Yahoo Mail Raises the Stakes

Chinese spying on German government computers: report

Berlin, Aug 25, IRNA

Numerous computers of the German government are infected by Chinese espionage programs, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine said in a report to hit the newsstands on Sunday.

The so-called 'Trojan' programs which enable the unnoticed spying of computers, have been discovered in several ministries a few months ago, Der Spiegel cited a probe by Germany's domestic Verfassungsschutz intelligence agency and the Federal Office for Information Technology Security.

Chinese cyber spies snooped reportedly on computers in the chancellery, the foreign and economic ministry as well as the research ministry.

According to the Verfassungschutz, the Chinese hackers are believed to be linked to China's People's Army.

China is continuing its efforts to plant Trojan programs via the internet on German government computers, Der Spiegel said.

Reacting to the report, the Chinese embassy in Berlin dismissed it as "irresponsible speculation without any basis of proof".

Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to embark on Sunday on a one-week visit to China and Japan.

The German media has repeatedly reported on extensive Chinese economic espionage inside Germany.

True Budget Computer USD99

News Corp. Explores MySpace Swap deal with Yahoo

Yoono Version 4.0.1 — 05.06.2007

Improved 'Suprise Me' feature

When you use the 'Surprise Me' feature, you will be able to check a checkbox so that a new page is displayed automatically each time you launch Firefox. This will not overwrite your home page, but open a new tab instead.
A new context menu (right click) is added to your bookmark folders so that you can ask a Surprise that will be based on the URLs within the folder : a nice way to discover stuff on a given topic.

Bug fixes

Autologin on your Buzzlog from the Yoono toolbar menu
Web pages already visited will no longer appear as 'Surprise' pages
Terms of use more easily readable before signing up


Tech Connection #5

Gmail Theater: Why Use Gmail?

Had Microsoft bought Yahoo?

In the second week of May there was a big news about a big offer made by Microsoft to buy over Yahoo. Has the deal been closed? I have not received any news on this.

Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo for USD$50billion

HardWareZone | 10 May, 2007 12:50

If you haven't heard about this, you might want to now!
Microsoft, the maker of the recent Windows 6 (Vista) Operating System, wants to buy its online rival Yahoo, for a staggering USD$50billion!

This isn't the first time Microsoft has made an offer to Yahoo - they're refused before - but Microsoft is hoping the higher USD$50billion is going to change the yodelling online giant's mind.
In the online space where Google buys YouTube and Newscorp buys MySpace, the best method
to eliminate your enemy is to just buy them over.

With Yahoo Messenger 8 being able to use MSN Messenger (or Windows Live Messenger since version 8) user names, the battle between the top IM (Instant Messengers) just got tougher for Microsoft. Since Microsoft isn't the kind to allow you to use Windows Live Messenger for your Yahoo IM user name, people just might switch over to Yahoo's IM to use both Yahoo and Microsoft IM user names.

Taking over Yahoo would also increase Microsoft's Web search market share by 38%, putting them right behind Google - Microsoft's ultimate rival. Yahoo's current value is around USD$30 to 40billion - so that's a cool USD$10billion extra to just say yes to Microsoft. Will Yahoo accept it?

Source: The New York Post

State Censorship

Last Updated: Friday, 18 May 2007, 01:02 GMT 02:02 UK

Global net censorship 'growing'

China filtered a wide range of topics, said the report The level of state-led censorship of the net is growing around the world, a study of so-called internet filtering by the Open Net Initiative suggests. The study of thousands of websites across 120 Internet Service Providers found 25 of 41 countries surveyed showed evidence of content filtering. Websites and services such as Skype and Google Maps were blocked, it said. >>>>cut

The survey found evidence of filtering in the following countries:

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burma/Myanmar, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

Is PC guy an Achilles heel for Gates' pride?

By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor

---

There is one subject that is taboo for Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. You can talk to Bill about a lot of things. You can talk to him about the fast pace at which Google is extending its search and advertising

There is one subject that is taboo for Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. You can talk to Bill about a lot of things. You can talk to him about the fast pace at which Google is extending its search and advertising

Internet business while Microsoft is lagging behind. You can mention the muted adoption of Windows Vista. And you can even praise the piracy of Microsoft software products in his presence, just consider the example of Romanian President Traian Basescu.

