."

"At the same time, the Government may address administration goals, offer scalable, interactive citizen portals, collaborate more easily across different agencies, deliver volumes of data to citizens in useful ways and reduce their information technology costs," he said.

In use

Ananth said cloud computing is not new to Microsoft because "we have almost 15 years' experience in cloud computing, hosting some of the world's largest cloud services."

"What's new is the fact that cloud computing has reached a stage where it can transform business and the way we work," he said.

Presently, he said, about 70% of Microsoft's 40,000 software developers are working on cloud computing products and services, with the number expected to increase to 90% by next year.

According to Ananth, there are already elements of cloud computing being used to deliver e-government services in Malaysia.

"MYEG, the public service payment and monitoring application, is one such example," he said, adding that the National Archives is using cloud computing to keep track and maintain the facility's historical database.

According to industry projections, an organisation can save up to 50% of its information technology cost by adopting cloud computing.

The seminar was held in collaboration with the Malaysian Information System Officers Association (Perjasa). - Bernama

NEWS: Three kinds of cloud computing and why they matter

NEW TREND: As datacentres become increasingly complex and costly to manage, more organisations are looking to cloud delivery service models to reduce costs, increase flexibility and improve time-to-market. - AP

TECHNOLOGY experts are unanimous in their belief that cloud computing will be the IT issue of this year. While cloud infrastructures are poised to revolutionise the way we access technology, it is also true that it is a vast area with a few grey areas.

This article aims to differentiate between the varied kinds of cloud environment to help enterprises make the right choice.

The ever increasing complexity of datacentres coupled with the massive growth of data is leading to an increase in resources required to manage such facilities.

To resolve key challenges like tradeoffs between IT agility and vendor lock-in, increasing complexity and costs in managing information silos, organisations have adopted virtualisation and are now looking to cloud delivery service models to reduce costs, increase flexibility and improve time-to-market.

Coupled with explosive unstructured content growth, organisations are also turning to instant IT delivery models.

On-demand IT delivery

In the move towards on-demand IT delivery, it hasn't taken long for customers to recognise the benefits of private, hybrid or public cloud models, the most tangible being significant cost savings.

From a capital expenditure perspective, organisations tend to over-purchase to deal with the requirements to support operations. This often leaves them with an abundance of underutilised hardware assets.

The ability of cloud infrastructures to grow in concert with business needs, minimises this upfront capital expense, moving them from "fixed costs" to "variable costs." Customers can reduce much of this operational expenditure by deploying cloud models, paying only for what they consume and eliminating the day-to-day management tasks.

On the flip side, on-demand access to computing resources poses a risk for IT organisations. If business users begin to outsource to cloud providers in order to get faster support, sensitive information could be put at risk.

To mitigate this risk, IT organisations should be thinking about developing an internal cloud-enabled architecture to provide greater business agility, in addition to a process for ad-hoc projects that need to be outsourced. This way they can move into the cloud in a controlled manner.

There are many deployment choices to consider for moving into the cloud. There are also some considerations to keep in mind when choosing the option that's right for your business.

Private Cloud: For simplicity, let's define a private cloud as cloud-enabled infrastructure within the physical walls of a datacentre.

A private cloud can provide many of the benefits of cloud without the security risks associated with public deployments. Because it is accessed over an internal network or intranet, it's as secure as the rest of your data.

And since you control it and the environment around it (i.e. networks, servers, etc), you can achieve enterprise level SLAs. But you do sacrifice some of the operational cost savings such as physical floor space, power, and cooling.

Hybrid Cloud: Now let's take a look at the hybrid or trusted cloud, which we will define as infrastructure that resides at a trusted service provider.

In this case, access is limited to appropriate resources at your organisation and delivered over a virtual private network or a secure Internet connection.

Since the infrastructure is out of the organisation's direct control, service levels could be impacted by external factors.

Customers also need to think about the physical security of the environment, which is why it is important to understand the service provider's process and requirements around physical access.

Public Cloud: This is similar to the hybrid, except that there is usually more general access over the Internet providing limited security.

Many public cloud offerings are quite inexpensive and SLAs are generally not guaranteed or measured differently than how an enterprise measures its SLAs. Features such as encryption, compression, backup, tiering and replication may not be available as well.

What makes a cloud?

Regardless of the type of cloud, there are some key features every cloud platform should have. Firstly, it is a secure, direct connection to get data into the cloud.

There also needs to be multitenancy capabilities to logically segregate the data, so that SLAs can be assigned to specific data types or applications.

The cloud should also have namespaces with access rights and security layers to prevent unauthorised access.

Given some of the trade-offs between the various cloud deployment models, how do you identify the most appropriate candidates for deployment?

