PENANG, 23 Feb – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is planning on using a unique teaching and learning methodology in the field of information and communication technology. This new methodology will allow the students to understand the lessons in their own way and at their own pace.
USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that the idea of using this methodology came about after a study by an ICT expert from India had shown that self-study has a positive effect on students. He added that this methodology can transform the current style of teaching and turn ICT into a field that will have a wider impact on the creativity and knowledge of students.
“In the study carried out by the ICT expert, a computer was placed in an open space, where students could use it without any fear or specific instruction. The students had to independently learn to use and understand the instructions from the computer according to their own creativity, including understanding learning materials saved in the computer,” he said.
Prof. Tan Sri Dzulkifli added that the previous generation learned a lot of things on their own using trial and error. So if this strategy could be applied to the present generation, it is believed that the results would be very encouraging.
At the press conference after launching the ”Facilitating Effective ICT – Pedagogy Integration Workshop”, he explained that specific groups, including the indigenous community would benefit from the use of this technique. He added that this methodology would be tested in an indigenous community in Banding, Perak. This indigenous community was adopted by USM after the ICT expert from India agreed to collaborate on this effort.
He further explained that learning ICT using this method would enhance the quality of teaching and learning, in addition to fulfilling the needs of the ‘bottom billions’ to equip themselves with the requisite ICT skills. “According to the ICT expert, with only need minimal resources, this methodology is guaranteed to meet the learning needs of students, whose numbers might cross the billion mark. We have invited the ICT expert to USM to share ideas and implement this concept among the indigenous community in Malaysia by May 2010. If this is carried out successfully, it will fulfill another of our social responsibilities as a institution of higher learning,” he explained.
Meanwhile the three-day workshop, organized by The School of Educational studies (PPIP) was held in conjunction with the launching of the ICT UNESCO Bangkok Resource Centre- a collaborative effort with Unesco Bangkok for more systematic and effective ICT-Pedagogy integration. Also present at the function that was attended by more than 50 lecturers and educators, were UNESCO representative, Dr. Molly Lee; Head of the Academic Sector of the Penang Education Department, Che Fatimah Othman; and The Dean of PPIP, Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid Mohamed. UNESCO Bangkok will set up the ICT Resource Center with the i-SMARTLAB – Integration of Smart Media in USM with funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
Wednesday 29 February 2012
Limkokwing Creativity Grooms ICT-Savvy Talents (Limkokwing University)
An advocate of creativity and innovation since the 1970s, the Limkokwing University of Creativity Technology (LUCT) is taking the lead by producing graduates equipped with the right skills and capabilities to drive the ICT industry and their careers. Information technology is very much a part of everyday life: the computer occupies a central position not only in business organisations but increasingly in fields as diverse as manufacturing to space exploration and banking.
This has created a wealth of opportunities for Malaysia, which is moving into a high-income and innovation-driven economy, one area that well-qualified ICT graduates are able to provide the momentum to propel it.
The LUCT Faculty of Information and Communication Technology offers internationally-recognised BSc degrees including Mobile Computing, Games Technology and Business Information Technology, as well as postgraduates studies in Computer Networking and Communication.
The programmes are tailored to ensure graduates are industry-ready and able to blend in with different cultures and nationalities, making them attractive to potential employers.
Some of the career options one would consider as an ICT graduate would be:
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
A CIO heads the IT group within an organisation, and usually reports to the chief executive officer (CEO). You will be the visionary ICT leader, spearheading ambitious projects that will enhance the growth and business strategy of the organisation and will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the organisation’s IT infrastructure.
A CIO heads the IT group within an organisation, and usually reports to the chief executive officer (CEO). You will be the visionary ICT leader, spearheading ambitious projects that will enhance the growth and business strategy of the organisation and will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the organisation’s IT infrastructure.
Security Analyst
As the person ensuring the security of the organisation, you will have to be privy to security breaches and network intrusions. The guardian of the ICT hardware and software, you handle all security documentation and assess the suitability of new technologies on existing or planned systems.
As the person ensuring the security of the organisation, you will have to be privy to security breaches and network intrusions. The guardian of the ICT hardware and software, you handle all security documentation and assess the suitability of new technologies on existing or planned systems.
Analyst Programmer
This role requires knowledge of a variety of programming languages. If you’re good at programming, you will enjoy installing, designing, modifying, testing and writing programmes, and supporting work teams and solving problems with software.
This role requires knowledge of a variety of programming languages. If you’re good at programming, you will enjoy installing, designing, modifying, testing and writing programmes, and supporting work teams and solving problems with software.
The Limkokwing campus in Cyberjaya is an experience unlike any other. Students from all over the world converge, making it a dynamic multicultural environment with 70% of the 9,000 students coming from over 160 countries worldwide.
The university has some 30,000 students studying in its 12 campuses in Botswana, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. A big part of its appeal is the university’s innovative brand of creative education that merges the best of East and West education.