However, there is one subject that is totally off limits. You cannot speak of it, comment on it and if possible, not even think about it in the presence of Bill Gates. What is it you ask? Well, the Mac ads of course.

It seems that Bill Gates is quite irate with Apple's PC guy vs. Mac guy video commercials that have flooded the Internet. So much so that he fails to retain the high level of diplomacy that characterizes him. At the beginning of February 2007, Gates simply smiled while the President of Romania applauded piracy. But when a journalist mentioned the Mac ads, Bill experienced something close to a blue screen.

Bob Garfield, a columnist with Advertising Age asked Bill Gates to comment on John Hodgman's character PC guy in the Mac ads. Bill Gates refused to answer the question, stating that he could not provide an opinion on Apple's ads. Garfield did not let Gates get off so easily and he raised the stake asking about the resemblance between Gates and PC guy. Gates simply left at this point, and barely managed to utter a “goodbye.”

15 short Ads = Apple Mac Guy -VS- PC Guy

U.S. Search Engine Rankings, February 2007

Click Here to read it in the post section

DOMAIN SQUATTING

CYBERSQUATTING

The US administration passed the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer protection in August 1999. The law enable trademark holders to obtain civil damages of a maximum amount of USD100k from those that register their trade names or similar-sounding names as domain names.

There was a case in 1999 where a domain was sold for one million USD. That domain was registered in 1994 at a cost of USD 70. The domain was wallstreet.com There were people who registered a common name and name combination they can think of with the hope of selling it a exorbitant prices and make a life time killing. Registering an Internet domain name for the purpose to sell later for a profit is termed as Cybersquatting


TYPOSQUATTING

Generally, the victim site of typosquatting will be a frequently visited website. The typosquatter's URL will be similar to the victim site address: Once in the typosquatter's site, the user may also be tricked into thinking that they are in fact in the real site; through the use of copied or similar logos, website layouts or content. Sometimes competitors of the victim site will do this.

Have you ever experience this. Say you have some sticky key. Now it causes you to key into your navigation bar typo errors for example. Instead of spelling blogspot it becomes logspot or in rush we mis-spell it as blogsport. Then you say to yourself why another site appear. Upon checking you discover a spelling error in your navigation bar. Well, that was done by design, read below. (bloggers note)

Typosquatting also called URL hijacking, is a form of cybersquatting which relies on mistakes such as typographical errors made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to an alternative address owned by a cybersquatter.

Alternatively, the user will be forwarded to a site of a completely different nature to what they intended. This tactic was infamously used by John Zuccarini, who redirected domains targeting children to pornographic websites. Sometimes, the typosquatters will use the false addresses to distribute viruses, adware , spyware or other malware. Some are also shock sites. More common are benign domain parking sites, selling advertising to firms based on keywords similar to the misspelled word in the domain.

As with cybersquatting in the past, the term typosquatting has been used by covetous parties in an effort to unseat domain registrants from brandable variants of generic domain names The shortage of poignant and generic domain names in the coveted .com generic top-level domain has left many hopeful registrants with no alternative but to locate catchy variants of existing generic words e.g. Orbitz.com (popular travel site with "z" to replace the "s") in an effort to find "new land" on which to build their website.As in the preceding example the line between typosquatting and registering a brandable variant of a generic domain name blurs dependent on the circumstance of each situation.

A company may try and preempt typosquatting by obtaining a number of websites with common misspellings and redirect them to the main, correctly spelled website. For example www.gooogle.com, www.goolge.com, www.gogle.com www.gewgle.com, and others, all redirect to www.google.com. In another example, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger is reported to control the domains with the ten most common misspellings of his surname.

Microsoft has released new software to help combat this issue. The software is called "Strider Typo-Patrol". This is a tool that scans and shows third-party domains that are allegedly typosquatting. It also lets parents restrict access to typo-squatting domains that show sexually oriented ads on typos of children's web sites.