Start by identifying the data in your environment that generally has lower business value and lower SLA requirements.

For example data types like home directory shares, static data or backup content can be moved from on-site "primary" to cloud "secondary" storage.

You can get immediate cost savings by moving this peripheral data. This helps in a couple of other ways as well, like freeing up resources to focus on the core business applications, improving operational efficiency and utilisation of your existing assets.

Next, it allows your organisation to gain experience and develop best practices for cloud deployments. Also, it allows you to move toward your core, Tier 1 applications at your own pace.

Maintaining IT agility is a must in today's competitive market. Cloud promises an on-demand service model that can support your business needs today, while providing a solid foundation for the datacentre of the future.

(Sunil Chavan is director of software group & cloud solutions for Asia Pacific at Hitachi Data Systems)

NEWS: Maxis going big on mobile content

KEEN ON APPS: The 2010 FIFA World Cup app is one of the many apps Maxis provides to their subscribers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Don't just think of Maxis Bhd as a telecommunications giant. It is morphing from that into an integrated services provider that's keen on mobile content.

Jean Pascal van Overbeke, Maxis' chief operating officer, believes the company's role continues to evolve along with the proliferation of mobile Internet.

"Malaysia has a young population. About 50% is less than 25 years old and most of these Malaysians are using the Internet daily through their cellular phones," he said.

This lifestyle has created a demand for a whole new wave of mobile applications, and Maxis wants to have a hand in that.

In partnership with content providers and application designers, Maxis has already come up with several neat mobile applications, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup app for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android smartphones.

With the current World Cup fever raging, this app provides footie fans with news alerts and other snippets of information such as match results, country profiles, venue information, as well as hall of fame and historical data on players and teams.

Maxis also caters to racing fans - another hot sport in the country - with its Lotus Racing iPhone Application that keeps subscribers up to date on race schedules and team developments, in addition to providing live commentaries on the Lotus Racing team and F1 2010 races.

Quick look

Then, there are its really helpful applications, such as Finder301 and Maxis Movies.

Finder301 (for the iPhone) is a location-based service that enables users to share reviews, ratings and details of restaurants, clinics, and banks, and even points out the ATMs nearest to the user.

Maxis Movies is for film buffs to browse what's playing at the various cineplexes and cinemas. The movies are sorted by title, genre and language, and subscribers can also make bookings via the service.

"Our goal is to ensure that the mobile phone can be used in the broadest way possible, through the introduction of innovative applications," said Van Overbeke.

Maxis promotes the development of such applications and content because this results in more value for its customers, he said.

It has several initiatives for achieving this. The Maxis' Mobile Content Challenge, for one, encourages Malaysian students to develop such content and be rewarded with prizes.

Then, there is the Maxis Developer Programme, which provides mentoring, training and equipment to local content developers to help them generate new, useful and creative applications.

The Maxis 1Store allows content developers to host their applications online and is a place for Maxis customers to purchase these applications. The store has more than 1,200 applications, mostly developed for the Symbian and Java platform.

More than meets "i"

With the growing popularity of Apple's just-released iPhone 4 and iPad tablet computer overseas, the eyes of Apple fans in Malaysia are firmly on Maxis, especially since it already distributes the earlier iPhone 3GS.

Van Overbeke said the iPhone 4 could be available here by August, but declined to provide prices. And, he said, Maxis' data packages for the smartphone "would not be very expensive."

As for the iPad, he said it is possible that Maxis will be distributing the 3G version of the tablet computer. "But it's really up to Apple at this point."

"We were the first to introduce the iPhone to Malaysians and (because of that) some presume that it would be the same with the iPad.

"On the day of the iPad's international debut, some people started coming in to our sales centres to see if we had stock," Van Overbeke said.

Still, a positive sign for iPad fans in this country is that Maxis is keen on creating educational applications for the iPad, and is in talks with the Education Ministry to gauge interest and opportunities.

NEWS: Syndicate conning women via Web netted

CON JOB: Tun Hisan (second right) pointing out the items seized during two raids on a Nigerian Internet scam syndicate.

GEORGETOWN: Penang police crippled a syndicate that had conned more than 100 women in the country with empty "gift" promises, with the arrest of three local and 11 Nigerian students.

The students, from public and private higher learning institutions in the country, were detained during two separate raids on houses in Seberang Perai on June 18, according to Penang deputy police chief Senior Assistant Commissioner (I) Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah.

"We have received 111 reports, including one from a 73-year-old woman, who have all suffered losses amounting to more than RM1.5mil," he told reporters here yesterday.

He said the modus operandi of the syndicate, believed to be operating in the state since 2008, was that the Nigerian students would pretend to be British nationals and chat up local women through social sites on the Internet, make marriage proposals and later request their addresses and phone numbers.