In a rapidly developing world, the learning experience today has to include exposing young people to global business trends and innovation.
London - one of the world’s most vibrant and lively cities - is the heart of Limkokwing’s Global Research Centre for Creativity and Innovation.
Located in the heart of thriving Piccadilly, the campus provides students a unique opportunity to cross over to nearby locations for research in business, design, multimedia or any other fields of study.
An ICT student now has an opportunity to graduate with two awards, one Asian and one British. This is an exclusive route for Limkokwing students to spend their final year or semester in London, enabling them to obtain a Limkokwing award and a second credential from Anglia Ruskin University of Cambridge or University of Gloucestershire, UK.
Sunway University College chooses SAS® for IT skills training and research support (Sunway University College)
When business executives in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region seek to hire IT leaders with the latest skills in analytics and information systems, they often find them at Sunway University College, where SAS technology is used in the classroom to prepare students for careers in IT. Sunway is a world-class higher education institution and leader in private education in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. Established in 1987, Sunway provides tertiary education to a total of 10,000 students – with 30 percent coming from 90 foreign countries – enrolled in various academic programs at the diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The School of Computer Technology (SCT) at Sunway has developed a reputation for excellence, offering a high standard of education in information technology, information systems, computer science and networking. SCT advocates unique specializations that not only stress the importance of the academic curriculum, but also promote students' exposure to the IT industry, enabling them to discover their potential and achieve their goals. Associate Professor Dr. Lim Tong Ming, Head of SCT, said, "To achieve excellence in IT instruction, Sunway is extremely sensitive to the need to expose and educate its technology students with IT skill sets that are relevant and highly sought-after in the real world. This is to ensure that all of our graduates are at the forefront of industry demand, making successful careers in the competitive market."
SAS® for research support
With the rapid changes in the world of technology, Dr. Lim deemed it essential for Sunway academics to equip themselves with knowledge of the latest enterprise IT solutions, especially in the area of statistical analysis, data mining and analysis technologies. Sunway is continuously seeking to explore and research these areas to better tutor its students in the know-how of innovative technologies and advanced IT solutions. For this reason, the university college opted to further develop its teaching and research methods with SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Enterprise Miner. SAS analysis and data mining skills are highly in demand, as many Malaysian corporate organizations and enterprises are using similar, if not identical, SAS technology. SAS solutions are renowned for handling large amounts of data, comprehensive data analysis, business intelligence and analytics.
"We believe that SAS' well-known reputation for its widely applied solutions in the business world will give Sunway University College students the training they need to be truly relevant in the workplace," explained Dr. Lim. "We trust SAS as a partner that Sunway University College will benefit from."
Another factor for SCT choosing SAS for its research and training support is the unlimited licensing model of the software. "As an education institution, partnering with SAS also makes budgetary sense, as its adaptable licensing module eliminates the possibility of raking up a massive cost to be incurred due to the multiple use of such programs and solutions for the purpose of teaching, learning and research," said Dr. Lim.
Commercial returnsAdding SAS as a key subject in the university college's syllabus and industry training has also brought about new benefits to Sunway as a reputable educational institution.
SCT currently offers a number of courses covering data analysis and data mining using SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Enterprise Miner and Base SAS, which attract 70 percent of SCT students. "SAS' comprehensive and practical solutions have garnered a lot of interest amongst our lecturers and students," said Dr. Lim.
SCT's courses already prepared students to enter a highly competitive labour market. But Dr. Lim notes that within a year of working with SAS, Sunway has improved on its standards of educational excellence and the marketability of its highly practical technology courses.
The School of Computer Technology (SCT) at Sunway has developed a reputation for excellence, offering a high standard of education in information technology, information systems, computer science and networking. SCT advocates unique specializations that not only stress the importance of the academic curriculum, but also promote students' exposure to the IT industry, enabling them to discover their potential and achieve their goals. Associate Professor Dr. Lim Tong Ming, Head of SCT, said, "To achieve excellence in IT instruction, Sunway is extremely sensitive to the need to expose and educate its technology students with IT skill sets that are relevant and highly sought-after in the real world. This is to ensure that all of our graduates are at the forefront of industry demand, making successful careers in the competitive market."
SAS® for research support
With the rapid changes in the world of technology, Dr. Lim deemed it essential for Sunway academics to equip themselves with knowledge of the latest enterprise IT solutions, especially in the area of statistical analysis, data mining and analysis technologies. Sunway is continuously seeking to explore and research these areas to better tutor its students in the know-how of innovative technologies and advanced IT solutions. For this reason, the university college opted to further develop its teaching and research methods with SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Enterprise Miner. SAS analysis and data mining skills are highly in demand, as many Malaysian corporate organizations and enterprises are using similar, if not identical, SAS technology. SAS solutions are renowned for handling large amounts of data, comprehensive data analysis, business intelligence and analytics.