"Typosquatting" is a meaningless term where the law is concerned. Laws generally are not concerned about registrations of domain names that are similar to other domain names or similar to existing trademarks, unless some other important factor is involved.

from experience and reference answers.com

The genesis of dual-core technology

The road to dual-core processors really began when Intel and AMD discovered that the goal of improving processor efficiency and performance by increasing the clock speeds towards the 3-GHz mark and beyond was actually having the opposite effect. The faster clock speeds were producing more heat and consuming more energy, both of which were hindering the efficiency and performance of the processors. Both companies realized that they needed to move towards dual-core processor technology in order to continue to improve processor performance.

Dual-core processors contain two processor cores on one chip; consequently, they can simultaneously perform calculations on two streams of data, which increases efficiency and speed when running multiple programs. This is especially true when running new, multi-threaded software, such as video and audio editing applications.

excerpt from techrepublic

SSL

What does SSL mean? Well, to begin, it stands for Secure Socket Layers and it is basically what makes secure sites secure. Here's how it works.

When you log into a secure server, it communicates with your Web browser for a few seconds. During this communication, it sends your browser encryption information, that only it and your browser can read, out. Once this encryption is set, it acts like a normal Web page, except that all the information coming or going is encrypted. This encryption makes it extremely difficult for any third party (anyone who would intercept the transaction) to decipher it. All this extra protection is why secure servers seem to run slower than their unsecured counterparts.

Secure connections only protect the information as it's coming and going, not when it's just sitting on the server. With that being said, you probably have a better chance of getting ripped off by a sales clerk copying your credit card number at a department store than getting your information stolen over the Internet. Also, you can tell if a site is secure by the first part of its Web address. If it starts with https:// rather than http://, it's secure as can be. Stay safe!

~ Quoted from Steve

My Top Four FireFox addons

Cooliris Previews by The Cooliris Team

Cooliris Previews gives you the power to browse and share Web links and rich media instantly. Just mouse over any link, and the Cooliris preview window immediately appears to show you the content. No more clicking back and forth or losing your search context. To send a link, just click.

Answers by Asher Szmulewicz

1-Click Answers™ saves you time by instantly delivering the information you are looking for. Press Alt (or Option on a Mac) and click any word to get a quick, relevant definition or explanation, drawn from a collection of over 100 reference titles. You don't even need to highlight the word!

Download Statusbar by Devon Jensen

Manage your Internet downloads from a tidy toolbar, without the download window getting in the way of your Web browsing. Despite its compact size, Download Statusbar packs in more useful features than the standard download window. The fully customizable interface auto-hides when not in use, allowing full control without interruption.

( the status bar is at the left bottom corner of the screen )

Yoono by Yoono

Yoono instantly suggests similar sites, blog notes and people sharing the same interests while you are surfing, for each page you open.
Zero effort required - no more tagging, typing keywords or changing interface. Let Yoono bring you the best that others have discovered.
Yoono is easy, fun, addictive and designed for everyone.

As well, Yoono synchronizes your favorites automatically between computers and provides favorites export features in XBEL and OPML formats

This extension comes with a customizable toolbar that you can move almost wherever you like, and a sidebar that allows you to display at the same time another sidebar of your choice !

Please read our privacy policy page: http://www.yoono.com/privacy.html
Yoono does not store any personal user data except:
- the favorites which have not been declared "secret"
- data freely and optionally given to Yoono by the user himself.
This is the data filled-out in the User Profile tab, it can be edited any time.

In no case Yoono markets or communicates to a third party any personal data collected. The data that is stored is necessary for the service to function or as the sole object of improving the quality of the service provided to users.
Yoono does not record the browsing of its users but uses the URL of the page viewed by a user to send back suggestions to his browser.

USE FIREFOX BROWSER IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO USE THESE ADDONS

My top 4 favorite buttons.

On browsers.

We access the Web via a paid service in Malaysia the most well known are the TMnet dial up service or the streamyx DSL service. The navigation tools that we need to navigate through the web, is called a browser – which is basically a software. Internet Explorer (IE) is an example of a browser. In the early days of the personal computers (pc) the Netscape Navigator was the most popular browser.

In the mid 90s that Netscape popularity was over taken by IE. For a decade or so IE had dominated the market completely until recently losing ground to Mozilla Firefox (FF). In recent years, the open-source browser FF has earned praises from the public. It enable third party developers to easily create extensions that add functionality of the FF browser. There are thousands of home brewed add-ons and extension for FF. IE add-ons are also available but its closed framework make it difficult for developers.

