Working, working, even during holidays

Sure this is the case. Employees, especially in the tech sector or those responsible for IT in their companies are worried about taking leave. Why? Because technology development races ahead. They are worried about overflowing in-boxes, when they come back.

"Even when they are on holiday, many staff will work and more than one-third fail to take their full holiday entitlement."

"In the IT sector, managers are fearful about the impact of their absence and 43 per cent will contact their organisation during a holiday because of work overload. A majority - 70 per cent - will also respond to requests from their employer, whilst on holiday."

"Even when these workaholics do make it on holiday, IT managers find it difficult to relax. Almost half regularly check their work emails and 61 per cent monitor voicemail. In an effort to keep in touch with colleagues 61 per cent take away their work mobile phones, 39 per cent take their laptops and 13 per cent regularly visit internet cafes."

Some more data:

"Deadline drama: 29 per cent claimed that the need to meet short-term project deadlines means they have had to work at some point during their holiday. Six per cent added that they lacked confidence in their colleagues' ability to manage during their absence.

Client care: 24 per cent suggested that meeting customer needs override everything else and that letting clients down is never an option. Almost one-fifth (18 per cent) also said they found it hard to 'let go'.

Backlog blues: 23 per cent worry about the amount of work they will face on their return. 57 per cent expect to find 200 plus emails waiting for them and one in three managers admit to dreading returning to a backlog"

So why do employers complain that their employees goof off during work? Wouldn't it be better to take care of their employees?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Mobile phones for US$20

Its getting cheaper. Just one year back, I wrote about the US$80 mobile phone, that also wasn't quite a beauty.

Now, Philips announced that they plan to build a mobile phone that will only cost US$5 to build and can be sold for US$20 to consumers in developing countries.

Still expensive for some countries, however, it seems we are getting closer. Mobile phone growth will then explode even more.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Illegal file sharing promotes legal downloads

Once again, another study comes out supporting those that share music online. Apparently, those who download msuic in a so-called illegal manner are also heavy buyers of real, legitimate and legal music.

My conclusion of why they do this? It is clear that people go online and want to test music first. I don't want to go to a shop and buy a CD, or download music and have to pay for it, if I am not quite certain if I like the music.

Could it be that illegal downloads are something like the free tester of cosmetics ware that you find in the perfumeries?

Anyway, the study suggests that "rather than taking legal action against downloaders, the music industry needs to entice them to use legal alternatives. According to the music industry, legal downloads have tripled during 2005." The study also found that regular downloaders of unlicensed music 4 times more monthly on legal digital music compared to those by other music fans.

Hello, music industry, wake up call at hand! How many more studies do we need before you change course?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Credibility of newspapers and magazines

Journalists are hard-pressed not only for time but for real great stories that allows the magazine or newspaper to compete in a shrinking environment.

Well, what to do? Take pictures from one of the many social networks, and just say or write that you actually interviewed the person.

Credibility is sometimes left behind, the story is more important.

It happened. "a front-page column at a small North Carolina paper has apparently been lifting photos from such websites. And you really wonder, why people don't believe what has been written and people reporting becomes more credible?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

The future of mobile phones

The link goes to Smart Mobs and their write up about AO 2005 Summit.

The future of mobile phones looks as follows:

1.) The youth use mobile differently to baby boomers, they’re more comfortable using the phone and don’t see the need for a landline. The youth will start watching television on the available screen.

2.) Mobile phones are social integrators, especially in Asia. "in Japan if you walk around you will see hundreds of young people with mobile phones of all different levels of complexity, because that is the primary mode of communication."

3.) In a few years time, we will have phones with 80-100 GB of memory.

Say halleluljah! Give me Five.

But if you follow this blog, you will see the emerging trends, diverging, and converging, slowing and bursting but ever so exciting!

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Being fast with the world's fastest computer

These are numbers. "In the world of computers, it promises to be the biggest, fastest, and most mindboggling, of them all. Officials in Japan yesterday announced that they intend to build a supercomputer that will operate 73 times faster than the current top computer. Number one at the moment is IBM's Blue Gene computer, in California, capable of handling 136.8 trillion mathematical calculations a second, or 136.8 teraflops. The Japanese machine, which could cost up to US$900m, would leave it standing."

Pretty fast, I would say. And think of the effects on research, new health and pharmaceutical developments, nanotechnology, and so on. Amazing possibilities.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

TV reporters are everywhere

There are already those amateur videoclips that record certain behaviour and which suddenly make it to the news. The most famous one was actually the one in the US with Rodney, something, something (I forgot this one now) a few years back.

So far, so incidences haven't been that common.

A next step in the evolution was the usage of cameraphones that can be used to catch offenders of all kind.

Anyways, the current state of technology made it difficult to move a stage ahead, but videotaping events via phones could become a norm in the future.

In Korea, a taxidriver was assaulted by a reporter and had the nerve to tape the incidence. "Korea’s three major broadcasters _ KBS, MBC and SBS _ all aired part of the video clip on the news programs and it also spread through the Internet, causing an uproar."

This can be the future of broadcasting, clearly. This requires responsibility of course, on site of the users, but would add spices to so far frequently boring newscasts. What is needed, nevertheless, is of course technology that is cutting edge and a tech-savvy population.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Wow - Korea moves on Free Mobile Broadcasting

This is what I call a bold leap forward.

Free broadcasting services to handheld devices like cell phones may be offered in selected areas of Korea.

"The service, called terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), enables people on the road to enjoy crystal-clear video, theater-like audio and receive data via handheld devices."

No worries that it is free as I believe an industry will start developing around the services and form clusters. How to take clear market leadership? By uprooting all potential competitors with a great leap forward.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Chatters have to have real names

First, there was Thailand, which had the idea to register prepaid mobile phone users. Malaysia picked up on the idea (may be it came up by herself).

Korea furthered the idea and came up with a registration system requiring internet users to use their real names.

And now it is China's turn - China, that already requires bloggers to register or be shut down, has the great idea that instant messenger users register their real names. The Chinese protest against it, and there are a lot of potential protesters.

The mainland's dominant instant messenger portal, QQ, requires that organisers and governors of chat groups register their real names. This has triggered a storm of protest among users. QQ has more than 400 million registered users, and membership is required to take part in its chat groups.

Ooopsa.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Driven to distraction by technology

This is not one of those typical articles that bash employees for misusing the e-mail or similar.

It is clear that we all are distracted by too much noise around us - noise from Instant Messages, an ongoing flood of e-mails, conversations around us and so on.

It is the management of information that is more crucial than ever. Do you respond to e-mail immediately or do you take some time. Do you immediately respond to an SMS, even so you are busily working on a project due tomorrow?

This article blows into the same horn and says that we are too often interrupted.

Apparently, tThe typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. The problem is that it takes about eight uninterrupted minutes for our brains to get into a really creative state."

And as such, this is serious. Someone from IBM is quoted in the article as saying that ""If you don't have that sort of free time to dream and muse and mull, then you are not being creative, by definition."