"We believe that SAS' well-known reputation for its widely applied solutions in the business world will give Sunway University College students the training they need to be truly relevant in the workplace," explained Dr. Lim. "We trust SAS as a partner that Sunway University College will benefit from."
Another factor for SCT choosing SAS for its research and training support is the unlimited licensing model of the software. "As an education institution, partnering with SAS also makes budgetary sense, as its adaptable licensing module eliminates the possibility of raking up a massive cost to be incurred due to the multiple use of such programs and solutions for the purpose of teaching, learning and research," said Dr. Lim.
Commercial returnsAdding SAS as a key subject in the university college's syllabus and industry training has also brought about new benefits to Sunway as a reputable educational institution.
SCT currently offers a number of courses covering data analysis and data mining using SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Enterprise Miner and Base SAS, which attract 70 percent of SCT students. "SAS' comprehensive and practical solutions have garnered a lot of interest amongst our lecturers and students," said Dr. Lim.
SCT's courses already prepared students to enter a highly competitive labour market. But Dr. Lim notes that within a year of working with SAS, Sunway has improved on its standards of educational excellence and the marketability of its highly practical technology courses.
Universiti Pahang Malaysia Moves Forward with Oracle Solutions (University Pahang Malaysia)
Kuantan, Pahang – Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has just announced that it has deployed Oracle Database 11g and Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) as part of its growth in technology infrastructure. From L-R: Roslan Bin Awang Abd Rahman, Deputy Director, PTMK UMP; Saiful Lizam Mohd Khamis, Director of Technology Sales Public Sector and MRD, Oracle Corporation Malaysia; Prof Dato’ Dr Daing Mohd Nasir Daing Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor UMP; and Prof Dr Badhrulhisham Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic & International), UMP
The implementation of these Oracle solutions helps to provide UMP with fault tolerance to maximize the availability of the Main Academic Portal, Time Attendance system, Student Management system, Online Examination system and Financial and Human Resource (HR) Management system, which in turn will result in a better service level for students and staff alike.
Thanks to this new system, efficiency of the university's workforce is also improved as it offers automated management capabilities that frees up staff time that were previously spent on manual administrative work.
“To improve its service level, UMP undertook the project to ensure prompt and reliable delivery of critical campus services, while stabilizing and easing workload and as a result, we are able to increase efficiencies that bring benefit to our students and staff so they can focus more on their core competencies,” said Professor Dato’ Dr. Daing Mohd Nasir Daing Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Pahang.
The implementation of these Oracle solutions helps to provide UMP with fault tolerance to maximize the availability of the Main Academic Portal, Time Attendance system, Student Management system, Online Examination system and Financial and Human Resource (HR) Management system, which in turn will result in a better service level for students and staff alike.
Thanks to this new system, efficiency of the university's workforce is also improved as it offers automated management capabilities that frees up staff time that were previously spent on manual administrative work.
“To improve its service level, UMP undertook the project to ensure prompt and reliable delivery of critical campus services, while stabilizing and easing workload and as a result, we are able to increase efficiencies that bring benefit to our students and staff so they can focus more on their core competencies,” said Professor Dato’ Dr. Daing Mohd Nasir Daing Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Pahang.
UPNM collaborates with MIMOS on WiMAX defence ICT (UPNM)
MIMOS has signed a three-year MoU with the National MIMOS has signed a three-year MoU with the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) on defence- and security-related ICT. The MoU signing ceremony was held at the university on 12 January. UPNM Vice-Chancellor Lt-Gen Datuk Wira Allatif Mohd Noor, who represented UPNM at the ceremony, said that the collaboration with MIMOS was a step towards realising the university’s vision of becoming a premier university of defence for education, training and the creation of knowledge. MIMOS was represented by Chief Operating Officer Abd Aziz Abd Kadir.
The collaboration will entail research and development (R&D) and academic teamwork involving ICT and defence information technology. This will include projects in wireless communication, information security, simulator, microelectronics and semiconductor. Also present was UPNM Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Industry Relations and Corporate Affairs Datuk Jesbil Singh. At the same event UPNM also signed MoUs with Secure Technology Innovations Sdn Bhd and Skyview Communication and Technologies Sdn Bhd where they will work together on maritime simulator and unmanned vehicles, respectively
Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) on defence- and security-related ICT. The MoU signing ceremony was held at the university on 12 January. UPNM Vice-Chancellor Lt-Gen Datuk Wira Allatif Mohd Noor, who represented UPNM at the ceremony, said that the collaboration with MIMOS was a step towards realising the university’s vision of becoming a premier university of defence for education, training and the creation of knowledge. MIMOS was represented by Chief Operating Officer Abd Aziz Abd Kadir.The collaboration will entail research and development (R&D) and academic teamwork involving ICT and defence information technology. This will include projects in wireless communication, information security, simulator, microelectronics and semiconductor. Also present was UPNM Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Industry Relations and Corporate Affairs Datuk Jesbil Singh. At the same event UPNM also signed MoUs with Secure Technology Innovations Sdn Bhd and Skyview Communication and Technologies Sdn Bhd where they will work together on maritime simulator and unmanned vehicles, respectively.
