New Sony-Ericsson phones

New Sony-Ericsson cell phones : The Sony Ericsson booth at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona was set up quite well-structured. In a semi-circle, the current and newest cell phones and accessories are showcased. Within this half-circle, there is room to call attention to several services, such as the Entertainment Unlimited service. One of the highlights for Sony Ericsson during the GSMA 2009 was the introduction of the Sony Ericsson Idou, a 12 Megapixel Cybershot handset. Exactly one year ago, during last year's Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson announced a new mobile platform which would enable higher resolutions up to 12 Megapixels, among other things.

Sony Ericsson Idou - 12 Megapixel Cybershot handset

The new Sony Ericsson Idou cell phone has an impressive high resolution, and at this time and date even the world's first camera phone with 12 megapixel of resolution. These are very impressive specifications, although we will only truly be convinced after the device has been tested by us. As soon as a full production sample becomes available, we will publish an extensive Sony Ericsson Idou review followed by a high resolution photo gallery. 

 

MSI Wind netbook: Wind12 U230 with Windows 7

Although an official announcement has not been made, apparently MSI will launch a new netbook with Windows 7 soon. At least, that can be deduced by visiting a product page on its website where the new item is labeled as “Wind12 U230″.

This ultrathin notebook comes with the new AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core Processor at 1.6GHz, which is accompanied by an integrated graphics chipset (ATI’s Radeon HD 3200). Other features are similar to the ones found in the current Wind12 U210 notebook, including a
12.1-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768.

Also, it comes with 1GB of RAM that can be optionally  increased up to 4 GB, and hard drives ranging from 160GB to 320GB. The standard version features a 1.3-megapixel webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, and a Wi-Fi module. In addition, it has a HDMI port, VGA connector, and three USB ports.

Bluetooth connectivity is optional, as well as a 6-cell battery that is supposed to provide up to 4 hours of battery life.

New Apple laptop notebook computer would cost $800

The new laptop computer that Apple will introduce on Tuesday would cost $800, 27% less than its cheapest current model, according to some news agencies and bloggers.

The official presentation is set for October 14 at the headquarters of the company in Cupertino, California.

Last Thursday, some bloggers began to circulate online rumors about the launching of a new laptop that will only cost you $800 in United States. That would be the Apple’s answer to the economic crisis and the reduction of consumers’ demand, according to some news agencies.

Also, according to these agencies, Apple has distributed some price lists to its stores, which include new categories and figures that start from around 800 dollars, although the technical details of the items are not included.

Obama to plead US case at global warming summit

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will commit the United States to substantial cuts in greenhouse gas pollution over the next decade — despite resistance in Congress over higher costs — when he travels to a major climate conference in Copenhagen next month.

Obama will attend the start of the conference Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. He will "put on the table" a U.S. commitment to cut emissions by 17 percent over the next decade, on the way to reducing heat-trapping pollution by 80 percent by mid-century, the White House said.

Cutting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by one-sixth in just a decade would increase the cost of energy as electric utilities pay for capturing carbon dioxide at coal-burning power plants or switch to more expensive alternatives. The price of gasoline probably would increase, and more fuel-efficient automobiles — or hybrids that run on gasoline and electricity — probably would be more expensive.

Obama's promise of greenhouse emissions cuts will require Congress to pass complex climate legislation that the administration says will include an array of measures to ease the price impact. The bills before Congress, for example, would have the government provide polluters free emissions allowances in the early years of the transition from fossil fuels, as well as direct payments to many consumers facing high costs.

Carol Browner, Obama's assistant for energy and climate change, on Wednesday cited a Congressional Budget Office study that said there would be $173-a-year estimated cost to the average household by 2020 if greenhouse gases were cut by 17 percent from 2005 levels. But the CBO analysis also said that if cost-blunting measures in the legislation were not taken into account, the cost to households could jump to $890 per household.

Other studies conducted by pro-industry groups have put the average household costs between $900 to more than $3,000 a year, although many of those studies do not take into account new energy conservation efforts and assume a more pessimistic view of new technology development that could bring actual consumer costs down.

Obama's stopover on the conference's second day — instead of later, when negotiations will be most intense and when most other national leaders will take part — disappointed some European and U.N. climate officials, as well as some environmentalists.

Others said Obama's personal appeal will resonate with the delegates from more than 75 countries and help reset the U.S. image on the climate issue after eight years in which the Bush administration staunchly opposed mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases.

Yvo de Boer, the United Nations climate chief, said it is important for the United States to establish emissions reduction targets and a financial commitment to helping developing countries address climate change.