So dream on - it might be the way forward.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Big brother is sharing data

Ooopsa, there is something ongoing in Australia. "Unprecedented volumes of personal information on millions of ordinary Australians are being shared between federal government departments under dramatic extensions of a little-known "data matching" scheme."

And they are detailed in their data collection - there is information about your religious affiliation and possible criminal conviction. This is okay, if you want to prevent terrorist attacks, but why should the tax department know about your religion? Do they think they are competing against churches, mosques or temples - pun intended.

Imagine, the fun, a hacker could have who is able to hack into the system Talk about identity theft. Or, if data gets accidentally lost or leagued on the web. Scary, because it happens.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Its raining ads, halleluljah, its raining ads

Japan brings it to the top. This is the country, where skipping commercials on television might be illegal, and now, well, they are going to let advertisement rain on you.

Its a mock of course and this is how it works: "A projector on a tall tripod shows images of raindrops hitting the ground and making ripples, in hopes that people will enter the "rainy" area and hold out their palms.

A camera tracks the entrants' movements and sends the data to connected computers. Then the projector shoots out a round-shaped advertisement -- which can post words such as "SALE" -- right onto their hands."

How relevant will this be to the consumer, besides a moment of excitement - an excitement, that might last one time, two times, but if you are more often exposed to it, how will you react? Isn't it just another form of overwhelming the consumer?

The folks of NTT, who developed the system, don't think so. They say that "rain" can be a perfect draw for customers. "It's quite natural that you hold out your palm when it starts raining," said Yoko Ishii, a chief researcher in the human interaction project.

"People jot things down on their palms. The palm is the information tool closest to humans," she said."

I really don't know. I would buy an umbrella and take it along even if the sun is shining.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

It is growing: China's online presence

Is it a wonder that companies engaged in the Internet business start drooling when it comes to China?

"The number of Web users in China, the world's second largest Internet market, grew by nine million people in the first half of this year to hit 103-million."

While this is a nice number taken alone, 20% of those also purchased products online already. And this is a country where infrastructure and delivery is all but certain. Overall, this equals US$1.2 billion - quite good in a country of so-called low wages. Online gaming is the sector to be in: "The burgeoning online gaming market proved especially lucrative, with Internet gamers spending close to US$500 million on virtual equipment for their online alter-egos in the first six months of 2005."

Talk about money!

(By Asia Business Consulting)

VoIP - consumers don't care about low quality

It is the typical encumbent thinking and really, it is amazing, how ignoring market leaders can be.

Everybody knows that landlines are far superior to Voice Over the Internet or VoIP services. Just try it and even with Skype, voice is still fading out,every now and then.

This is no reason for incumbent telecommunications companies to cheer and say that their model is superior and they will never be endangered.

Okay, the article doesn't put it this way, but indirectly indicates the fact by saying that Web-based services are inferior.

"Internet-based telephone services are still very inferior to traditional phone connections in reliability and sound quality, according to an extensive study that judged Vonage and AT&T CallVantage best among the top providers."

So what? There are customers that are happy with low-quality and sooner or later, those companies migrate upwards, entering the space of those dominant companies. And then, one can see those companies struggling, defending and giving up segments of the market to those new entrants. Want to bet?

Companies need to learn to listen to consumers, don't think that they know all, and try to define, what the consumer should think. This would be a recipe for failure - but a recipe still used much too often.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Mobile phones competing with fashion

The study that is linked here makes it clear that retailers must start to rethink their business model. It simply declares that "Devices such as cell phones, handheld computers and MP3 players are threatening the traditional hold of the apparel industry on the spending priorities of the country's 15- to 24-year-olds."

This is fascinating, but it was clear that it would come. As a mobile phone buyer in this age group, you only have so and so much money available. Mobile phones, that are attractive and equipped with some advanced functions are not cheap - and savvy users know what they want. Subsequently, the money that is spend on a mobile phone is taken from somewhere else - from clothes, or may be we skip the burger from McDonalds or the new CD that we can also download from the web.

Its that easy. Is it? No, it is not. Those protecting their turf don't usually see competitive forces entering their markets, breaking down barriers.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Google, Google, Google - as simple as that

Google's revenues soar to record highs - and it is called a giant already. Its "its quarterly profit more than quadruple, propelled by a rise in online search advertising."

However, is there an end in side? "There "was not as much upside as some had hoped", said Marianne Wolk, internet analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group."

Yahoo signed a similar growth recently, but shareholders dumped the shares. "Yahoo actually beat Wall St. estimates for second quarter growth but, as shown by the hit share prices took on after-hours trading, investors expected them to smash analysts' estimates."

And that is what is normal. I remember when Yahoo's shares hit US$300 - when was that? 4 , 5 or 6 years back. This was the time of the bubble and may be, just may be, no, I don't want to say it. But the law of big numbers is still valid. This means, it is impossible to grow at big numbers.

You can see that Google is searching for higher hanging fruits already - the easy fruits are gone. There is their powerline investment, rumours about Skype, the entering of markets and strengthening of its position. It won't change. What goes up, must come down. The question is, when?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Nepalese want their phonelines back

Back in February, the king of Nepal seized power and the day following, he disallowed mobile phone usage.

Now the Nepalese are angry - pre-paid mobile users in the country have decided to take to streets demanding resumption of their mobile phone services. Apparently, the government has still barred 173,200 pre-paid mobile users from the service citing security reasons.

That could be a huge demonstration, but enough to get them back onto the screen?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

419 scammers busted

Okay, people fall for scammers and sometimes, they actually don't believe that they have been fallen victim.

In the meantime, however, it should be known for anybody who ever surfed the net that there are guys out there, that want your money. They try to get it by sending you an e-mail announcing that they are the victim of ...., or son of the president ..., former president ..., whatever. And they are writing in bad, bad English. It was always difficult to get them - law enforcement in Nigeria is not very efficient, but now, well, a major bust took place.

The Register writes that "The FBI and Spanish police have arrested 310 people in Malaga, Spain in connection with a €100m bogus (email) lottery scam run by Nigerian gangs. It is the biggest 419 bust in history, and may result in drastic reductions of scam mails." I sure hope for that!

Well, I mentioned, that anybody surfing the net should be aware of those scammers. Apparently not. The same article says that "the scam claimed over 20,000 victims in 45 countries including Britain, France, Germany, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and a number of Arabic countries." Talk about stupidity or greed.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Depegging the Ringgit, floating the Yuan

There are plenty of articles on the web describing the impact of the recent move of the Central Bank in Malaysia, the depegging of the Ringgit away from its current exchange rate of RM3.80 to US$1 and the float of the Chinese Yuan to
8.2765.