"They sought such details under the pretext of wanting to send their "lovers" gifts from overseas while the three local female students would impersonate Customs officers and contact the women to inform them that they had detained their gifts because duty and tax was not paid," he said.

The unsuspecting women, believing that their online "lovers" had actually sent them expensive gifts or parcels, would then pay the duty and tax running into thousands of ringgit.

Tun Hisan said among the gifts promised by the conmen were US currency, jewellery, crafted items, cameras and laptop computers.

"However, after the women had paid the money, online or through dedicated bank accounts, they would not receive the gifts while their contacts would go missing," he said.

The syndicate also used tactics like claiming that their "lovers" were being detained at airports for carrying excess cash and then requesting the women bail them out by paying large sums of money. - Bernama

NEWS: Pos Malaysia can gain from e-commerce

KUALA LUMPUR: With Malaysia's electronic retailing poised to grow significantly, Pos Malaysia Bhd and some other companies stand to benefit from providing services that facilitate e-commerce, said a research group.

The Oxford Business Group (OBG) reported that the potential take-off of electronic retailing could have a positive flow-on effect on mail delivery services.

This could help reverse the decline in recent years caused by the Internet eating into Pos Malaysia's core business of personal communications, according to the London-based global publishing, research and consultancy firm.

"While Pos Malaysia has seen a slide in its regular mail volume, this is increasingly being offset by the growing demand for door-to-door parcel delivery services," the OBG report said.

The report cited estimates from the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) that Malaysia's online business-to-consumers transactions are expected to total US$3bil (RM10bil) this year, while business-to-business e-commerce could reach some US$20bil (RM68bil).

e-Commerce is expected to post an annual growth of 16% to 20%, a result of both private initiatives and supportive government policies, Pikom officials had said in mid-April.

The OBG report also pointed out that Pos Malaysia's courier arm - PosLaju - has seen demand climbing to a point where it commands a 27% market share of the US$540mil (RM1.84bil) domestic courier industry.

It quoted Pos Malaysia chief executive Datuk Syed Faisal Albar as saying that "this market will likely continue to grow if the Internet infrastructure is strengthened and more Malaysians start to shop from home."

"If broadband penetration in the country improves, this will encourage online transactions further and with that comes online shopping. In fact, the growth of courier services in these areas has been synonymously linked with online shopping," Syed Faisal said in the OBG report.

Bright future

OBG also highlighted that Pos Malaysia is looking at getting on the online shopping bandwagon by marketing itself as a retailing service provider, combining its existing infrastructure and brand name with a new sales portal.

This could encourage consumers to buy online through an established outlet with a proven track record.

The report added that according to Ahmad Shukri Abdul Hamid - head of the public sector unit of business analytics software and services firm SAS Malaysia - Pos Malaysia should make greater use of communications technology and look for niches where it can play a crucial role, such as online retailing.

Meanwhile, OBG also reported that mobile phone operator Maxis Bhd is another firm that has locked on to the e-commerce business, joining forces with international online payment service provider PayPal in mid-May.

The deal will give Maxis subscribers the opportunity to make quick and secure purchases electronically using their cellphones or computers.

In announcing the collaboration, Maxis chief operating officer Jean-Pascal van Overbeke had said that with the national broadband initiative in place, mobile internet is fast gaining traction, as is online retailing.

OBG also reported that data issued by market research company IDC late last year showed that Malaysia should have 17.5 million Internet users by the end of 2010, of which 8.9 million will likely be buying products online. - Bernama

NEWS: Study highlights local surfing habits

KUALA LUMPUR: There are more people checking out social networking sites compared to blogging sites, according to the first Net Index study.

The study, which was commissioned by Yahoo! and carried out by market research firm Synovate from March to May this year, found that 61% of the 2,500 people surveyed frequented social networking sites, such as Facebook, while only 22% frequented blog sites.

Another key finding of the study is that Malaysians go on the Internet for entertainment and lifestyle news, rather than serious hard news.

Katherine Davis, research director of Synovate Sdn Bhd said that Malaysians love their entertainment, hence they look for news on their favourite movie and music stars.

Consequently, music downloads is also a popular activity with 51% of the survey participants.

"Online music is a big part of the Malaysian lifestyle, whether it's downloading local or international music," she said.

Gaming is also a big source of entertainment for Malaysians with over a third of those surveyed playing online games.

Davis said that there were also the hardcore gamers, who also use the Internet solely for games. "They are mostly male, age 15 to 19, who play action and adventure games," she said.

The study targeting the advertising industry was conducted by interviewing 2,500 people in states across Peninsular Malaysia to determine Internet user trends.

