Jan/100
TM eyes McKinsey to meet HSBB target
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is mulling to give a RM20 million project to McKinsey & Co to ensure its RM11 billion high-speed broadband (HSBB) is on time to meet the 50 per cent broadband penetration target this year.
The telecoms utility’s board is due to meet tomorrow to decide on the consultancy’s terms as it races to meet its deadline set recently by Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim. It is understood the current broadband penetration rate is now at 32 per cent.
“The board will meet tomorrow whether to award McKinsey the contract to make sure we meet this year’s target. It is a bit silly as we have the real targets to achieve,” a company source told The Malaysian Insider.
It is learnt that associates from McKinsey’s US headquarters have promised expertise from Telefonica, the Spanish multinational telecommunications giant, to help TM meet the targets, which now also include mobile broadband.
Dec/090
P1 WIMAX’s vulgar ad
P1's Potong Advert
Apparently a group of people are not happy with P1’s new “potong” advert and have lodge a complaint with the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF). Below is the news article from New Straits Times.
PUTRAJAYA: The popular potong advertisement by P1 Wimax may land the advertiser in trouble.
Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) said it was scrutinising the advertisement aired on television and radio.
“We are looking into it,” said CMCF executive director Mohd Mustaffa Fazil Mohd Abdan.
While refusing to reveal the number of complaints received, he said CMCF would act against such an advertisement, including action like “taking it down”.
“Under our Content Code, if there is a breach and the advertisement is found to be offensive, we can remove it,” he said.
CMCF is empowered to issue a written reprimand and impose a fine of not more than RM50,000 for offensive advertisements.
CMCF can also refer the offending party to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as the umbrella regulatory body for further action.
The P1 Wimax broadband advertisement created an uproar over its liberal use of the word potong (cut).
Although the advertisement could be a tongue-in-cheek suggestion for viewers and listeners to “cut the wires” and “cut the hidden charges”, members of parliament are calling for the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry to pull the plug on it.
Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) had previously said in Parliament that potong somehow brings a vulgar connotation for some people because it is a colloquial way of referring to circumcision.
Meanwhile, Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said the advertisement had been reviewed by the National Censorship Board even before it was aired. She said it had passed the strict censorship code imposed by the board.
Dec/090
Accenture ends sponsorship of Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
This came to me as no surprise. It’s the right thing to do. It was all over the news. Accenture staff even received an email notification to inform them of this. Speculation on online media has stated that his average loss in sponsorships could be as much as US$50million per scandal! Looking at the number of women that has come forward, that’s easily US$500 million down the drain! Below is an excerpt from MSN News:
A major sponsor of Tiger Woods announced Sunday it was ending its six-year ties with the golf star, saying he “is no longer the right representative” after a blistering sex scandal.
The billionaire athlete and married father of two, once a ubiquitous figure with priceless advertising value, has seen his squeaky clean image decimated by a string of affairs with a porn star, cocktail waitress and other women, raising concerns of sponsors pulling away from golf.
“For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising,” the Dublin-based technology, management and outsourcing consultancy said in a statement.
“However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising. Accenture said that it wishes only the best for Tiger Woods and his family.”
The statement marked the end of a relationship with the 14-time major champion at the center of ad campaigns that once included slogans like “Go on. Be a Tiger,” or “We know what it takes to be a Tiger.”
The company’s website once read: “Famous not only for his success on the golf course, Tiger Woods is equally renowned for his work ethic, focus and commitment to continual improvement.”
Accenture, which had earlier removed an image of Woods from its website, said it would “immediately” transition to a new advertising campaign, with plans for a “major” effort to launch next year.
But it was only the latest in a series of companies to reevaluate their sponsorship of the world’s top golfer ever since Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade SUV into a tree and fire hydrant just outside his home in bizarre circumstances on November 27, unleashing a media firestorm.
Razormaker Gillette announced Saturday it would phase him out of advertisements while he takes a break from golf, calling it a supportive move.
“As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs,” the company said, said without announcing a timetable for the resumption of use of the golfer’s image.
One major concern from the golf world is that with Tiger taking “indefinite” leave from golf to fix his problems, this would be a major blow to the golf industry. Viewership has plummet during the 6-ish months when he was on leave for his knee injury, and now with this scandal and him not playing for a few months, the popularity of golf might just drop to the point it being a “rich old man’s game”. Even though it might take a while for that to actually happen (months or years, in fact), unless Tiger picks up his club sooner, he might just sink the whole industry with him.