So let me summarise this, plus include some own points of view. It is open to discussion.
What can be stated so far:

Malaysia

• It was a clear reaction to China's move to unpeg the Yuan
• It has been decided months ago by the Malaysian government that the moment, the Chinese government reacts with its currency, Malaysia would follow immediately
• It is clear that this gives the Central Bank a freer hand in managing inflation. Inflation in Malaysia grew over the last couple of months and was above the interest rate of banks - the effect was that savers lost money. Inflation was cost-based - imported - thus, it wasn't possible to battle against it, if the peg remains. Inflation didn't increase because of excessive demand from the population. Following the depegging of the Ringgit, it is also expected that interest rates will increase in the coming months (may be after the next increase of Basis Points by the Feds in the US next month).
• Clearly, it is a relief for many companies that are dependent on imports of raw material, since their cost will be reduced. Initially not significant, but at least by some percent - crucial in today's environment. Companies that borrowed money overseas will be happy. One such company is Tenaga Nasional, already announced that the will gain from the move, since it is Malaysia's biggest foreign currency borrower. The electronics industry in Penang will also sigh with relief. The media industry will be less burdened with newsprint costs while the automotive industry will experience a lower spending on imported parts
• Companies that export products with cost nominated in Ringgit will experience some negative effects - the plantation industry is an example. The price for palm oil has already dipped on the world market, however, ongoing demand will push prices to higher demand again in the nearer future. Airliners, such as Air Asia, and even MAS should announce cost savings from the move, since their operations are dollar-based

China

• The appreciation of the Yuan is only 2% - not much compared to the demands and calls by European and German governments for an increase of up to 40%. However an immediate upgrade cannot be expected, since this would great turmoil in the economy. Nevertheless, the US government calls this small increase "baby steps". But let's say that this is also aimed at easing upcoming trade negotiations between the Chinese government and the US government during an upcoming visit
• The move by the Chinese government will (as stated by the government) increase its monetary independence, it says it also improves its effectiveness of financial controls, help maintain the basic balance of imports and exports to improve trade conditions, stabilize prices and cut corporate costs - that's a mouthful, isn't it? The move could nonetheless help Chinese exporters' profits by cutting costs for imported oil, iron ore and other raw materials whose prices have been surging in dollar terms. Probable also pushes up the price of Chinese exports to the United States and Europe, however Wal-Mart and other US retailers don’t yet see a major impact on their prices
• The Chinese government will not reveal the composition of its currency basked, to avoid currency speculation - a good move.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Unocal Accepts Chevron's Raised Bid

It is a sad end for the bid that Cnooc made for Unocal a couple of weeks ago.

It was clear that the bid would run into opposition from members of Congress who say selling a U.S. oil company to a Chinese firm could threaten national security.

Now, Unocal accepted a lower offer from a more American company - Chevron. Even so their bid is still below the one from CNOOC.

I don't know if you can combine the issues, but what was it again that the US wanted from the Chinese government with regard to the devaluation of the Yuan? Or that is always asked in trade negotiations - open your markets? Or when US companies enter markets in a big wave, via acquisitions?

I have nothing against those, of course not. But I am very strongly for an equal footing in world trade. And I am not sure if this has been achieved here.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Internet real name system in Korea

After recent incidences of cyber-bullying in Korea, proponents of a system that forces South Korean Web surfers to provide their identification data to make online postings became stronger.

And the majority for such system is strong and growing. However it surely is no solution to the menace. It is a cultural phenomen and rather needs to be addressed via education - how to behave in the Internet, and what can happen if you slander.

Moreover, it is possible, anyway, to identify rogue users, via the individual IP number, even so it is more difficult if users use a public computer from, for example, a cybercafe.

Nevertheless, a growing internet usage should also give ground to growing self-regulation of users. If rogue messages are ignored, rogue users have not much fun in posting them anymore.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Skype - its great, but is it a partner for Google?

Skype has been hyped as the killer of the telecommunications companies. Their business model is free and crystal-clear Internet telephony, and let's put the emphasis here on free.

On their webpage they are tooting a total of 137,998,733 downloads (and by the time I finish this, it might have hit 138 millions).

They have paid services, but one only needs to pay, once you decide to call a fixed line or a mobile phone via Skype. Currently, there is a negligible 1.7 million users that use their paid service.

Since their fees are low, it is clear that they want to make money via big numbers on top of it - this is where the 138 million downloads come it, but I don't understand, why anyone would convert to paid service anyway - especially since there are competitors that offer free services. And free users are easy switchers - once they don't see the value, they might switch, especially since Skype works with a username and not a number (for which you have to pay!). It is easy to get the same username from other providers as well.

Okay, stop rambling.

Skype might be an acquisition target. Skype's CEO Niklas Zennstrom says that he hopes for a portal partner and why not Google. Google doesn't have an instant messaging client compared to a Microsoft or Yahoo, nor does it have a voIP service, making it a possible suitor of Skype, should the startup be interested in being sold, and should Google want to get into the instant messaging and voIP business.

There are different stories around Skype as well. Like the one that speculates if Skype goes into the video phone business. It apparently envisions attracting billions with the help of video phones even so the technology is not yet there.

So let's see how it goes, shall we? It is sure that Skype is an interesting business model - if sustainable is not clear, but it has great ambitions, and is in a space for which many companies have expressed interest. So sooner or later it will go away - probably and become a different animal altogether - but this is speculation.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

China and India - why is there a difference in the development stage

The linked article is a very data and number heavy comparison between the two Asian powerhouses India and China in the online market, and why China is so much ahead of India - currently. Ahead, despite all the restrictions that the government imposes on all those pesky online users and companies.

I mean, look at the numbers mentioned: "The number of Web users in China has expanded sevenfold in eight years to 94 million. India, whose population of 1.1 billion is close to China's, has 24 million Internet users. Yahoo employs 600 people in China, 10 times as many as in India." Goodness, this is a lot.

There are certain valid reasons for this advanced position, underlined by a vivid investment level of the government in China.

"The Chinese government has paved the way for Internet growth by investing $138 billion in telecommunications networks in the past five years, even as it bans online content on topics from democracy to the Falun Gong spiritual movement." And this is just one reason.

Thus, India, with its democratic government and free press, is so far behind China in developing its Internet market because of the gaps in the Indian structure that is much more spotty seen across the country.'

Here is another one: "India's lower incomes and shortage of phone lines explain the gap. China had 667 million active fixed- and mobile-phone lines at the end of 2004 - about one for every 1.9 people. India has about one for every 11 people."

The number of Web users in China has expanded sevenfold in eight years to 94 million. India, whose population of 1.1 billion is close to China's, has 24 million Internet users."

Yahoo employs 600 people in China, 10 times as many as in India. Google is entering and expanding, and I mentioned other companies' strategies that already followed. Once you have reached the tipping point, things just go your way.

This doesn't count India out, of course. I wouldn't like to separate or underestimate the influence of both countries on the world economy. What makes it even more important for any company operating in Asia to really understand Asia.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

3G in Taiwan - nothing needed more than Girls, Gambling and Games

Another set of mobile communications companies is desperate to get consumers to use their 3G services. This time, it is Taiwan, which follows similar descriptions in Europe or Malaysia.

Apparently, companies offer all kind of services partially for free to lure consumers. Chungwa Telecom Co. Ltd., a leading mobile provider, has been offering handsets for as little as US$0.03 to subscribers of its new 3G services.

Not many take the offer up. "The telecom operators might have to take a tip from a local daily that claims ‘3G’ stands for ‘Girls, Gambling and Games’ as these things might help lure customers," this is what the newspapers write and may be there is some truth in it.