"If he comes in the first week to announce that, it would be a major boost to the conference," de Boer told The Associated Press.

Obama's participation had been in doubt since it became clear that the Dec. 7-18 conference was unlikely to produce a binding agreement. The original goal of the conference was to produce a new global climate change treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. But in recent weeks it became clear that delegates were likely to produce at best an outline for an agreement to be considered late next year.

The White House said Obama is expecting "robust mitigation contributions" from China and other emerging nations as part of any final agreement. He pressed for cooperation on climate change in meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing last week, and with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a state visit at the White House Tuesday.

China said Thursday that Premier Wen Jiabao will take part in the Copenhagen summit.

And China's State Council pledged that the country will cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared with levels in 2005. Given the expected huge increases in its economy over the next decade, China's global warming emissions should still increase — but at a much slower pace than if the nation had made no changes.

The White House said it will send a half-dozen Cabinet secretaries to the talks, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, as well as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, which is preparing regulations to cut greenhouse gases.

The high-profile delegation is intended to reinforce Obama's stance, despite the bitter debate in Congress. The House narrowly passed legislation requiring a cap on greenhouse gases from power plants and industry, but it's still unclear whether Senate Democrats will be able to muster the 60 votes needed to approve a similar bill.

Action in the Senate has been put off until next spring.

White Christmases are on forecasters radars People in north want to know if they'll have snow, but why?

Spokane, Wash., has a white Christmas about 70 percent of the time. This shot along the Spokane River was taken on Dec. 1, 2006.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Bing Crosby didn't have to dream of a white Christmas — he could bank on it.

The crooner was from Spokane, a city that is among the most likely to have a white Christmas each year. According to weather experts, Spokane has a white Christmas about 70 percent of the time.

In the United States, only a few high-latitude cities beat those odds: Duluth, Minn. (97 percent) Anchorage, Alaska, (90 percent), Marquette, Mich., (90 percent) and Concord, N.H. (87 percent).

Crosby's song tapped into a primal need for many living in the northern latitudes, where the notion of a white Christmas takes on mythic proportions. But why is snow important to a holiday celebrating the birth of a man in the arid climate of the Middle East?

"I think that it's simply because of the picture-perfect image of snow on Christmas that is constantly put into our heads through Christmas advertising and images of Santa Claus at the North Pole," said Karin Bumbaco, assistant state climatologist for Washington.

"I think Americans prefer a white Christmas just because it's drilled into our heads," said Bumbaco, whose cynical view is perhaps the result of working in Seattle, which has a white Christmas just 8 percent of the time.

SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Blue "Crab," Sun Tsunami, More

A product of cosmic collaboration, this new picture of the Crab Nebula combines data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nebula is the remnant of a stellar explosion 6,000 light-years from Earth that was so powerful people saw the burst in A.D. 1054, according to NASA.

Infrared light caught by Spitzer and visible light seen by Hubble paint the nebula's expanding debris cloud in shades of purple and red. Meanwhile, Chandra's x-ray vision is helping astronomers understand the high-energy particles (seen in blue) coming from the dead star's core, known as a white dwarf.

—X-ray image courtesy NASA/CXC/SAO/F. Seward; optical courtesy NASA/ESA/ASU/J. Hester & A. Loll; infrared courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. Minn./R. Gehrz

3G wireless still holds promise

There's been a lot of talk in 2009 about the next generation of wireless technology, known as 4G wireless broadband, but the current generation of 3G wireless technology is far from dead.

For many wireless operators, especially those that have built their networks using the global standard GSM, the current 3G wireless technology called HSPA still has some legs left. And while many carriers are planning their 4G networks, hundreds of wireless providers throughout the world are also expected to upgrade existing network infrastructure with the latest versions of the 3G wireless technology to increase speeds and offer new services. And because these network speeds will match current 4G speeds, consumers will likely see no difference in capability. 

For this reason, the next few years will likely continue to be all about 3G technology. And 4G services, where they will be available, will likely appeal only to niche audiences.

"The average consumer doesn't care about peak data rates or network acronyms," said Dan Warren, the GSM Association's director of technology. "They just care about the experience. They want to be able to watch YouTube or get live traffic updates on their smartphones. And they don't care whether it's a new network or a current network that is being upgraded."

Mobile operators around the world are seeing a huge growth in the amount of mobile data traffic across their networks. This trend is expected to continue as more consumers buy smartphone and jump onto the mobile Web. By 2014, mobile devices are expected to send and receive more data in one month than in all of 2008.