The collaboration will entail research and development (R&D) and academic teamwork involving ICT and defence information technology. This will include projects in wireless communication, information security, simulator, microelectronics and semiconductor. Also present was UPNM Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Industry Relations and Corporate Affairs Datuk Jesbil Singh. At the same event UPNM also signed MoUs with Secure Technology Innovations Sdn Bhd and Skyview Communication and Technologies Sdn Bhd where they will work together on maritime simulator and unmanned vehicles, respectively
Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) on defence- and security-related ICT. The MoU signing ceremony was held at the university on 12 January. UPNM Vice-Chancellor Lt-Gen Datuk Wira Allatif Mohd Noor, who represented UPNM at the ceremony, said that the collaboration with MIMOS was a step towards realising the university’s vision of becoming a premier university of defence for education, training and the creation of knowledge. MIMOS was represented by Chief Operating Officer Abd Aziz Abd Kadir.The collaboration will entail research and development (R&D) and academic teamwork involving ICT and defence information technology. This will include projects in wireless communication, information security, simulator, microelectronics and semiconductor. Also present was UPNM Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Industry Relations and Corporate Affairs Datuk Jesbil Singh. At the same event UPNM also signed MoUs with Secure Technology Innovations Sdn Bhd and Skyview Communication and Technologies Sdn Bhd where they will work together on maritime simulator and unmanned vehicles, respectively.
AIMST Produces Quality ICT Graduates (AIMST University)
THREE to four decades ago, nobody could have imagined that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) would bring tremendous changes to our lives.
ICT is vital in many sectors such as banking and commerce, marketing, health care services, communications, entertainment, transportation, natural resources management, waste management, robotics and manufacturing and space exploration.
AIMST's degree programmes in Computer Science and Information Technology are designed to meet the challenges in the current ICT trend.
A three-year degree programme in Computer Science, with a specialisation either in software engineering, networking or multimedia is blended with other engineering flavour to produce graduates who can meet the current industrial requirements.
Apart from this degree programme, AIMST also offers three degree programmes in Information Technology: Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems), Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) and Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems).
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems) programme
is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of managing complex information systems.
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) programme is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of using, designing, developing and managing complex information systems in a business organisation.
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems) programme will enable students to gain insight into more aesthetic aspects of modern multimedia system implementations.
Besides these degree programmes, AIMST also offers a two-and-a- half year diploma programme in computer networking.
ICT is vital in many sectors such as banking and commerce, marketing, health care services, communications, entertainment, transportation, natural resources management, waste management, robotics and manufacturing and space exploration.
AIMST's degree programmes in Computer Science and Information Technology are designed to meet the challenges in the current ICT trend.
A three-year degree programme in Computer Science, with a specialisation either in software engineering, networking or multimedia is blended with other engineering flavour to produce graduates who can meet the current industrial requirements.
Apart from this degree programme, AIMST also offers three degree programmes in Information Technology: Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems), Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) and Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems).
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems) programme
is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of managing complex information systems.
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) programme is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of using, designing, developing and managing complex information systems in a business organisation.
The Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems) programme will enable students to gain insight into more aesthetic aspects of modern multimedia system implementations.
Besides these degree programmes, AIMST also offers a two-and-a- half year diploma programme in computer networking.
Untangling Technology (UITM)
The partnership between Norzaidi Mohd Daud, Ph.D, from the Faculty of Business Management and Intan Salwani Mohamed from the Faculty of Accountancy has led to the development of TECHPROVEDTMSystem, a new business information technology system that could prove to be the way forward for detecting user resistance to technology and other IT usage problems.
Today more than ever, the momentum for employing emerging technologies to ensure more efficient delivery systems is building throughout industry and government. No one wants to be left behind and huge investments are made to acquire new information technology systems to this end. These investments, however, involve a complex mixture of technological, managerial and policy related challenges. Such investments often fail to live up to expectations if these risks are not fully understood or addressed in the first place. When this happens, policy makers need to know what went wrong but few have the resources to accurately and continuously evaluate the problem.
The Business-Accountancy research duo has shown how to get around this problem by developing TECHPROVEDTMSystem, a system based on their research on IT implementation in the Malaysian port industry. The study involving 357 middle managers from the port authority, immigration, customs and marine departments, incorporated three levels of analysis. Specifically, they sought to identify the perception of the middle managers on the effects of IT usage, examine the relationships between variables such as technology characteristics, task characteristics, task-technology fit, perceived usefulness, perceived resistance, user resistance, user satisfaction and the level of impact of the said variables on performance.
Govt agrees to appoint more Cuepacs reps to SPBA task force
KUANTAN: The government has agreed to appoint more top leaders of CUEPACS in the special task force to review the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA).