"With a generation of young Malaysians growing up as digital natives, understanding their media habits is critical to understanding the future," said Yahoo! Malaysia acting country manager Myung Jo Choi.

"Digital media is more than a buzzword, it is a vital necessity that marketers and advertisers cannot afford to ignore," he said.

NEWS: News Home » News Rate this story (No of votes: 1) Tuesday June 15, 2010 MDEX e-commerce platform to bridge SME digital divide

KUALA LUMPUR: Small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will soon be able to handle business-to-business transactions online with their buyers and suppliers thanks to an iniative by the Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) and SME development agency, SME Corp Malaysia.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote an open e-commerce platform to enable trading processes among SMEs.

The platform, called the Malaysia Digital Enterprise Exchange (MDEX) is expected to be ready next month and aims to help SMEs efficiently deal with key business processes and ultimately expand their businesses globally.

MDeC chief executive officer, Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the subscription-based platform will help empower SMEs and help allay any fears they have concerning e-commerce.

"It will mainly support the adoption of better business processes, reduce human error and facilitate traceability of transactions," he said at the signing ceremony here.

MDeC vice-president of industry development, Saifol Bahri Shamlan said there are several concerns, such as cost and security issues, which hinder the adoption of e-commerce among SMEs.

MDEX is hosted in the cloud and the subscription fee is RM10 per month. As for the security issues, MDeC said it is leveraging on high security features offered by cloud computing service providers.

"This is how MDEX will start to address the cost and security concerns," Saifol explained.

MDeC will also hold training sessions for SMEs to help them understand the technicalities of the platform so they will be encouraged to use it.

Saifol said that getting SMEs to trade online will help them be more open to the idea of utilising more sophisticated business IT applications, thus eventually narrowing the digital divide among SMEs.

"By using e-commerce, some SMEs can also expand their businesses to foreign markets which in turn will increase domestic investments as these companies grow," he said.

The platform is expected to be well-received by the SME community.

A survey conducted by research agency, Frost and Sullivan highlighted a high potential for the uptake of B2B e-commerce among Malaysian SMEs.

According to the survey, about 60% of B2B transactions were conducted over the Internet. It further found that 47% of respondents said they were ready to embrace e-commerce in the next two years.

The survey was conducted under the purview of MDeC and supported by SME Corp, Bank Negara Malaysia and SME Bank.

SME Corp chief executive officer, Datuk Hafsah Hashim said the platform will certainly pave the way for SMEs to conduct business transactions online.

"SMEs lament the lack of facilities and skills when it comes to conducting business online but the features offered on the MDEX platform is easy for any business owner to operate and manage, even if they don't have any technical experience," she said.

MDeC and SME Corp will promote the platform through nationwide outreach programmes from next month onwards.

NEWS: Twitter just a 300-year old diary

According to a professor and researcher at Cornell University, tweets are very similar to diaries from the 1700s and 1800s - a social connection that records life's moments and helps people cathartically deal with life's issues.

It was common for diary entries 300 years ago to be short and random ranging from menus to announcements of travel, deaths and other life events.

Lee Humphreys, an assistant professor in communications at Cornell University and researcher in social media, led the study and said, "We tend to think of new media as entirely new and different, but often we see people using new media for old problems."

During the 18th and 19th centuries, diaries created constraints similar to those of Twitter with small spaces and very few lines attributed to each date. Here is a sample Humphreys shared: "April 7. Mr. Fiske Buried. April 27. Made Mead. At the assembly," - from Mary Vial Holyoke of Salem, Massachusetts diary (1770).

Also diaries were meant to be "semi-public and shared with others."

The US Library of Congress intends to archive all public tweets tweeted since March 2006. And, Humphreys supports this, explaining, "Tweets capture a moment in history in a really interesting way."

"We know Twitter tends to be used by urban, younger population, so it's not representing everybody, and no culture can be reduced to the texts that it produces," she continued.

"So as great as it is to have these diaries and these tweets, we recognise them as incomplete representations of society. It's easy to see that with the diaries, but it's just as important to see that with Twitter."

Remember when you tweet, it is a public snapshot in time that might be reflected on in the future. - Relaxnews

NEWS: Keeping it private

The pluses and minuses of the Personal Data Protection Bill 2009.

It is past midnight and you are sleeping soundly. Suddenly, an SMS beeps in. It turns out to be a message from a hotel, which you have never been to in your life, giving away a free one-night stay. Annoyed, you go back to bed. But you toss and turn. You can't get back to sleep and get even more irritated.

Many of us have experienced similar ­incidents with these unsolicited phone calls, SMSes and e-mail messages. And many have also noticed that these nuisance calls or messages are almost always after they had divulged their personal contact information.