Three-quarters of this traffic will be attributed to Internet access, while nearly all the rest will be due to music and video streaming, the GSM Association recently said. The new usage patterns will put strains on carrier networks, and operators are planning now to keep up with demand. Already, AT&T, which is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., is struggling to keep up with the heavy data usage.

While 4G networks will certainly increase network speeds and capacity, these networks and the devices that can be used on these networks will not be built overnight. This is why many carriers who are looking to meet demands today are turning toward advanced 3G upgrades.

T-Mobile USA, the smallest of the major U.S. wireless operators, has adopted this strategy. The company is currently upgrading its existing HSPA network, which launched just last year, to HSPA Plus, the most advanced 3G technology available. It has already started testing the new service in Philadelphia. And the company expects to deploy the lion's share of its upgrade across its entire footprint in 2010.

Meanwhile other operators, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are looking toward 4G technologies.

To the 4th power: WiMax vs. LTE
Two technologies dominate the 4G landscape: WiMax and LTE. In the WiMax corner is a company called Clearwire, which is backed by Sprint and Intel, as well as the nation's biggest cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The company is currently building its network and has 13 cities up and running with service.

In the LTE corner is the rest of the wireless industry, including at least 50 mobile operators worldwide that have already committed to LTE plans, trials or deployments. The first LTE networks, including one being built by Verizon Wireless here in the U.S., are expected to be rolled out next year. NTT DoComo of Japan and TeliaSonera of Sweden have also committed to deploying LTE next year. That said, major network expansions aren't expected until at least 2011.

One of the problems that 4G carriers will face is that initially their networks will be islands of service. And it will take years for operators to blanket the country with their services. For example, Clearwire has mostly deployed its service in cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Verizon will likely do the same thing with its LTE network. And then the networks will spread from there. Verizon expects to launch 25 to 30 with 4G service in 2010.

Another problem 4G operators face is a dearth of new devices. Clearwire's WiMax service has been available for more than a year in some cities, and it still only offers USB modems, PC cards, subscriber modems and WiMax-enabled laptops. So far no one has started selling mobile devices, such as WiMax embedded phones. In fact, in January Nokia, one of the initial eco-system backers of WiMax, canceled its N810 WiMax Edition tablet. More devices aren't likely to be developed until the network is more extensive. Sprint is offering a dual-mode service that allows laptop users to switch between its 3G mobile broadband service and the 4G WiMax service, where it's available. But the service is only available for laptops.

eBay opens auction app for BlackBerry

RIM's BlackBerry App World is slowly but surely gaining ground as a storefront for distributing BlackBerry applications. eBay is the latest major company to forge a presence in the storefront, in the form of an eBay app for BlackBerry auctioneers in the U.S. and Canada.

The official eBay for BlackBerry application, which was co-developed by eBay and RIM, includes features to search for, track, and buy an item from the smartphone. Unsurprisingly, the eBay app accepts PayPal payments--PayPal has not only been an eBay company since 2002, it is also currently the only payment system for purchasing BlackBerry apps through the App World.

In addition to letting users search and buy, the eBay app will notify you of your bidding status, including when you've won or lost a bid. It can also schedule auction-related reminders in the BlackBerry calendar.

eBay's app isn't the first of its kind for the BlackBerry platform. Earlier this year, Bonfire Media released U.S. and international versions of its app, Pocket Auctions for eBay. Since Pocket Auctions doesn't include hooks into the phone's native calendar, and costs $10, we're guessing that most eBay fans will easily pick the free, official app over Bonfire Media's third-party offering.

We got a brief demo of the then-under-wraps eBay app at the BlackBerry Developer Conference earlier this month. We liked the ease of the PayPal integration, but we won't really know how well the app works until we've spent some time with it. Tune back for our first impressions.

Techno - Gadget

Elzio, Ponsel Qwerty Berbentuk PDA

  

JAKARTA - Geliat ponsel lokal diramaikan lagi oleh kedatangan ponsel-ponsel baru. Kali ini PT Surya Citra Multimedia menerobos pasar dengan mengusung brand Elzio.

PT SCM sendiri merupakan unit bisnis milik PT Surya Putra Mandiri yang selama ini telah dikenal sebagai distributor ponsel di Indonesia yang didirikan sejak tahun 1998. PT SPM telah berpengalaman menjual produk-produk ponsel branded seperti Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, O2 maupun BYRU.