On toolbars.

The tools that we can make or give instructions to the browser what to do are available from the toolbar. Each item on the toolbar are called buttons. Each buttons gives a specific instruction. This buttons are needed when we browse the web. The best method and the fastest are very much dependent on our ability to use these buttons effectively.

I uses both IE and FF browsers. For both browsers I installed tab browsing buttons. On the IE browser I installed the Yahoo toolbar and on the FF browser I installed the google toolbars. I have been using about 80% of the time, FF in 2006. On the FF google toolbars I had placed all of my favorite buttons.

My top 4 favorite buttons.

I called then my favorite buttons because these buttons gave me considerable ease and save a lot of time. These buttons are the

1. tab browsing button – it allows me to open windows on another tab so I do not have to close all the previous windows. That helps a lot when I need to make a cross references to another site when I am browsing and I cannot leave the present site. It also assists me in doing postings to my blogs. I could open many sites or pages for different functions or reasons at the same time. It also works perfectly well with my two other add-ons developed by third parties, which I shall highlight in later postings.

2. groups button – this button is placed to the google or yahoo toolbars. They are google and/or yahoo buttons. With a click on the button we are in our list of groups (a drop down menu for yahoo) and we can pick which one we want to go into.

3. mail button – it is placed on the respective toolbars too for yahoo & google. Using this button we can get into our mailbox with a click on a button. There are mail button that comes on a third party tool3bars that we can place three or four different mailboxes on to the button – when pressed there is a drop down menu which allow us to elect which mailbox we want to go into.

4. Autofill – if you are filling up many forms like I did for the whole months of December 06 January 07, having this buttons will allow your finger tips some rest and will avoid unnecessary typo errors that is normally associated with such routine work.

The Blogger recommends Firefox browser to enable you to use the buttons.

Add Firefox Buttons

Are you one of the many who use Firefox as your main Web browser? If so, you may think that there just aren't enough buttons to choose from in the regular interface. Well, if you have a feeling something is missing from your button options, the only thing I can think of to do is add some more! And even better, you can do that easily with the FirefoxMenuButtons 2.0.1 extension. Shall we see how all this works?!

Once you download the extension to your Firefox browser, you will have a grand total of 41 more buttons to choose from on your regular toolbar. And let me tell you, everything is covered. There's a button for everything from Save As to Open File to Send Link to Print Preview to Undo to Send Message to Preferences to Page Info to Previous Tab to Full Window and so many more. It's amazing what all you can add to your browser with this one little extension.

Now, there may be some buttons you really want, but a few you don't want, so you can also add and delete any of the buttons as you go along. Talk about convenient! If you're interested in adding these buttons to your Firefox browser, click here for the download. Just click on the link that says "Download FirefoxMenuButtons 2.0.1" to get started. You can read more about this extension from the link above as well. Do keep in mind that this is only for Firefox 2.0. So, if you have that, go have some button fun and enjoy all your new additions!

~ Erin

Windows WOW launching gave ideas ....Top 10 things to try with Windows Vista

Here are a few of the top things you can do to evaluate Windows Vista for your organization, plan your deployment, and make yourself more productive.

1. Plan an easier deployment: Get the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD 2007) and install the latest deployment tools and guidance on deploying Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system. In addition, you can use this step-by-step guide to familiarize yourself with some of the major tools and technologies to help you with deployments. Our guidance will show you how to build an image using ImageX, configure it, and create an unattend.xml file using the Windows System Image Manager. Then, configure Windows Deployment Services to deploy the customized image to test machines in your organization. Explore the full range of innovations we've developed to make deployment simpler, including updating an image in an offline state and customizing the Windows preinstallation environment.
   