It could have been a warranty card you filled up, or you handed over your business card to participate in a "lucky draw" ­somewhere, or you had just subscribed to some service. In any case, someone either sold your contact information or is misusing it.

At the very least, such misuse means you are inconvenienced or irritated by sales ­pitches. But more worrying is that your ­information could be used for more ­nefarious activities, such as scams, identity theft, and cheating.

The Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill 2009, which was passed in the Senate (Dewan Negara) recently, is aimed at putting a stop to such misuse of your personal information, as well as the malicious use of the data.

Abu Bakar: It makes it illegal for anyone - ­companies or individuals - to give out or sell someone else's personal information without prior consent.

University Malaya law professor Abu Bakar Munir, who played an advisory role in the drafting of the Bill, said it plays a crucial role in protecting a person's details in commercial transactions whether online or offline.

"It makes it illegal for anyone - ­companies or individuals - to give out or sell someone else's personal information without prior consent," he said, adding that it stipulates penalities for such ­transgressions.

The Bill is expected to be gazetted into law this year. When it is, Malaysia will be among the first in Asean to have introduced such legislation.

Personal information, under the Bill, means any data that can identify an ­individual - name, age, MyKad details, photo, passport number, video and images captured via closed-circuit television.

"If you receive any unsolicited direct marketing messages or advertisements, you will be able to lodge a complaint with the personal data protection commissioner, who will investigate," Abu Bakar said. At the time of writing, the mechanism for lodging such complaints had yet to be set up.

Those found guilty of contravening the rules could be fined a sum not exceeding RM200,000 or be jailed for a period not exceeding two years, or both.

Abu Bakar believes those penalities should be sufficient to dissuade anyone from illegally sharing someone else's personal information.

Foong: Companies need to ensure that their customer forms have a section that seeks consent from the customers to collect their personal information.

Wide impact

But the ramifications of the PDP Bill 2009 becoming law has great depth and breadth. Foong Cheng Leong, an advocate and solicitor with Lee, Hishammuddin, Allen & Gledhill, sees it even affecting the way ­businesses and other organisations store the personal data of their customers.

He said the contents of the Bill would apply to local and foreign companies ­operating in this country, as long as the personal ­information in question is being processed in Malaysia.

It will require businesses to clearly tell customers that their personal information is being collected, why the data is being amassed, and what they want to do with the details.

"By doing this, the personal information of the customers is protected and it helps to control abuse of the data, such as selling the contact numbers to a third party," said Foong, who specialises in intellectual ­property and information technology legal issues.

"It also forbids the businesses to transfer the personal information outside Malaysia without the consent of the customer or the designated countries which is provided by the personal data protection commissioner," he said.

In this way, the customers will know where their personal information is ­residing.

According to Foong, it would be in the interest of the companies and organisations having people's personal information now to already start ensuring that their data-­collecting mechanisms are in sync with the requirements stated in the Bill.

"For a start, the companies need to ensure that their customer forms have a section that seeks consent from the customers to collect their personal information, as well as stating why the data is needed and what it will be used for," he said.

"Any company that has been collecting such information before the law comes into force must still comply with the provisions of the Bill within three months thereof."

Also, under the Bill, a customer can ask the company, from which he or she has bought products or services from, to show what personal data it has collected on him or her.

But there are exceptions to this rule, according to lawyer Tong Lai Ling, a partner at Raja, Darryl & Loh.

Tong said one exception is when providing that information will disclose confidential commercial data, in which case the company is not obligated to meet the ­customer's request.

"Another exception is when the burden or expense of retrieving the data is disproportionate with the risk to the ­customer's privacy in relation to personal data," she said. Tong has 10 years of ­experience in cyberlaw.

Under the Bill, the collection of sensitive personal data such as medical reports, ­political ­affiliations and religious beliefs is also subject to conditions.

"For example, a housing ­developer cannot ask for a medical report when entering into a sales and purchase agreement with a buyer," she said.

Not perfect

The Bill isn't as encompassing as it could be, said Tong at Raja, Darryl & Loh.

"For example, it only applies to personal data gathered as a result of commercial ­transactions. As such, it would seem that only companies, religious bodies, ­political parties and charitable organisations that engage in ­business will be subject to Personal Data Protection rules if they collect customer data," she said.

The general consensus is that any and every organisation that collects your personal data should be subject to the rules in the Bill.

Also, it is not easy in some ­circumstances to draw a line between commercial and non-commercial transactions, said Foong at Lee, Hishammuddin, Allen & Gledhill.

He and Tong pointed out that according to the Bill, information collected by federal and state governments is not subject to the ­stipulations provided for.