As such, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said CUEPACS should fully utilise the opportunity to realise the aspirations of the more than 1.3 million of its members throughout the country.
"I hope and believe that they will be involved in the meetings in future and give constructive opinion to improve the SBPA," he told reporters at the launching of the Pahang Local Authorities (LA) Information Technology Strategic Plan (PSTM), here today.
CUEPACS had earlier requested that three more top leaders of the congress be co-opted into the special task force to review the SBPA chaired by former Director-General of the Public Service Department (PSD), Tan Sri Ismail Adam.
Meanwhile, Mohd Sidek asked the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Manpower Planning Unit (Mampu) to intensify promotions on online services among the people.
He said the government was still dissatisfied with the response from the public on the campaign on online services although the infrastructure had been provided involving all government agencies.
"These facilities have been provided by many departments but the people probably do not want to use them or do not know how to use them.
"We must publicise these measures such as renewing the driving licence online because many do not know about it," he said.
The government had earlier launched the Local Authorities' PSTM 2011-2015 under the National Key Economic Area to save costs and turn it into a new platform for the development of information and communication technology (ICT).
Pahang is the first state to develop PSTM simultaneously in the 11 local authorities in the state.
Challenge to take Malaysia further in IT indexes
BANGI: Malaysia aims to be among the top 10 in the information technology (IT) competitiveness index and top 20 in the digital economy index by 2020, in line with the national digital transformation plan.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said this was because information technology was now seen as the key element that would revolutionise and support the growth of many industries.
These include the healthcare, communication and biotechnology industries.
"Malaysia moved 11 places from 32 to 21 in the recent world IT competitiveness index.
"In the digital economy ranking conducted by The Economist and IBM, Malaysia is now 36th among 70 countries.
"Take this challenge to help the country move up to the top 10 in the IT competitiveness index and top 20 in the digital economy index," he said at the second International Conference on Visual Informatics (IVIC) 2011 here yesterday.
His speech was read by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia board of directors chairman, Tan Sri Dr Zulkefli A. Hassan.
The three-day seminar, attended by some 200 experts in the field of visual informatics from 15 countries, is hosted by UKM and jointly organised by 13 public and private universities in the country.
Themed "Visual Informatics: Sustainable Innovation towards Wealth Creation", the seminar is chaired by seven professors from renowned universities, including Cambridge University and Imperial College, London.
Present were IVIC chair Prof Datuk Dr Halimah Badioze Zaman and UKM deputy vice-chancellor (students and alumni affairs) Prof Ir Othman A. Karim.
These include the healthcare, communication and biotechnology industries.
"Malaysia moved 11 places from 32 to 21 in the recent world IT competitiveness index.
"In the digital economy ranking conducted by The Economist and IBM, Malaysia is now 36th among 70 countries.
"Take this challenge to help the country move up to the top 10 in the IT competitiveness index and top 20 in the digital economy index," he said at the second International Conference on Visual Informatics (IVIC) 2011 here yesterday.
His speech was read by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia board of directors chairman, Tan Sri Dr Zulkefli A. Hassan.
The three-day seminar, attended by some 200 experts in the field of visual informatics from 15 countries, is hosted by UKM and jointly organised by 13 public and private universities in the country.
Themed "Visual Informatics: Sustainable Innovation towards Wealth Creation", the seminar is chaired by seven professors from renowned universities, including Cambridge University and Imperial College, London.
Present were IVIC chair Prof Datuk Dr Halimah Badioze Zaman and UKM deputy vice-chancellor (students and alumni affairs) Prof Ir Othman A. Karim.
http://www.nst.com.my
RM2.52b more ETP projects
KUALA LUMPUR: Fortune 500 companies IBM and Toshiba are each set to invest more heavily in Malaysia, with IBM planning to pump RM1 billion to develop a global technology services delivery centre in Cyberjaya over the next five years.
Japanese technology giant Toshiba, meanwhile, plans to invest RM268 million to build its regional operational headquarters in Malaysia. The foreign investments are part of nine new projects worth RM2.52 billion that fall under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which were announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday. The IBM project was deemed the biggest in terms of investment. Najib said the country remained focused on boosting growth and competitiveness to make Malaysia more attractive to investors.
"We will push ahead with reforms, including the Competition Act, which will come into effect on Jan 1, and the liberalisation of 17 services as announced in the 2012 Budget." He said while he remained confident the country could fast-track a generation of growth in 10 years, the ETP was only a year old and would take time before the benefits were felt.
Chris Eng, an analyst and research head at OSK Research, said: "It's been a long time since Cyberjaya saw such a large investment like the one from IBM. It bodes well for Malaysia and is also positive for the development of Cyberjaya." The centre will help the company deliver information technology services capabilities to clients around the world. Najib said the centre would help position Malaysia as a hub for IT experts in this region. IBM will employ up to 3,000 people for the centre. Patt Cronin, IBM general manager for global technology delivery and delivery excellence, said: "Our 10-storey building in Cyberjaya will have its groundbreaking ceremony in the first quarter of next year and it is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2013."