Anyway, current 3G service uptake is very much restricted to "stock prices, online trading, sending pictures, downloading ringtones, wallpaper and games" - things one could also get with GRPS.

Favourite usage of mobile phones? The usual as well: "More than 76 percent mobile subscribers use their handsets only for phone calls while barely 18 percent used the GPRS features."

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Harry Potter - I haven't learnt much about the Internet

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one best selling book. The stories about Joanna "JK" Rowling' darling is fascinating to many of us. The publishing of the book last week was the culmination of very secret process, all in order to avoid that pirates would take the book and well, rib off some revenues from the legal sale through the bookshops. That is also the reason why there is no e-book of the bestseller

But this means that the publishers and JK Rowlings haven't learnt much about the workings of the Internet. There is a market for anything on the Internet - so their argument that e-books are not commonly used is at best very weak.

Now, of course, the cat is out of the sack, or better, the book is available. As stated:


"In a joint-effort the pirates are now meeting in dedicated IRC channels with imaginative names such as #pottermania or #potterwork to spread the work of scanning and proofreading."

"Less than 24h after the book hit the shelves, it had been scanned in, run through optical character recognition software, proofread and posted."

Well, that is how the music industry got into problems, and this is where Harry's publishers could have learnt something from.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Snap me if you can: Camera phones to be used to catch traffic offenders

Take care of how you drive. This could be the newest motto in Malaysia. Here, a webpage called Pandu Cermat has been launched where pictures of traffic offenders will be posted. Who is asked to sumbit those pictures? The public - they can snap traffic offenders on their handphone or camera and send it to the Hall of Shame section of a newly launched road safety website.

Malaysia is not the first country where this is happening - I think there are some places in the US where this is also happening. In Germany, the public has been invited to participate in crime hunts as well by snapping pictures of potential suspects.

And whatever it is clear that digital cameras, and cameraphones are uniquely equipped to be used for such purposes.

There was already the women who ">snapped a picture of a flasher, instead of being shocked. Other situations are mentioned in the same article: "A 15-year-old boy foiled a kidnapping attempt by using a cellphone to take photos of man trying to lure him into a car. The boy also snapped a photo of the car's license plate, leading police to a suspect."

Back to Malaysia. There are dangers in taking pictures of a traffic offenders. Many might just do this while driving - so watch out for cars that veer off in front of you. It is tough to shoot a traffic offender committing the offense. There are always the few seconds to wait to get the camera ready - it is not possible to ask the offender to just do it again, and may be include a smile. Additionally, there is the increasing phenomen of road rage - how would those react whose picture has been taken? Already, people are beaten up just because they took pictures during weddings.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Sue, if harrassed in cyberspace

Another story, this time from Korea, where someone complains about the influence of the Internet on his life. It sounds vaguely similar to the story that I wrote about this morning.

A guy in Korea claims to have been bullied in cyberspace after his girlfriend committed suicide.

"He asked the portals to withdraw the malicious messages circulating by e-mail and on official documents right after discovering that erroneous information about him had been spread over the Internet. But the portals failed to take actions to stop the posting of messages. The alleged victim claims he had to quit work and school as harassing messages concerning his girlfriend’s suicide spread rapidly over the Internet in May."

This is a case where things can go bad, but of course, this also could happen in the time before the Internet. Also, of course, everything happens faster through the Internet - news spreads faster. However it is not possible to blame the ISP, because they are just the transmitter. It is impossible to control news on the web, once it is out. And if someone tries to even take action against it, well, it might even create a bigger buzz. For better or worse.

This story is somewhat comparable to story of the girl who was made famous in Korea by an action of her dog. Or, shall I say, by her inaction regarding the mess that her dog made.

"It began in a subway train with a girl whose dog made a mess on the train floor. When nearby elders told her to clean up the mess, she basically told them to fuck off. A nearby enraged netizen then took pictures of her and posted it, without any masking, on a popular website which started a nationwide witchhunt."

Over time, her identity became known, parodies were written and all. This is the negative power of the Internet, clearly, although, her reaction to the action of her dog is also bad.

Two stories that are related in their message - the Internet is regulating itself, for better or worse. Only that you cannot blame the Internet.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

11-year-old sells 500,000 household items in auction

It is amazing what kind of stories the media comes up with. This one reports about an 11-year od kid who sold all of his parents household belongings - a total of 500,000 items, as mentioned in the article.

Their stuff, worth US$60,000, was sold for US$242 in an Internet auction - the money then was spend in an Internet bar over the next 2 weeks.

And it is here, where the story begins to become questionable. They are writing that he sold the household goods over a period of 2 weeks. Hello? Where were the parents? In holiday? Too busy making money? Just not seeing what is happening? Not likely, considering the mum is seen in the rooms (see the pictures in the story).

Lets just say, it is one of those stories .... - but then, we already had imaginative kid who staged their own kidnapping to get a mobile phone. Pick your choice.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Monitoring chatrooms

In some countries there are calls to register prepaid telephone cards. In others, such as Australia, calls are extended to monitor conversations in chatroom in order to prevent adults preying on kids. Earlier, some years ago, Microsoft closed their chatrooms to curb paedophile threat.

The intention is positive, for sure, but the effect is doubtful.

It is nearly impossible to monitor all the conversations and it would surely also increase the commercial burden of those providing the service. Nevermind this one. It is much more likely that adults preying on children would find another way to prey on their victims as well. Kids will find a way to initiate conversations with friends. Basically, there are ways around any monitoring service - and this is the danger in any of such monitoring devices, because those devices might give the parents the feeling that their children are protected. They are not. It would be more useful to educate the children. Just like we educate the children not to talk to strangers, don't go into a car of a stranger, don't take seets from strangers and so on and so on. Educate children to use the Internet in a smart way. Let them be a smart Internet user. And, along the way, develop relations with your children. Then, there is no need for more and more monitoring and registering.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Really? Women know something about mobile phones?

This could be one of the most "amazing" (pun intended) mobile phone studies around. I wonder if there was any money that exchange hands, because, well, the conclusions are so simple that you wonder if it wasn't better to just think smartly, observe and come to the same conclusions.

The main conclusion is that women are savvy users of mobile phones. And no, they don't like pink phones (I wonder who thought this one out!) - "The report seems almost disappointed that the ladies weren't lining up to register their approval of pretty pink phones with sparkly bits on, with half of all respondents stating that mobile phone accessories are unnecessary 'fashion gimmicks.'"

In fact, women were even able to buy their own mobile phones, without asking the stronger sex.

"One-third of women trust their own judgment when buying a phone, with the rest asking their husband, boyfriend, or a sales assistant."

In fact, they are really good at their phone: "Women are confident mobile phone users with a "sound knowledge and overview of mobile communications when buying mobile phones, using handsets and services and in many daily mobile communication applications."

And, believe it or not, they are really like other humans: "Women - just like the other half of the human race - are price conscious, with the operator's tariff being ranked as the most important criteria (71 percent) for purchase, followed by the handset price (66 percent)"

Vodafone commissioned the study in Europe and well, at least they do know now as well that women are smart!!