"What if the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) forms a business joint venture with the Government.

"PKNS, created under the Selangor State Development Corporation Enactment, 1964, means it should be treated as a separate legal entity," said Foong.

"But it is not clear whether or not PKNS in such a situation would be bound by the data protection rules in the Bill. A ­similar ­predicament arises with any other local ­authority, statutory body, or state corporate entity."

Also, the fact that the Bill exempts the Government from personal data protection rules should be of great concern to everyone, he said. "The Government is the biggest ­collector of personal data - from the time we are born to the day we die."

Foong believes the Government should play its role as the ­protector of the personal ­information of its citizens.

He said the Government has stated that it has its own mechanism for protecting the ­personal data of its citizens. But it has not revealed if the mechanism is as extensive as that set down in the Bill for the handling of personal data.

The Bill stipulates seven ­principles ­governing the handling of such data - ­covering ­everything from getting permission from the citizen to why the information is needed, to what can be stored, to how long it can be stored, and to how much of it can be shared.

University Malaya's Abu Bakar ­recommends that the Government develop a set of rules and ­regulations, i.e. a code of ­practice, to protect the personal ­information of the rakyat, or have separate ­legislation to that respect.

Last bit

Despite some shortcomings, the Personal Data Protection Bill 2009 is still a good start towards empowering Malaysians to ­maintain their privacy.

When it becomes law, it will need to be finetuned from time to time so that it provides better protection and does not become antiquated.

So, the next time you get an SMS or phone call in the middle of the night or any other time for a free night's stay or another ­unsolicited service or product, it could be the other guy that gets the wake-up call.

Note: The Personal Data Protection Act 2010 has received the Royal Assent on June 2, 2010 which now makes it an Act. However, the Act will only take effect when the Government gazettes it.

NEWS: Making broadband affordable for low-income families

PETALING JAYA: Low-income families across the country can now access the Internet via broadband, without putting a hole in their pockets.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and the Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Ministry have launched a broadband-and-netbook package for these households.

Called the TM Broadband Package with 1Malaysia Computer, the scheme offers a mini computer and access to the Internet at speeds of up to 384Kbps (kilobits per second) for just RM38 a month. The users must sign up for a minimum two-year subscription.

Typically, broadband access is priced between RM90 and RM140 monthly, albeit for the much higher broadband speeds of between 512Kbps and 4Mbps (megabits per second). These packages require users to take up a minimum one-year subscription.

To sweeten the deal for low-income families, TM is allowing them to continue paying the same low rate for broadband for as long as they like, even after the two-year contract expires.

They can also opt for higher speeds now with an incremental fee of RM15 per month for each step up. The step ups are 384Kbps to 512Kbps to 1Mbps to 2Mbps and to 4Mbps max.

The special deal is open to rural households that have a total monthly income of RM3,000 and below, and to urban households that earn a total of RM5,000 or less a month.

TM is targeting villages with populations of less than 10,000 with the package. These include Federal Land Development Authority and orang asli settlements and plantations.

Subscribers have a choice of notebooks - the 1Malaysia Computer notebook, produced by TM in collaboration with local IT company Nadi Ayu Sdn Bhd. Or a Hewlett-Packard Co netbook, but this will cost an extra RM21 a month over two years.

The 1Malaysia machine has an Intel Atom 450 processor and 160-gigabyte hard disk while the HP has the same model chip and a 250GB hard disk.

Both have 1GB of memory, an integrated webcam and WiFi wireless access capability. The machines will be delivered for free to any part of the country.

Also, TM's usual broadband installation and activation fees of RM88 and RM75 respectively, will be waived for the low-income subscribers.

Some 1,500 subscriptions have already been taken up since the launch of the scheme on May 28, said TM.

This latest move by TM and the ministry is part of the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) which seeks to increase broadband penetration in the country,

The scheme for low-income households was launched by Minister of Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim at a ceremony in Jelebu (surf to bit.ly/aizOvS to see where this is), in Negeri Sembilan.

NEWS: How Intel helps bridge the digital divide

PHILANTHROPIC: Intel's Classmate PC programme handed out some 25,000 of the low-cost netbooks to students in Terengganu last year.

PETALING JAYA: You may know Intel as the company that sells those microprocessors that run nearly all personal computers today but did you know that the company runs a philanthropic programme to get technology into the hands of even more people?

According to John Davies, vice-president and general manager of Intel's World Ahead Programme, which was launched in 2006, the chipmaker has committed to invest some US$1bil (RM3.4bil) over five years, with the focus on increasing accessibility, connectivity and education globally.

The programme aims to close the "digital divide" between developed countries with high PC penetration rates and the other two-thirds of the people whose countries have less than 3% PC penetration. The divide refers to the technology haves and have-nots.