   
   To get the BDD 2007, visit the Desktop Deployment Center on TechNet.
2. Improve security and compliance: Encrypt your drive using BitLocker drive encryption. Take advantage of User Account Control and deploy a test group as standard users and see how much easier they are to support. Apply group policy settings that prevent data transfers to removable media like flash drives and CD-Rs. Run as a standard user on your own PC. On Windows Vista, everyday activities like browsing the Web with Internet Explorer 7 will be more secure because of the built-in anti-phishing filter and Protected Mode.
3. Manage your PC: Explore more than 500 new group policies to see everything you can manage centrally. New policies include the ability to control installation of devices and power management settings, which can help you save energy costs on each PC. Use the Event Viewer to get a consolidated view of all of the events on your system. (Just type "Event Viewer" in the Quick Search menu to bring it up.) You can right-click any event to schedule a task that will start automatically the next time that event happens.
4. Optimize your network: Restrict authorized use of the network by configure the new outbound blocking capabilities of the Windows Firewall. You can use the same integrated MMC Firewall snap-in to configure server and domain isolation using IPSec. See how Quality of Service policies can help you manage the use of precious bandwidth and define the priority of traffic for applications. If you ever have trouble connecting to a network, just right-click on the connection icon in your system tray and choose "Diagnose." Windows Vista will help you identify the problem and guide you through the solution.
5. Test your applications: Download and use the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0. Take inventory of the applications in your environment, record any issues you find, and synchronize your findings with other testers using the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange. The tool will also find issues with Web sites you are visiting and applications that may not work well for standard users.
6. Be more productive: With the Windows Aero user experience, the windows feature a transparent glass effect that makes it is easier to manage your open windows with less distraction. Press Windows+Tab to experience the dynamic "Flip 3D" window management feature. Use Instant Search, which is built right into the Start menu to easily find your documents, e-mails, Web sites, and even applications. Insert a ReadyBoost-capable storage device, such as a USB 2.0 memory drive with at least 512 MB capacity. When prompted, click "Speed up my system" to get an extra boost of performance.
7. Go mobile: Windows Vista is designed to work especially well on mobile hardware, so install it on your laptop or Tablet PC, too. Press Windows+X to start the Windows Mobility Center, which puts the most frequently used mobile PC settings in a single location. With the Sync Center, it is easy to keep your files, data, and devices in sync and move seamlessly between online and offline states. You can also configure Folder Redirection so roaming users can access any folder, not just the five that could be roamed in Windows XP. If you are using a Tablet PC, you'll notice that improved handwriting recognition, cursors, visual feedback, and new Pen Flicks will make it even easier to use.
8. Share information and collaborate: Try Windows Meeting Space (previously known as Windows Collaboration) to collaborate with a co-worker who is also using Windows Vista. You can share your screen with others and take turns working on a file. Use Microsoft's new read-only XML-Paper Specification (XPS)archival file format to store and share documents in a more secure way. To create an XPS document, simply print it and chose "Microsoft XPS Document Writer" as the printer. You can share the XPS document with other Windows Vista users or with Windows XP users who have installed the .NET Framework 3.0.
9. Use the Web more effectively: With Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista, you can browse the Web more easily and securely. Right-click a link and chose "Open in New Tab" to experience the new tabbed browsing. Press Ctrl+Q to open the Quick Tabs (thumbnail view) of all your open tabs. Even printing is improved—select “Shrink to Fit” printing and the sides of your Web pages won't be cut off. You can use the built-in RSS reader to subscribe to the Windows Vista Blog or other feeds to get the latest information.
10. Join the community: Share your experiences in a blog, get help from other users, and share tips you discover—there are a number of ways you can interact with others around the world who are using Windows Vista. TechNet offers managed forums where you can ask questions and get support from your peers. In the Windows Vista Start menu, you will also find links to community resources and support options in the Help and Support section.

Windows Vista is designed to work well with Microsoft Office 2007. Visit the 2007 Office system site and take a test drive to see how they work better together.

Messages from Gmail team.

Gmail is different. Here's what you need to know.

Built-in chat, keyboard shortcuts, customized addresses and more. Sound cool? We think so too. Welcome to Gmail.

We hope this email will help you learn about some of the features that make Gmail unique. To get started, you may want to:

• Check out the Gmail Tour in our Getting Started section.
• Import your contacts to Gmail from Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, Hotmail and others.
• Visit our Help Center to learn about Gmail's features, like free POP access.

Gmail has super-fast mobile access, and it also works great with other Google products like Desktop for offline searching, Picasa for sending your pictures, and Google Talk for making free calls and sending instant messages to your friends.

As you're using Gmail, you might notice that there aren't any large, blinking, irrelevant ads. That's because we only show small text ads that are matched by computers and designed to be relevant to the messages you're viewing.