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Malaysian mobile habits

The New Sunday Times brought quite an interesting piece on Malaysia's mobile phone habits, clearly stating, that more and more people are so used to their mobile phone that they simply cannot live without one. They are described as being so addicted to it (ha - here we got that word) that they don't even want to go to the restroom without it. A girl is quote as saying that, after she lost her phone, she couldn't sleep, or function at all anymore, since her whole life was in the mobile phone. "Universiti Putra Malaysia counsellor Associate Prof Dr Mohamed Fadzil Che Din is not surprised. He says that "It is one of the ‘non-drug’ addictions that is growing with the rapid advancements in information technology." "The handphone has become more than just a communication device."

The numbers quoted in the article are a bit messy, so. "While calls and text messages remain the top functions, the contact list was voted top favourite by almost 15 per cent." Isn't this normal? However, it confirms an earlier statement, that mobile communication companies still face issues in pushing new technologies.

Nevermind also that only 47 people were interviewed, which leaves the study exposed to a high statistical margin of error.

The annecdotal stories are interesting of course, but I believe, you can also pick and chose stories that you want. May be Malaysians are used to communicate a lot, and may be they like to take it everywhere they go. There are probably individual cases of addiction - or, excessive usage. But the majority will be "normal" - as it is the case with everything - and we can treat those with addiction well.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Commercial ads in Japan - skipping illegal?

You must be pretty desparate as an industry when you want to force your consumers to watch your commercials.

Okay, I admit, the industry is desparate. In the US, they have to face TiVo and other digital recorders, which allows an easy skipping and you only have to watch what you really want to watch.

Where this is not possible, viewers simply go to get a drink from the fridge or visit the restroom. I, for one, lower the volume, and read a book, to commercials.

Will Japanese be forced to watch commercials? Broadcasters here are saying that "skipping commercials is actually a violation of that country's Copyright Law."

I say, how low can you go to push your viewers to switch off totally. More will go online and download programs from programs. Let's hope that the industry won't find a way to make us watch their annoying online ads that become trickier as well over the years.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Podcasting - Just because it is rocking...

Podcasting is the newest wave in the Internet. "Podcasts are recorded audio files, distributed via Internet download. They can be stored on computers or digital music players and played back whenever the listener chooses. Like bloggers, podcasters can sound off on whatever they please - from politics and religion to gladiolas and glass-blowing."

Frequently, it is free, and it often involves someone speaking to the audiences, or small captures of a life in a household. Anything is possible but the key word is free.

The media industry is looking at it and is jealous. They have missed so many boats in recent years and this time, after the downloading craze, and the blogging phenomen, they want to get it right.

What is right for them is to make money on something that is growing rapidly. "If anyone is positioned to win big on podcasting, it's Apple, which added an iPod directory that features more than 3,000 podcasts to the company's iTunes music-download site on June 28. Apple said more than a million podcasts were downloaded in the first two days the service was active. "

There are however questions regarding the inclusion of music as the recording industry, of course, don't want to repeat "earlier mistakes".

It is an interesting development, actually also indicating that the business model of traditional radio stations are under threat, that users want to connect with each other, and that the Long Tail involved yet another industry with may be new players emerging.

It is of course, also possible that too many companies try to get involved and then, we end up with another 1999 bubble as a possibility.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Check to whom you link - Part 2

A couple of weeks I wrote about a case where a minor "a minor has been prosecuted in Australia by the Federal Government for linking to a website alleged to be involved in copyright infringement."

Now, in a different but related case "major record labels in Australia have finally won a legal battle against a Queensland man and his Internet Service Provider for alleged music piracy," which was the first time of such a judgement in Australia.

This means that there still is no clear cut response to file-sharing and copyright infringements. Some countries say, it can be done, in others, users are prosecuted, or the law is expanded to picture-posting.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Another stupid study on employees misusing the bad, bad Internet

It's a US Statistic, but it might as well be correlated to Asian, or European workers, or employees elsewhere.

A study by America Online and Salary.com found that United States workers are goofing off for two hours a day, trawling the internet or jawing with co-workers, costing their employers US$759-billion a year.

Reasons mentioned personal internet use, including e-mail, instant messaging and chat rooms. Another 23% of those polled preferred running down the clock by socialising with co-workers.

So, is there anything that should be said thereabout? Of course. It is stupid. Employees are expected to be available 24/7, even during holidays, are under more work pressure than ever, companies downsize and so on and so on. Is it now expected to dedicate their whole life to the company? Not enough that there are plenty of controls anyway, but we shouldn't forget that employees are happier and more productive with the freedom to surf. Control only decreases productivity and hey - may be we are working while we play?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

India - its rise doubles your competition

In another sign of a growing importance of Asia, India has entered the top ten league of the world's largest economies.

"According to the latest World Bank report, India jumped two places to number 10 in ‘04 (from number 12 in ‘03) in GDP terms. India notched up a GDP of US$692bn, is growing at over 6% annually and can be expected to move further up the rankings."

China is said to be at number 7 in the ranking, however, globally, the world actually believes it to be number 3 or 4 already and last year, reports occurred indicating that it overtook Germany in size already. I believe it is a matter of definition.

Doesn't matter, does it? What counts is that those economies open up to trade, grow dynamically, manage their economy very well, eradicate poverty along the way and give entrepreneurs the opportunity to try it out on their own.

A new company is established in China every 11 minutes.

With the growing emergence of India, consider this number as nearly doubled. Double the competition, with a similar market size. What are you going to do about it?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Running wild - I am the buddy of Bill Gates

They chat with each other constantly and search for advice, whenever needed.

A boy in India, just 18 years old, claims to work for Microsoft as "“Immenient (sic) Chief Executive Officer of Technology.” He is a busy guy, working hard, in other areas as well, and this was the reason, why he couldn't accept Bill's US$5,000 a week offer.

Problem is - it is all in his imagination. Microsoft is not aware of him, and states that he is not an employee of the company at all.

Well, this is one way to run your life. Vivid imagination, a business card, and some dubious claims - or just a case of sleep depreviation? Only that it will only last that long....

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Sleepless nights and Internet addiction

It appears that internet addiction is a recent hot topic, with the number or articles and studies trying to confirm something that is actually manageable - if you are aware of your patterns.

May be some are aware of their patters, since Internet addiction is said to be on the decline in Korea. "12.6 percent of the respondents (in a survey on Internet addiction) said they were addicted to the Internet, down from 14.7 percent surveyed last year even without special treatment.

Sad thing is that they increasingly suffer from sleepless nights. Why? It is indirectly indicated in the article which says that "a majority of them go online regularly for long hours at night," probably swapping their family ties with online friends.

Of course - once surfing, its hard to fall asleep, until you find the last page of the Internet.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Spam keeps growing, and users still fall for it

It is really impossible. What is it about those people that still fall for spam and buy the stuff advertised? The subject lines of spam are spelled wrongly, a multitude of spammers advertise the same product, there are warnings about spam from consumer protection groups and tech sides, spammers are sent to prison, and still - those spammed still buy, giving spammers a great life (as long as it lasts!)!!