"We see the programme from a longer term view. There are about 6.5 billion people in the world, with 4 billion having access to cellphones and more, and we think that over time that many people should also have access to computers," said Davies.

Davies: "Who doesn't need one (a PC) and who wouldn't benefit from one in education or jobs or services, even if they share it in the village, library or school?"

"Who doesn't need one and who wouldn't benefit from one in education or jobs or services, even if they share it in the village, library or school?"

The four goals under the programme are: To provide PCs to those who need them; to then give them access to the Internet via broadband; to educate them on the use of PCs; and to provide related content and services in their native language.

As for placing PCs into more hands, one example is Intel's Classmate PC programme, which has seen some 25,000 of the low-cost netbooks handed out to students in Terengganu last year.

This year alone, 50,000 more Classmate PCs are expected to be handed out in Malaysia, with some 1,000 PCs to be given out to teachers as well.

Intel also works with governments and telecommunications companies to help jumpstart PC ownership programmes that target university students and the underprivileged, amongst others.

One such programme is the recently launched Streamyx Cool Uni Pack where Intel worked with telco giant Telekom Malaysia and the Government to get netbooks into the hands of university students, along with broadband access, for only RM38 a month.

"At least 10 million new computers a year worldwide have been sold or reached people who wouldn't have been able to get them or afford them, had we not started this programme," Davies said.

"The beauty of it is volume economics. If you were to buy something for 100,000 people, you would get a much better price than if you just bought one."

As for the next goal under the World Ahead programme - namely broadband access - Davies said that while WiMAX, which is the chipmaker's latest focus, has not been adopted in every country yet, Intel's promotion of the wireless broadband technology has spurred many telcos to push their own wireless technologies, such as 3G, and to lower broadband service prices.

Intel also realises that it's not enough to just put computers into the hands of students and teachers and to give them access to broadband; training these teachers on how to more effectively use computers and the Web in respect of the school curriculum is also important.

As such, Intel runs education programmes for teachers under its Intel Teach initiative, which aims to do just that. Today, that programme runs in about 60 countries and has trained about seven million teachers on how to better use the PC for education.

NEWS: MDeC builds rendering facility for public use

KUALA LUMPUR: University students, animation companies or animators that need a rendering facility will soon have one to use.

The Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) has built one in Cyberjaya, near here. The facility, which will start operations next month, is the only one in the country that's open to the public.

Housed at the MSC Malaysia Animation and Creative Content Centre, the facility will be equipped with state of the art infrastructure, said Hasnul Hadi Samsuddin, manager of MDeC's creative media department.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visual effects masterclass seminar here, he said the facility is equipped with 120 high-performance servers, each powered by dual quad-core Intel processors, with 80 terrabytes of storage and the latest rendering software.

Even before the facility can be opened to the public, Hasnul said, more than 376 jobs have already been submitted by animation companies in Cyberjaya.

"This was a test. About 100,000 frames of work were rendered and the animation companies were pleased with the results," he said.

The companies were also happy to note that they could process works larger than 100MB in size, at one go. Previously, the works had to be smaller because they had to be rendered on workstations, which took a long time to process large files.

With the opening of the rendering facility, content developers will be able to see the results faster and be able to shorten the time it takes to make changes.

Before this, said Hasnul, animators had to leave their computers running over night to render even a single frame of work. "This is inefficient. With the new facility, this task will be 8x faster."

Since the facility is open for public use, MDeC has put in measures to ensure that it is not abused. According to Hasnul, users will only be allowed into the facility after MDeC verifies them.

Once inside, the users will also only be able to access their own works and will be prevented from even looking at the works of others.

MDeC will brief new users on how to take advantage of the facility.

When it comes to animation students, Hasnul said, MDeC will liase with their lecturers instead.

MDeC declined to reveal the cost of setting up the facility. It has also not decided yet on the fee to charge for the service. MDeC is custodian of the country's MSC Malaysia initiative.

NEWS: Acer to partner with Malaysian firms in digital content

KUALA LUMPUR: Acer Inc, the world's second largest computer maker, expects to form partnerships with Malaysian companies as the firm widens its interest to software and content.

Its president and chief executive officer Gianfranco Lanci said for its new products like the LumiRead, the firm plans to tie up with leading local companies to provide localised digital content.

The partnerships could be on a revenue-sharing basis or other terms, he told reporters from regional media at a global press conference in Beijing, China.

In introducing the LumiRead, an e-reader equipped with 6in display and 2GB Flash memory, and able to hold up to 1,500 books, Acer announced that it has signed agreements with leading bookseller Barnes & Nobles of the United States, Internet book retailer Libri.de of Germany, and digital content provider Founder of China.