Toshiba chose Malaysia as its global supply chain hub, regional full turnkey, and research and development centre for its transmission and distribution equipment for Southeast Asia.American firm Akamai Technologies, ranked among the 100 best performing technology companies globally, plans to work with Telekom Malaysia Bhd on a project that will see Akamai's only Netstorage facilities in Southeast Asia hosted in Malaysia. Netstorage is a secure, outsourced service that reduces costs and hassle associated with content storage.
Other ETP projects include KPJ Healthcare Bhd's plan to build five hospitals in Malaysia, offering 822 beds, for RM763 million over the next three years.
Shrimp exporter Pegagau Group will set up a processing plant in Tawau and expand into large-scale cage farming. These initiatives will see a RM67.7 million investment. ETP, launched a year ago, had recorded RM177.1 billion in committed investment and 389,263 potential jobs, Najib said.
http://www.nst.com.my
Japanese technology giant Toshiba, meanwhile, plans to invest RM268 million to build its regional operational headquarters in Malaysia. The foreign investments are part of nine new projects worth RM2.52 billion that fall under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which were announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday. The IBM project was deemed the biggest in terms of investment. Najib said the country remained focused on boosting growth and competitiveness to make Malaysia more attractive to investors.
"We will push ahead with reforms, including the Competition Act, which will come into effect on Jan 1, and the liberalisation of 17 services as announced in the 2012 Budget." He said while he remained confident the country could fast-track a generation of growth in 10 years, the ETP was only a year old and would take time before the benefits were felt.
Chris Eng, an analyst and research head at OSK Research, said: "It's been a long time since Cyberjaya saw such a large investment like the one from IBM. It bodes well for Malaysia and is also positive for the development of Cyberjaya." The centre will help the company deliver information technology services capabilities to clients around the world. Najib said the centre would help position Malaysia as a hub for IT experts in this region. IBM will employ up to 3,000 people for the centre. Patt Cronin, IBM general manager for global technology delivery and delivery excellence, said: "Our 10-storey building in Cyberjaya will have its groundbreaking ceremony in the first quarter of next year and it is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2013."
Toshiba chose Malaysia as its global supply chain hub, regional full turnkey, and research and development centre for its transmission and distribution equipment for Southeast Asia.American firm Akamai Technologies, ranked among the 100 best performing technology companies globally, plans to work with Telekom Malaysia Bhd on a project that will see Akamai's only Netstorage facilities in Southeast Asia hosted in Malaysia. Netstorage is a secure, outsourced service that reduces costs and hassle associated with content storage.
Other ETP projects include KPJ Healthcare Bhd's plan to build five hospitals in Malaysia, offering 822 beds, for RM763 million over the next three years.
Shrimp exporter Pegagau Group will set up a processing plant in Tawau and expand into large-scale cage farming. These initiatives will see a RM67.7 million investment. ETP, launched a year ago, had recorded RM177.1 billion in committed investment and 389,263 potential jobs, Najib said.
http://www.nst.com.my
Malaysia Needs to Produce Own Cyber Security Software
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to produce its own cyber information security software as depending on foreign software may risk information leaks and intelligence breaches, said a software expert here today.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty dean Prof Dr Ramlan Mahmod said infiltration could happen covertly as currently there was a lack of understanding on source code logic streams used by foreign software.
"At the moment, there is no software capable of checking the source code of software to ensure the software used is confirmed safe.
"For the realisation of this information technology, the country needs to acquire 'technical knowhow' in information security and expertise in various fields such as computer science, mathematics and engineering," he told Bernama.
He said to acquire the expertise, the nation needed to carry out the foundation work such as training more experts in information technology and by bringing in more external technologies into the country.
Dr Ramlan said information leaks could happen in two situations, that is when the data was in transmission and hacking of existing data in storage.
"To prevent hackers from attacking data in transmission or unauthorised access to data storage, the information could be encrypted or hidden.
"This is the basis of information and software development important to ensure our cyber defence," he said.
He said the government needed to play a major role to set up a strong system of cyber defence as it needed financial commitment, expertise, legislation and continuous monitoring.
"Cyber security is the same as national security involving many operational aspects such as prevention, defence, detecting, intelligence and attack.
"It also needs sophiscated technical knowledge in information security and continuous upgrading of capability considering hackers are also improving their attacks," he said.
"At the moment, there is no software capable of checking the source code of software to ensure the software used is confirmed safe.
"For the realisation of this information technology, the country needs to acquire 'technical knowhow' in information security and expertise in various fields such as computer science, mathematics and engineering," he told Bernama.
He said to acquire the expertise, the nation needed to carry out the foundation work such as training more experts in information technology and by bringing in more external technologies into the country.
Dr Ramlan said information leaks could happen in two situations, that is when the data was in transmission and hacking of existing data in storage.