Dec/090
TM’s RM11.3b broadband project
I know this piece of news was from last year, but I am exicited to see their progress and get highspeed broadband in Malaysia. I am guessing that TM needs to roll this out as soon as possible with the advent of wimax that is being aggressively promoted and provided by P1.
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd has received a letter of award from the Government to implement the RM11.31bil high-speed broadband (HSBB) project.
TM said on Tuesday the project would be carried out in collaboration with the Government to deploy the access, domestic core and international networks to deliver an end-to-end HSBB infrastructure.
“The total cost of the HSBB investment for a period of 10 years is RM11.31bil whereby the Government will be investing RM2.4bil and the remaining RM8.91bil from TM,” it said.
TM said with the acceptance of the letter of award, the company and the Government would sign a formal agreement based on mutually agreed terms and conditions in due course.
It added that more details and relevant information would be announced when the HSBB agreement was signed.
On May 15, TM said it was pleased to learn the Government has approved the pertinent details and broad implementation strategies for the HSBB roll-out plan.
The plan was a key initiative in the effort to widen broadband penetration in the country. The HSBB coverage is expected to be available across 1.3 million premises.
News item from: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/2/business/20080902181752&sec=business
May/081
Waja 1.6 basic upgrades
Today I went to Eneos and got my Waja a new K&N Air Filter and Denso Iridium Spark Plugs.
Despite the minimal increase in performance, it’s noticeable. I can feel the difference immediately when driving back home. Good stuff, at a fairly decent price. Eneos sold me the air filter for RM310, and all 4 spark plugs were priced at RM190.
Apr/080
Super Cooler
Desktop coolers are usually used for high performance motherboards to lower down the running temperature and maximise its potential. Some people are just content with changing the fan, some would install a super cooler, and some, well, decided to replace the whole casing with super coolers.
I reckon it’s a bit too much. But I’m quite interested in getting myself one of these super coolers.
Pictures from here.
Mar/080
Blackberry Curve 8300
I’ve been using the the Curve for nearly 4 months now and I feel like writing my own review on it. But, rather than writing a lengthy review, I’m going to write a concise summary of the Curve 8300.
The good: Full QWERTY keyboard with a sleek and solid design. A 2-megapixel camera is located at the back, which gives you quick access to emailing the photos you just took. For connectivity, it uses EDGE, GPRS and Bluetooth. Includes built-in spell checker for e-mails, messages and even chat programs.
The bad: No Wi-Fi or 3G. No video-recording for the camera, and depending on the incoming callers phone, the call quality might sound hollow.
The bottom line: Despite the lack of Wi-Fi and 3G, the Curve still offers the best design for a smartphone. The features are provided that it caters for both personal users and professionals.
Mar/070
The worse phishing site ever
I got an IM from a friend promoting a link. I don’t think he intended on passing this link purposely on YM, therefore I’d give him the benefit of the doubt that his YM might contain some self-sending-IM virus.
Anyway, the link that he sent me was the most obvious phishing site ever. Not only is the site’s URL is geocities (in which the phished content is your Yahoo user ID and password), it also has advertisements from geocities on the site.
http://www.geocities.com/ibucute/
Just in case they removed the site, I’ve taken a screenshot here:
I was laughing so hard. How can anybody fall for this? If you have to phish, try doing it properly. Bloody IT drop outs. And you were wondering why you couldn’t get a job.
Mar/070
Monash’s CCNA
I was walking around my faculty today and I saw this sign:
I can’t help but to smile to myself. “What if I already have it?”
Anyway, I’m not sure if I have blogged about this before, but I’m going to mention it again. The fee to study CCNA as a short-course at Monash is AU$1650 per module (Monash separated the CCNA program into 4 modules). At the academy that I went (Trainpro) in Malaysia, I get to study for CCNA and MCSE both at RM7000 (~AU$2500). Bear in mind that MCSE has 7 units, and CCNA has only 1 unit.
Just look at the difference. RM7000 (or AU$2500) for a total of 8 units, against AU$1650 x 4 = AU$6600 for only 1 unit (CCNA).
Furthermore, at Trainpro, ex-students have the luxury of a refresher course within a 1 year periodAU of taking their couse. That means that if you ever forget anything after a few months of learning, or if you need clarification on certain topics from the instructors, you can simply go there and discuss it with them. That’s definitely value for money.
Mar/070
Hall of Fame
My recent success in passing my CCNA has been listed in Trainpro’s hall of fame. Below is the screenshot from the website.
I made 1 mistake in the exam, hence I got 974/1000. My other classmate, listed at number 158, got perfect marks at 1000. Sure is lucky.