"11 percent of computer users have bought something touted by spam, and 9 percent have been ripped off by spam scams."

How can this be the case? Can it be that 11% of the population just doesn't get it - I mean, even China is committing itself to fight against spam (pun intended)? Do they deserve to be ripped off? (Not really). I really would like to know if there is anyone out there who knows of someone who successfully bought from such companies - if one can call them companies.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Spyware and adware definitions - the consumer doesn't care

"Anti-spyware vendors and consumer groups took a stab at issuing uniform definitions for "spyware" and "adware" in hopes of giving computer users more control over their machines.

The definitions seek clarity that could help improve anti-spyware products, educate consumers and fend off lawsuits from developers of software that sneaks onto computers."

So much for the postive news. At least they talk. But would it bring anything, at least as of now?

"The coalition flags as potential threats - an umbrella definition that includes spyware, adware and other categories such as "hijackers" and "cookies" - programs that:

-impair users' control over their systems, including privacy and security;

-impair the use of system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or

-collect, use and distribute personal or otherwise sensitive information."

But they couldn't agree on a to clarify a key issue - is adware a form of spyware or not?

Is it not? They discuss about definitions, which is fine. But anything that is not taking the consumer into consideration. And the consumer doesn't see a difference between adware and spyware. It is bothering them, and after this meeting, it seems likely that the only way is to keep going as they currently do - change their online behaviour and be more alert.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Driving and Yakking = Accident

A conversation while driving is not bad. We all do it, from time to time. But there is probably a difference between talking to a person that is in the car and to talk to a person on the phone.

Reason being, as far as I am aware of it, is that the person on the line doesn't observe the traffic and keeps chatting in case of emergency situations.

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests that using a hands-free device instead of a hand-held phone while behind the wheel will not necessarily improve safety.

So even that is not that good. It is probably the searching for the headset and the process of connecting it that makes it dangerous, since it distracts. There are even people that text away on the wheel. Reading incoming messages or responding to it, swerving dangerously across lanes.

So simply put: It is easy to stop the car for a while - at a place that doesn't distract traffic. Or just tell the person on the other end that you get back to them in a few minutes!

(By Asia Business Consulting)

.mobi suffix for mobile users - all because of frustration?

We get a new domain suffix, the .mobi suffix. Specifically made for those who access the Internet wirelessly as it will contain special websites prepared for small screens, limited memory and bandwidth.

The reason behind?

Is it frustration that mobile users still only use their mobile phone for SMS and voice services?

Those who pushed for the suffix - and we talk about companies such as Hutchison 3, GSM Association, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone - say in a statement: "As .mobi will encourage the usage of advanced functionalities in mobile devices, the market potential for those devices will increase." Always this damn consumers, right?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Texting the unrest in the Philippines

The are called the Global Capital of Texting. And they text a lot. So much in fact that former president Joseph Estrada was toppled in 2001 by protests that were organised and orchestraed via SMS.

Now they are at it again. The Philippines are in a political crisis, and messages are "on the move", spreading rumours, and real news.

All this shows governments that they need to be able to manage news in a much faster way than traditionally done. It is no longer enough to wait for a suitable time to call the press to release an official news or press release. The news is permanent, urgent, needs constant monitoring in cyberspace and instant reaction from leaders and governors. Off- and onsite.

Otherwise, unwanted messages get out of hand, into cyberspace, and then, there is hardly any stopping. Just ask President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who tries to claw her way out of a crisis or Erap, the former Philippine President. Or just see how tough it was to get the messages under control in the recent spat between China and Japan.

The world has changed - have you woken up already?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Internet rules - newspapers lose

This is interesting - just yesterday did I have a write-up about the changing habits of Internet users and their media usage, but it was very much related to China, which might be a somewhat special case, as outlined.

Now, the trend has been confirmed in Korea as well - where the Internet rules, traditional newspaper loses out.

"Readers, who once leafed through morning newspapers, now prefer to click on to major portals like www.naver.com, www.yahoo.co.kr or www.daum.net, where they can peruse articles from dozens of newspapers listed under these portal sites."

The impact is dramatic. "Newspapers have lost both subscription and advertising revenues. Subscriptions fell from 57 percent of South Koreans aged between 15 to 60 during 2000 to 41 percent last year. The ads spent on the country's 140 newspapers fell 7.7 percent."

So, traditional media, the question is - what do you do to ride the train? Because, locking up the contents behind a Walled Garden is only a short-term solution, probably hurting longterm, considering the variety of free online material available.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Good bye to the "Visa Blog"

It was a good blog and unfortunately, he chose a name that was too close to the one representing a major creditcard company, Visa International. They sent him a Cease and Desist Letter, last month and it took him some thinking, and searching for advice to come to the conclusion to simply cease the name.

It is sad to see that Visa apparently didn't offer him compensation - he didn't ask for much, in fact, he didn't want to ask at all, in the beginning. It was his intention to keep the blog, under the Visa Name. It was just that he just renewed the domain and so he asked for a replacement.

Here is what he wrote:

"I politely asked for compensation (of course I had to be careful for not falling into a 'cybersquatting' trap, if there's any), but all I asked for is a domain replacement so I can keep blogging and I don't think that's too much to ask for. It can also make me feel better for being respected. However, the answer I got was a rude NO. Come on Visa, how much is a domain going to cost you? By the way, I renewed this domain two months ago. In other words, Visa gets to use this domain name for free for the year to come with my hard-earned money. Oh joy."

That is the sad part of life. That David doesn't even want to use his sling to beat Goliath but wanted to settle in a friendly manner, doesn't see himself as David, but as a simple guy on the road, but still was rejected in such a negative manner. What kind of perception does Visa have of his customers, because the blogger, who blogged under Blewthooth, is also a potential customer.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Cell phone customers put new technologies on hold

This is a report from Europe, thus, it might be a different picture in Asia altogether, especially since we have signs in Asia that even older users look for different services aside from SMS and voice.

Still, it is clear, after all, that to sell something aside of SMS and voice is more difficult than thought, even so mobile companies push and push and push.

Across Europe, "mobile operators are hoping new data services will bolster sales in markets where almost everyone already has a cell phone and where fierce competition is pushing down calling charges. So far, however, most customers refuse to do anything except talk and send text messages with their phones."

So while additional services might be growing, it will take a long educational process to get users used to it - especially, if there are charges imposed on the usage of such services. "Mobile content revenue in Western Europe will rise sixfold to US$25.09 billion by 2010. Even then, mobile content will contribute less than 11 percent to US$231.52 billion in total mobile revenue that year."

Small contribution, isn't it - and even the best phones won't change that fact that fast!

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Oops, Adobe's got some flaws

We all thought that a PDF file is one of the surest things around. No more. And this is another sign of change that nothing is safe anymore. Gotta live with it.

It actually confirms the view that anything, any upgrade or any new product, even when called unbeatable to flaws, is only flawless at that given moment, but never forever. Somehow, someone finds a way around it.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Smart robots in Korea

A university in Korea says that s.mart home robots will be a part of our lives in a couple of years.