Lanci said Taiwan-based Acer is also working with other content providers in other countries but cannot announce the agreements yet.

"For the Asian market, we need localised content for the different countries and will be working with the leading companies in this area," he said, adding that Acer also plans to partner with software firms to provide differernt applications for its new products.

Acer chairman J.T. Wang said the firm intends to remain strong in the computer hardware business but it is also looking into software as it is an area that could drive growth.

Out to nudge HP

"Our involvement in the content business can help Acer to triple its business," he said, adding that the firm has targeted to take the top spot from current global leader the Hewlett-Packard Co in two years.

In the Malaysian market where Acer is already ranked No 1 with a 34% share in the notebook computer market and 27.8% market share in desktop PCs, the firm plans to strengthen its position with new products.

Stating that Malaysia "is very important" and the operations centre for Asia, Lanci said new products like smartphones and mobile Internet devices will be introduced to the market before year end.

He also said that about 30% of Acer's business comes from small and medium businesses (SMBs) and the vendor is targeting this area for growth with its new line of servers that was launched last December.

On the Asia Pacific region, Lanci said the region contributed 20% to Acer's total revenue last year, with 5% coming from China, and it recorded the best performance among the regions.

He said the region is expected to account for 20% this year but from a bigger revenue base, and its contribution to grow to 25% to 30% in three to five years' time, driven by demand in China, India and Indonesia.

At the Beijing event, Acer also announced its clear.fi concept, which is designed to open up any home network and simplify the sharing of all kinds of digital content across different platforms and systems.

The clear-fi console will be pre-installed on all new Acer devices, ranging from notebook computers to smartphones, said Acer's president in charge of product development, Jim Wong. - Bernama

NEWS: Your phone will create an instant community

Nokia has been working on creating a mobile phone feature that connects people with strangers (or friends) in their immediate vicinity.

Nokia Instant Community is a mobile social network fuelled by the people around you. It lets you chat, share content and interact with people close by via your mobile phone.

The concept was jointly created by Tampere University of Technology and the Nokia Research Centre.

It provides an insight into how we might interact with strangers in the future - via social networks and mobile communication. Nokia Instant Community is unique in the fact that it doesn't require mobile users to connect through WiFi, infrared or Bluetooth.

Instead the social network is run using the device's adhoc WiFi (a network that enables two or more devices to connect with each other directly instead of passing through a central access point or wireless router).

"The two apps showcased working on the platform demonstrated how you could instant message with folks nearby, share pictures, songs and contact information along with other content you'd like others to be privy to on your device," explained a post on the Nokia Conversations official blog.

On May 13, Patently Apple website revealed that Apple is also working on a powerful location-based service for the iPhone. Apple was granted the patent that would see service or retail applications temporarily appear on a user's phone when they approach a certain location.

For example, if a user came in the vicinity of a restaurant, a menu for that restaurant would temporarily appear on their device.

The technology could theoretically be used in a similar way to Nokia Instant Community, with near-by users' profiles temporarily popping up when they approach the device.

Nokia Instant Community is still in its research and development phase but you can view the initial concept behind the social network here: bit.ly/bTejSS

To read more about Nokia Instant Community head to: bit.ly/aUhfVA

For more information about Apple's location-based patent visit: bit.ly/b6ayZH - Relaxnews

NEWS: Kajang folk a click away from information

WITH just a click, Kajang residents can know more about the local plan, crime hot spots in Kajang and certain geographical information via an online Geographical Information System (GIS).

Integrated GeoPlanning Sdn Bhd managing director Zaini Nordin gave councillors at the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) full board meeting a preview of the system recently.

Integrated GeoPlanning is a planning and geographical information services company.

He said the company started working on MPKj’s page in October 2009 and completed it in April.

Touch of a button: Zaini giving the councillors a preview of the GIS system.

The cost for the system is borne by the council.

“We started two years ago but, previously, it was a commercial version. Now, we use an open source (non-commercial) version of the engine.

“However, the Kajang GIS is the most comprehensive compared with the others,” he said.

The mapping system is available at Malaysian online mapping portal www.onemapserver.com,

Bangi assemblyman Dr Shafie Abu Bakar and some of the councillors gave suggestions on the additional information and improvements they would like to see in the system.

Other councils in Selangor that have applied this system are the Selayang Municipal Council and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council.

MPKj president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman also said the council would support Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s decision in not allowing premises in the state to be used for football betting.

He echoed Bangi assemblyman Dr Shafie Abu Bakar’s sentiments in supporting Khalid’s decision.

Hence, Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, which was given a sports gaming licence, will not be given a licence to operate in Kajang.