"Kondisi perekonomian negara yang sempat berimbas krisis ekonomi global dan berdampak pula dalam bisnis ponsel, tentunya tidak menyurutkan niat dan semangat untuk menghadirkan produk ponsel lokal. Meski sebelumnya, kami telah eksis dan berhasil dalam mendistribusikan ponsel-ponsel branded," ujar Direktur PT SCM Surya Candra Sudjana di Jakarta.

Kali ini, lewat 'tangan' SCM, diterbitkanlah sebuah ponsel merek lokal bernama Elzio yang diklaim memiliki spesifikasi produk bermutu dengan harga terjangkau.

Ponsel dengan ukuran mirip PDA ini memiliki berat 101 gram dengan kapasitas memori 1GB. Dukungan performanya menggunakan prosesor CPU 208 Mhz yang disebut sebagai kapasitas terbesar di kelasnya sehingga memungkinkan banyak program Java dijalankan termasuk MS Office Viewer.

Elzio mendukung jaringan GSM 2 On yang dilengkapi dnegan keyboard qwerty, TV tuner, Camera 5 megapiksel, aplikasi Facebook dan Twitter, Multi Angle Super LCD, MSOffice Viewer, GPRS/EDGE dan Java MIDP 2.0.

Beberapa hal yang baru disematkan juga di Elzio untuk mendukung performa fitur dan layanan yang terintegrasi di dalamnya. Salah satunya adalah teknologi Real Media Variable Bitrate (RMVB). RMVB codec ini mampu mengakomodir file-file dengan format MP4, 3GP, ASF, WMV, MPEG, MKV, FLV. Fitur ini juga memungkinkan download file dengan proses yang cepat dan tidak terputus-putus. Bahkan ketika anda mendownload file dari YouTube sekalipun.

Fitur beda lainnya adalah layanan instant messaging Palringo, yang memungkinkan komunikasi internet tidak hanya berkutat di format teks tapi juga mensupport proses transfer gambar dan suara.

Saat ini Elzio hadir dengan tiga jenis warna dinamis, yaitu hijau apel, biru laut dan abu titanium. Ponsel ini dibandrol dengan harga cukup unik, sekira Rp1.456.789.

eTouch Targetkan Peningkatan Penjualan 30%

JAKARTA - eTouch menargetkan sekira 30 persen penjualan hingga akhir 2009. Peningkatan itu diharapkan datang dari penjualan 3 unit ponsel qwerty yang baru dikeluarkannya, 707 pro, 606 pro,dan 626 pro.

"Kalau soal jumlah, kami tak bisa menyebutkan. Yang jelas, kami berharap dapat mendongkrak hingga 30 persen," ujar Hendru Susilo, GM Product Marketing eTouch, di sela peluncuran eTouch 707 Pro dan eTouch TD 180 di Pisa Café Jakarta, Selasa (24/11/2009).

Hendru mengatakan pihaknya cukup optimis dengan peningkatan tersebut mengingat pasar masih terbuka cukup luas.

Dijelaskan Hendru, pasar Qwerty di Indonesia masih terbuka cukup lebar. Berdasarkan data GFK lanjut Hendru, pasar Qwerty di Indonesia baru 20 persen sedangkan sisanya dikuasai oleh ponsel berdesain candy bar.

"Penjualan qwerty baru 1,7 juta artinya ini masih akan terus tumbuh di tahun-tahun mendatang, dan saya yakin hingga akhir tahun 2010 trennya masih akan berlanjut," katanya.

Vendor ponsel asal Hongkong itu juga mengungkapkan keinginannya untuk menegeluarkan ponsel berteknologi 3G pada kuartal pertama 2010 mendatang.

"Tahun depan kami akan mengeluarkan sekira lebih dari 10 unit termasuk ponsel 3G," katanya.

XL Bundling Ponsel Layar Sentuh dan Qwerty

JAKARTA - XL semakin mantap mengejar target sebagai Raja Bundling Ponsel. Kali ini Xl menggandeng ponsel merek GVON 920 dan GVON 950 dengan fitur dan bonus menarik.

Ini bukanlah kali pertama XL mengadakan bundling. Tidak hanya berkutat di ponsel tapi juga modem data, netbook dan gadget lainnya yang kompatibel dengan jaringan XL.

"Program bundling layanan XL dengan GVON ini akan semakin mengukuhkan XL sebagai Raja Bundling yang akan selalu dapat memenuhi kebutuhan masyarakat dan pelanggan atas layanan yang murah dan andal plus ponsel yang juga terjangkau harganya namun mengikuti trend gaya hidup," papar Dedi Sirath, Vice President XL Regional Jabodetabek dan Kalimantan, melalui keterangan resminya.