2008, to be exact.

Fun, if you need one, fun, if you don't.

I am not sure how Japan is going to cope with this, since Japan is currently the world market leader in production and usage of robots. But then... the more the better.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Media usage in China

It is a trend that is taking place everywhere. The Internet is having an impact on traditional media, and the traditional media - newspapers, magazines and such - face declining subscription numbers. A change in their business model is needed or else, they lose their audience.

The reason why people access different media channels, such as the Internet, might be slightly different in China, with all the controls that the government in China tries to put in place.

So far, television is still in the race, but you have to remember, that the Internet is still a "young outlet" - so expect more to happen here.

"79 Percent people surveyed think TV is quite important or very important for getting information, and 75 percent deem newspaper as important as TV. Following TV and newspaper are Internet and books.

About 50 percent think Internet and books are important sources of information; 41 percent regard radio as important source, and only 35 percent take magazines as important sources of information."

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Lenova's acquisition has impact on global supply chain

An acquisition means that a company is buying market share. The challenge then is to keep the share while integrating the acquired part into the core business. Frequently, this acquired market share actually gets lost over time.

The acquisition of IBM's PC business enabled Lenova to take a leap to ninth place in the global chip purchasing ranks this year - chips that are put inside PCs this year. iSuppli, the company that publishes these data, says that Lenovo will require around US$4.27 billion worth of semiconductors to put inside PCs this year, up from US$1.01 billion. This tremendous growth pushed the company from 36th place in 2004 to the mentioned 9th position in 2005.

The effect of this? A revamp of the "entire supply chain of the computer industry, and could cause changes leading to job losses and corporate decline in some places, while new areas prosper," with a continuous shift of production facilities to Asia.

Ever thought that an acquisition could have such an impact on other companies?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Chinese hackers reading activist's emails

Chong Yiu-kwong, a key figure in the Civil Human Rights Front says that hackers from within mainland China have tampered with his e-mail account. Beijing's Internet police are accused of extending their reach to the former British colony.

The guy says that he "didn’t know that my computer had been monitored ever since, until I found that all my e-mails from the account registered to the University of Hong Kong disappeared all of a sudden."

He was then informed that at least three different IP addresses from China monitored his accoung and that information from the account had been downloaded every few minutes.

Is it right to assume that China's 50,000 Internet agents play a role in this?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Women's relation to online games

On a near-global scale, women are more likely than men to play online games, with Asia being the one exception.

"Among Internet households in North America, 52% of women play online games each month compared with 39% of men, according to this international study. Similar gaps regarding online gaming exist among Internet households in Europe, 39% of women and 28% of men, and in Australia, 53% of women and 27% of men. Only in Asia were these gaming activities equal between women and men at 49% and 50%, respectively."

Interesting, isn't it? What culd be the reason for this? Is it because of higher gender equality in the so-called Western world, compared to Asia, where women are still treated a bit less equal or is it simply, because women are smarter and have better things to do than playing online games?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Google and their powerline investment

There were a couple of companies across the globe that tried to invest into high-speed internet access via electrical power lines, what mostly failed, so, and now, Google, always adventureous, supports one of those, together with Hearst, and Goldman Sachs.

"Current Communications Group said it would use the financing to accelerate its deployment of voice, video and data services in domestic and global markets."

Why would Google be interested in such investment? Well, it means that more people will switch from dial-up connections to broadband, and then, they access webpages faster. Faster access tow ebpages means that there is a higher chance to access or click on the ads that Google puts on the side of the webpages. If it works, that is.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Blogging company wants to get listed on Nasdaq

Nasdaq - the ultimate dream for any tech company. Back in 1999, companies could get listed by just showing some very rudimentary business model - the bubble was created.

May be it is the same with blogs. I mean, the numbers are growing and corporations jump on board, and there are even job postings for bloggers.

The number of blogs in China is growing, of course, and there is now a company that wants to cash in on the trend. "The company that launched China's leading blog portal plans to list on the technology stock-heavy Nasdaq exchange by the second half of next year and hopes to achieve a market capitalisation of more than US$1 billion." One billion is a big number, so, sounds a bit unbelievable, especially when you know that they already received "US$500 million in seed capital from Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund and will receive a second round of funding of US$10 million this month from a group of six venture capital firms based in China and the United States." So not much money left for any investor. In addition, the difference between US$500 million to US$10 million is huge - how much influence will this give the six venture cap firms mentioned?

Next to consider is the lower revenue flow of the company, that just reached a revenue flow of US$240,000 a month - not much, considering the amount spend by investors.

And with all the controls that China wants to extablish - will there be a huge future? Blogs wheel, because they are not controlled, wild, and intrusive, challenging. Control and blog just doesn't go well with each other.

Well, I wish them all the best.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Australia as badly off as Kazakhstan

At least when it comes to comparing the speed of internet connections, Australia is in a comparable situation to Kazakhstan - which doesn't sound like a promising future for the nation.

The quoted study says that "Scientists from the University of New England at Armidale in northern NSW, have concluded that Australia is "basically out of phase with global traffic", based on initial statistics from about 40 monitoring sites around the world, in countries such as the US, Britain, Switzerland and South America."

In Sydney, the average broadband bandwidth is 1.5MB to 2.5MB, whereas in the US what they call broadband is from 2.5MB to 8MB - which still is a dream for many countries. Considering however, that countries like Korea want to blast ahead by increasing their Internet speed by 50 times in just a couple of years, you realise, how much work is involved in catching up in the first place. But then, compare the broadband usage between the countries and you find that something is missing in the first place.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Fighting spam

China has committed itself to fighting spam. That is great news, considering that they are supposedly the second biggest source of spam. And second, third, or first, I don't care. It would be just great if the amount of spam would get reduced, somehow.

But as long as people fall for spammers, we cannot expect them to change - can we? Recently, some big spammers have been prosecuted or send to jail, so it might really be, that something is changing.

Other countries in Asia also started to take some initiative already, even so it is via an opt in only, which is not a proven anti-spam tactic. So, let's also call on Hong Kong to be a bit faster in their implementation, because, believe it or not, Hong Kong belongs to China.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Adware, spyware responsible for changed online behaviour

This is interesting. I have been ranting for months that it is at least partially the responsibility of Internet users to take care of their own computers. Anyone should know by now that there is a lot of bad stuff out there - and an easy surfing is not made easier by companies that adopt similar tactics to the "bad guys" (although this relates to phishing).

Pew Internet and American Life Project now issued a statement saying that "Internet users worried about spyware and adware are shunning specific Web sites, avoiding file-sharing networks, even switching browsers."

So may be we don't need to test users about their ability to surf the web anymore?

It is a clear sign that self-regulation is somewhat helpful, although we might still find those who openly admit that they trade spyware for free stuff on the web.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Impact of TV and computers on school performances

Really, all those studies that say that those with or without technical equipment are either smarter or dumper.

Now we have one that is a bit more specific and compares computers with television and associates their specific location to school performance.