"To prevent hackers from attacking data in transmission or unauthorised access to data storage, the information could be encrypted or hidden.
"This is the basis of information and software development important to ensure our cyber defence," he said.
He said the government needed to play a major role to set up a strong system of cyber defence as it needed financial commitment, expertise, legislation and continuous monitoring.
"Cyber security is the same as national security involving many operational aspects such as prevention, defence, detecting, intelligence and attack.
"It also needs sophiscated technical knowledge in information security and continuous upgrading of capability considering hackers are also improving their attacks," he said.
Options for switching among windows in OS X
If you extensively use your Mac, you might regularly end up with many windows and tabs open on your screen at once, and organizing your workflow around these windows can sometimes be a chore. To help in this process, Apple has included its Expose and Spaces features in OS X, and in Lion has implemented a combination of these two options called Mission Control, but these graphical approaches have limitations.
If you have too many windows open, sometimes you might need to preview them before closing them, and while you can use Mission Control and similar tools to browse through the windows on your screen, with many open this may be rather difficult to do. A further frustration in previewing the windows you would like to close is that as you close them their locations shift around in Mission Control, so if you select one and close it, the next time you invoke Mission Control others that were in one location will be in a different place.
In this respect, Mission Control and other graphical approaches to managing windows do have their limits, so the best option to manage them might still be to use keyboard shortcuts.
- Command-Tab
This key command is an age-old option that is available on most computer systems. By pressing Command-Tab you will switch among open programs on the system. In OS X the tab order is based on the last programs used, so if you have just switched from Safari to Pages, then pressing Command-Tab will take you right back to Safari. Holding the Command key and pressing Tab multiple times will select other applications. - Command-Tilde
While Command-Tab moves between programs, Command-tilde (the symbol key right above the Tab key) will switch between the open windows in the current program. This in combination with Command-Tab will easily allow you to locate windows within a program and quickly preview them all as they pass by, so you can get a good look at them before closing them, all without having them zoom in and out multiple times as you invoke Mission Control or Expose. - Control-Tab
The last option for managing windows is to switch among the various tabs in programs that support them (mainly Web browsers). In OS X you can do this by pressing Control-Tab, and if the current window contains more than one tab you will swap around among them.
Using these three options, you can instruct OS X to quickly display different windows on screen at their full view, and when you see one you no longer want, you can press Command-W to close it. These options in conjunction with Expose, Spaces, and Mission Control can greatly help you take control over your open windows and close them, especially in OS X Lion where the resume feature can result in a program constantly opening many windows whenever opened, resulting in you needing to thin them out a bit before you next quit it.
http://reviews.cnet.com, by Topher Kessler.
Would an AT&T 'toll-free' data service stifle app innovation?
BARCELONA, Spain--App developers and consumer advocates are unhappy with news this week that AT&T may be considering a plan that would allow data-heavy service providers to pay upfront for the bandwidth their customers may use.
http://reviews.cnet.com, by Marguerite Reardon.
Earlier this week, AT&T's CTO John Donovan told The Wall Street Journal at the Mobile World Congress here that the carrier is considering a kind of toll-free calling for mobile data. The idea is that mobile app providers whose services consume a lot of data, such as video streaming, could buy from AT&T so that their users could access their service without using customer data plans. In essence, the app company providing the service would eat the cost of the data transfer instead of the consumer.
The concept is similar to 1-800 phone service that charges companies to provide free long-distance phone service to anyone calling that business. The benefit for consumers is that they don't incur the cost of the call.
"A feature that we're hoping to have out sometime next year is the equivalent of 800 numbers that would say, if you take this app, this app will come without any network usage," the Journal quoted Donovan as saying.
Donovan tried to paint the new pricing scheme as a win-win for AT&T and app companies. He said some companies are already interested because it will allow consumers, who may be nervous about trying an app, a risk-free way to check it out.
"What they're saying is, why don't we go create new revenue streams that don't exist today and find a way to split them," he told the Journal.
Bad news for app developers
While AT&T may think that recycling a concept from the old long-distance calling era is innovative, plenty of app developers and consumer advocates don't. These groups say that such a plan wold crush innovation, because it would make it more difficult for smaller startups to compete.
"It has the potential to put smaller companies, such as us, at a disadvantage," said Holger Luedorf, vice president of mobile and partnerships at FourSquare. "We're seeing such an explosion in innovation in the apps category because it's so cheap right now to develop an app and start a company. Something like this would add more cost and complexity."
Indeed, the Apple iPhone and the App Store has changed mobile applications forever. Before Apple, there was no easy way for app developers to get their services onto a wireless phone. They had to go to individual carriers and convince the carrier the app was worthy of placement on the so-called "carrier deck." And even once they convinced carriers to add their apps, they still had to go through a long testing process to get the app approved. At the same time, they had to go door-to-door to other carriers engaging in the same process.