Dengan program-program bundling seperti ini XL berharap bagi masyarakat luas bisa semakin mudah dan terbuka mengakses besarnya manfaat dari telekomunikasi dan internet.

Dengan menggunakan ponsel ini, pelanggan lama maupun pelanggan baru XL akan mendapatkan benefit layanan XL berupa gratis kartu perdana XL dengan pulsa Rp2.000, masa aktif kartu selama 6 bulan. Pelanggan juga akan mendapatkan bonus berupa 10 menit bicara ke sesama XL, 10 SMS ke sesama XL, dan 1 MB data, yang diperoleh setelah isi ulang pulsa ke-2 sampai ke-10 dengan pengisian pulsa minimal Rp10.000. Total bonus yang diperoleh pelanggan adalah 90 menit bicara, 90 SMS serta 9 MB data.

Ponsel bundling GVON dapat diperoleh dengan harga terjangkau yakni Rp999.000 (termasuk PPn) untuk GVON 950 dan Rp1.199.000 (termasuk PPn) untuk GVON 920.

Selain berbagai benefit layanan XL, pelanggan XL juga dapat menikmati fitur-fitur menarik dari ponsel ini. Untuk ponsel GVON 920 memiliki spesifikasi dual GSM, push mail, kamera 5MP, video chatting tanpa jaringan 3G (antara handset dengan merk dan tipe sejenis), qwerty keypad & track ball, Google Map, 3D Motion Sensor, XL Yahoo Zone, XL Funbook, XL Fun & Xcite Message, Opera Mini, Java Application, MP3/MP4 Player, Real Player, LCD WQ VGA.

Sedangkan GVON 950 dilengkapi dengan fitur dual GSM, touch screen, EDGE, kamera 3MP, Memory Up tp 8GB, Motion Sensor, Bluetooth, MP3/MP4 Player, Magic Voice, 1000 phonebook.

Life Quotes

Agatha Christie:

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

Alan Dean Foster:

Living gives you a better understanding of life. I would hope that my characters have become deeper and more rounded personalities. Wider travels have given me considerably greater insight into how cultural differences affect not only people, but politics and art.

Albert Einstein:

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

Albert Schweitzer:

Ethics cannot be based upon our obligations toward [people], but they are complete and natural only when we feel this Reverence for Life and the desire to have compassion for and to help all creatures insofar as it is in our power. I think that this ethic will become more and more recognized because of its great naturalness and because it is the foundation of a true humanism toward which we must strive if our culture is to become truly ethical.

Anais Nin:

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.

Bertrand Russell:

Three passions have governed my life:

The longings for love, the search for knowledge,

And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.

In the union of love I have seen

In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision

Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.

I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].

I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,

But always pity brought me back to earth;

Cries of pain reverberated in my heart

Of children in famine, of victims tortured

And of old people left helpless.

I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,

And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

Amikom raih nominator e-learning award 2009

Peningkatan kualitas pendidikan melalui pendayagunaan Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi oleh STMIK AMIKOM dirasa cukup baik, hal ini dibuktikan dengan situs e-Learning AMIKOM sebagai salah satu nominator dalam E-Learning Award 2009 yang diselenggarakan oleh Pusat Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi Pendidikan (Pustekkom) Depdiknas .

Terpilihnya situs E-Learning AMIKOM tersebut berdasarkan surat yang dikirimkan oleh Panitia E-Learning Award 2009 . Hasil ini diperoleh oleh panitia berdasarkan proses review terhadap berbagai situs perguruan tinggi yang ada di Indonesia termasuk STMIK AMIKOM Yogyakarta. Dewan juri secara komprehensif memberikan penilaian berdasarkan acuan penilaian yang telah ditentukan.

STMIK AMIKOM berpeluang mengikuti Grand final dan telah diadakan presentasi secara langsung di depan dewan juri pada hari Sabtu , 7 November 2009 di Hotel Pitagiri Jakarta.Presentasi tersebut diwakili oleh Jaeni Sahuri , S.Kom , Arif Dwi Laksito, S.Kom ( Staff Innovation Center ) dan Emha Taufik Lutfi, M.Kom . Menurut Jaeni Selaku koordinator Content Development IC " E-learning AMIKOM sudah mengalami banyak perubahan dan peningkatan baik dari sisi content maupun fitur dan mudah-mudahan akan memperoleh hasil lebih baik dari tahun kemarin pada Elearning Award 2009 ini ".