"Children who had a television set in the bedroom but did not have a computer at home scored the lowest, while students without TV in the bedroom but with access to a computer at home scored the highest. Students who gained a television in the bedroom over the course of the school year scored lower in all areas than those who had their TV taken away during the same period. The researchers did not find a consistent negative association between test scores and the amount of television watched per week."

Okay - that sounds like an exclusion of each other. You have a computer but no television or you have a TV and no computer. Doesn't work this way. Many kids have both. What is also questionable, overall, is how come parents firstly, allow kids to have a television in the bedroom, and why don't they monitor the viewing time in the first place? And then, what about computers with or without Internet access? Any smartness required here? Well, the mind of the young. Always interesting.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Live8 and eBay - off to the next round

Bob Geldof has a hard time nowadays. First, he was pissed off that people sold free charity tickets on eBay.

He is even worse off psychologically, that people continue to sell tickets - either as touts in front of Hyde Park - still doing it, although the concert is over, isn't it, it has been shown on TV and hey - who doesn't know THAT? Bob calls them a "fucking disgrace."

Now, visitors start to sell their own Video DVDs on eBay. Made by themselves during the concert.

"Internet auction site eBay said it had begun removing illegal DVD copies of the Live 8 poverty awareness pop concerts from its Web site." The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) uses harsher words: "There are too many people out there who believe music is for stealing, regardless of the wishes of artists and the people who invest in them."

What does this mean? Does it mean that the moment I film a group, I steal their music? That I cannot distribute the songs to friends, and why not sell it, when I think it is good? This is part of the Long Tail, is creating awareness, awareness for Africa and its plight, just like the original intention for the concert was. Bob, I think you are going a bit too far.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Phishing's growing numbers and the stupidity of certain institutions

It's really been a while since I wrote about phishing attacks. May be I just hoped that people would learn not to fall victim to such cyberattacks but well, apparently, they haven't.

"Phishing attacks have increased by 226%, while viruses and worms, such as Sober and Mytob, are continuing to spread rapidly." "in May more than 30% of e-mails contained some form of virus a 33% increase from the previous month. In many instances, the virus traveling via e-mail infiltrated a computer's hard drive and then forwarded itself to the user's entire address book."

While phishers get smarter at exploiting the goodwill of people in enticing people to open mails, there are still enough mails where it is clear that it contains viruses.

However, "Computer security specialists RSA and Computer Associates have been called "stupid" for sending e-mails containing "masked" links, which are often used in phishing attacks."

It is clear that all the education for users is useless, when even established firms use methods that resemble tactics used by phishers. Do I wonder?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Shocking therapy to treat shocking Internet addiction

It is, once again, the bad, bad Internet, that is thrown into bad light. And, once again, it is about the addiction that too much surfing can cause.

The Chinese have now find a solution to all of this. Treat the addiction with electro shocks. "Treatment includes 30-volt charges to pressure points, intravenous potions made from a secret recipe injected to balance brain secretions and sticking needles in various parts of the body."

Right. Which group of people is next? Those who are addicted to mobile phones? Or those, that are addicted to technology, in general?

Or, better, close down everything. Then, at least, you don't need to control those bloggers and surfers anymore.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Clever enough to surf the web

There is some truth here. Many Internet users believe that with the event of search engines, such as Google, it is easy to find anything you want on the web. And since it has been published on the web, it must be true. The danger is that critical thinking might be left behind. Put a great name to something and it becomes true. Put a logo to anything, and it must be true, because it looks so impressive.

So now we get tests for students to find out, how savvy they are with the results they are getting. "Sample questions include giving students a simulated page of Web search results on a particular subject and asking students to pick the legitimate sources. So, a question on bee sting remedies presents a choice of sites ranging from ads to a forum for herb treatments to (the correct answer) a listing from the National Institutes of Health, identifiable by having "nih" in the URL (site address) along with the ".gov" suffix that connotes an official government listing." And since it comes from established institutions such as California State University, it must be right. They must know!!

Still, I wonder what is the difference to a bookshop? When I go to a bookshop to buy a book, do I believe that everything I read is true? Or, what about newspapers and magazines? Just because it is published doesn't mean it is true. This is common awareness, isn't it? So, actually, what do we need a test for? At least not here, in Asia, where students appear to be pretty smart already.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

File sharing: Is BitTorrent next?

The celebrations continue amongst the US Recording Industry as they swoop down on so-called illegal file-sharers.

And they don't wait long and expand their raids on global music pircay and suspicions mount that BitTorrent, another "fie-sharing" application might be the next big target.

But it is not that easy, and a Taiwan and Korea ruling has shown that legality is still an issue.

Now, other voices also ask more questions. Mercury News runs quite an interesting piece putting forward the conclusion that piracy won't go away. "Online music piracy may indeed make music free. Piracy might simply be impossible to stop, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling earlier this week against Internet file-swapping sites."

Congratulations on this finding. It is nothing new for those who follow this blog, but still, we need more voices of similar nature.

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Search engine strategies in China

There are plenty of local search engines in China which are pretty strong. Then, there is Yahoo, MSN and Google.

Yahoo, according to the article, struggled for years before they decided to acquire 3721 to strengthen its foothold in China.

MSN starts with a Representative Office.

Google is not quite clear about the way to go. ""There are two options for Google," said Eric Schmidt, its CEO. Google holds shares of Baidu, the No.1 in Chinese search engine market. There is possibility for Google and Baidu to deepen cooperation, say, Google holding more Beidu's stakes, or even a JV. This may lead to Google's takeover of Baidu, turning Baidu into its subsidiary in China. The other option for Google is to strengthen its representative office in China by massive recruitment and finally set up its China subsidiary."

Is a strategy always important? When does it become important? How often to you change a strategy? Where and how do you benchmark a strategy? How do you apply a strategy?

Important questions, right?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Is Celcom Chief leaving?

The chief executive of Telekom Malaysia Bhd.'s cellular network unit, Celcom Malaysia, may leave when his contract ends in August.

Celcom is Malaysia's second-biggest mobile operator in subscriber terms after Maxis Communications.

Was he successful? I guess he was. He started a branding exercise that somehow sticks. Celcom is nevertheless back to its second place, behind Maxi Communications, after actually leading after their earlier merger.

What is still missing is the regional expansion of Celcom throughout the region. May be something for his successor. Its customer service also needs improvement, but this is based on my feelings only.

What else is missing to make Celcom a powerhouse?

(By Asia Business Consulting)

Taiwan court rules in favor of P-to-P company

Different places, different results. In the US, the industry is now hunting filesharers after the recent ruling against Grokster. But consider that this ruling only applies to the US.

A court in Taiwan found peer-to-peer (P-to-P) file-sharing software maker Ezpeer.com not guilty of violating copyrights. There apparently are similarities to the Grokster case in the US "in that both Ezpeer and Grokster provide software to users that allows them to swap everything from music to movies and software." International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Taiwan, disagreed with the court ruling and it is clear that they will appeal against the ruling.

But as I said - different countries, different rulings.

(By Asia Business Consulting)