It was a capital intensive and laborious process. And it made the development of mobile apps almost impossible for very small companies. Apple's App store and the Google Android Market that has followed have created entirely new industries. All developers have to do is develop their app and submit it to a store. Within a very short period of time, the app can be available to millions of possible customers with very little investment.
Now, it's the consumer who decides which apps to put on his or her phone and not the carrier. And as result, the market for mobile apps is flourishing. The model has allowed startup mobile apps, such as Foursquare, to grow from nothing to a service with more than 15 million users in a few short years.
But developers fear that by adding additional costs into the process, carriers may stifle innovation.
"The bigger more established players, such as ourselves, will be able to pay this fee," said Gustav Soderstrom, chief product officer for the streaming music service Spotify. "But those bigger players may not have the best or most innovative service. And that hurts consumers. The risk is that smaller players could be shut out, and they are the ones who are really innovating."
Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, a company that offers an app to compress data and help consumers track data usage on mobile devices, agrees that smaller developers may never get the chance to compete if they are burdened with additional fees.
"YouTube could afford this now," said Rosen. "But it never would have gotten off the ground if it had to pay such a charge in the early days. And what about the next video sharing app? What happens to them?"
The carrier argument
But both wireless and wireline providers say that they spend a lot of money to build their infrastructure, which other companies leverage to make profits. And for years they have complained that they should be compensated by these companies.
Instead, carriers argue that regulators have tried to institute burdensome requirements that prevent them from effectively managing their networks. Earlier this week at Mobile World Congress, Deutsche Telekom's CEO Rene Obermann complained of this very situation. He said it frustrates him when "over-the-top" providers, which are app companies delivering services over his network, make big profits while he spends billions to build and maintain his network.
App developers are somewhat sympathetic. Luedorf of Foursquare and Soderstrom of Spotify say they understand that it's not easy for carriers to keep up with demand for data on their networks. And business models need to be created to make sure that everyone is making money. But their sympathy's go only so far.
"A few years ago no one was using 3G data networks," Soderstrom said. "Back then carriers were begging for someone to drive traffic to their networks. Now they have the opposite problem."
But Soderstrom adds that fundamentally services like Spotify are still helping drive revenue for carriers because his service is driving demand for more data. And more demand means that customers have to buy larger data packages.
"We are driving demand for bigger subscriptions," he said. "And that is good for the carriers."
Indeed, wireless operators in the U.S. have already started eliminating unlimited data plans. Instead, they've created tiers of service that allow them to charge customers for how much data they use. These plans are meant to generate more revenue for operators, but it's also a way to control consumption of a limited resource. When resources, like bandwidth are unlimited, some customers are likely to consume more than if they must pay for what they use.
Of course, it hasn't been easy weening some consumers off the unlimited data plans. Reacting to the initial backlash against tiered service plans when it first announced them, AT&T promised existing smartphone customers that they could keep their unlimited data plans for life.
The carrier still offers this service, but late last year it began slowing down service for these unlimited customers who over-use the network. AT&T slows down the top 5 percent of data users. It doesn't explain how it calculates who is in the top 5 percent. But Rosen said that data his app has collected indicates that people seem to be getting slowed when their consumption reaches above 2GB. Meanwhile, AT&T now offers a 3GB data plan for the same $30 price as the unlimited plan.
AT&T has argued that the reason it is slowing down service for certain unlimited users is because network traffic is growing too quickly on its network, and it needs to manage how much data people are using. But consumer advocates say they are not buying this argument. And they say that AT&T's willingness to charge app companies a fee to deliver their streaming content shows that there is no real capacity crunch.
"This new plan is unfortunate because it shows how fraudulent the AT&T data cap is, and calls into question the whole rationale of the data caps," Harold Feld, legal director at Public Knowledge said in a statement earlier this week. "Apparently it has nothing to do with network management. It's a tool to get more revenue from developers and customers."
Feld also argues that this is the very situation it had hoped the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules would have prevented. The FCC adopted rules in 2010 that were supposed to protect smaller companies from carriage fees and other discriminatory network practices. But the rules that were eventually adopted, which offered some protection against this for wireline broadband customers, were watered down for wireless networks.
"This is exactly the type of market manipulation we hoped the FCC's Open Internet rules would prevent," Feld said. "If the Commission does not believe it has the authority under those rules to investigate this practice, it should do so under its general authority over wireless services."
Meanwhile, the communications industry believes that the way to innovate is to create new revenue streams by using the investments already made in the carrier infrastructure. During a keynote panel here at Mobile World Congress on Tuesday, Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen said that carriers should have the right to charge a premium for special guaranteed service, much like the airlines charge for first class.
"This market must develop in such a way that consumers are given choice on quality," he said. "Without it, this industry can't do what we must do. I have several options to get from here to Madrid. And no one stops me from buying a first-class ticket, if I want to buy one. Why should we not give wireless consumers the same choice?"
http://reviews.cnet.com, by Marguerite Reardon.
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