Users have often told us that the more they use Gmail, the more they discover its added benefits. So go ahead and give Gmail a try. We'll keep working on making Gmail the best email service around. Thanks for joining us for the ride. We hope you'll enjoy Google's approach to email.

Thanks,

The Gmail Team

* * * * * *

It's easy to switch to Gmail!

Did you know that Gmail was voted #2 in PC World's Top 100 products of 2005, right after Firefox? Why wouldn't you want to switch? Well, because it can be a pain to switch to a new email address. We know.

But, it doesn't have to be. We want to make it easier for you. So, we've created a new switching guide to make the transition easier. The guide covers how to:

• Import your contacts into Gmail
• Announce your new address
• Remind friends that you've changed addresses
• Still use your old address to send mail

There's even personalized help for switching from the email service you no longer care to use. But if you're not ready now, we understand. Play around with Gmail for awhile. Send and receive some messages. We think you'll like it (you might miss all that spam, though). And, when you're ready, the switching guide is in our Help Center.

Change is good. It can be easy too.

Thanks,

The Gmail Team

Sharing : Sedikit cara ambo mengurus e-mel

1. Muqadimmah

Bila ambo cuba fikirkan untuk menulis rencana ini untuk kita kongsi bersama terlintas di kepala ambo tentang satu doa yang pernah di baca oleh seorang ahli sufi yang berbunyi “Ya Allah, bebaskan lah daku dari lautan nama-nama ini”. Dalam konteks memberi pengertian kepada sesuatu perkara, ianya amat bergantung kepada sikap seseorang sama ada jenis optimis atau pessimis. Serupa kata sesetengah orang bila seseorang tenggok air dalam gelas – dia boleh kata gelas itu separoh penuh atawa separoh kosong. Dalam konteks doa yang disebut diatas ambo terjemahkan doa itu sebagai satu permohonan untuk menjadikan lautan nama-nama atau benda-benda berkaitan kepada satu perkara yang boleh di uruskan bukannya satu doa untuk melarikan diri dari lautan itu. Memandangkan nama-nama banyak la ni, terutama nya hak jenis teknikal maka ambo terpaksa guna juga istilah inggeris asal kerana kurang arif dengan terminologi dalam bahasa Malaysia.


2. Benda yang ambo guna

Benda yang ambo guna untuk urusan e-mel adalah

2.1 Streamyx.

Ambo telah menyelia atau monitor, berapa kos sekiranya di gunakan dial up tmnet dan mendapati kosnya melebihi langganan broadband streamyx. Ini memandangkan anak-anak ambo pun guna juga. Atas pandangan ‘minister of home affairs’ ambo, ambo tidak menyekat anak sekolah menengah keatas untuk menggunakan nya.

Ambo rasa berbaloi kerana anak ambo selain dari bertukar-tukar emel dengan kawan mereka yang berada di sekolah lama / dulu. Mereka berhubung melalui e-mel dan friendsters dan download filem-filem dan siri-siri TV. Mereka juga telah jadi lebih kreatif dan arif dari ambo hingga ambo boleh belajar daripada mereka. Perlunya broadband bertambah lagi sebab ambo sendiri pun suka melawat akhbar dan website alternative seperti Democracy Now, Counterpun,IRNA ( Islamic Republic News Agency ), Ynet, Aljazeera dan Muslimedia International (ini adalah website pengeluar Crescent International, sesiapa yang belajar di UK / Seberang laut mungkin biasa mendengarnya, Crescent International di haramkan di Malaysia sekitar tahun 1995 oleh kerajaan Tun Mahathir). Tujuan untuk mendapat berita mengikut pandangan mereka, yang tidak boleh di dapati melalui CNN dan RTM. Contohnya kalau nak tahu pasal isu panas di Malaysia seketika dulu, ia itu “Bank Negara main penukaran mata wang asing (Pound Sterling)” sepenuhnya, eloklah melawat juga “blog” Kit Siang. Tapi, ni tidak bermakna ambo sokong Kit Siang atau ahli DAP. Sesiapa di antara pembaca yang ada binari logik tolong ubah sikit pemikiran.

Ambo di Machang tiada pilihan lain melainkan Streamyx untuk perkhidmatan broadband. Satu lagi baiknya broadband. Kita boleh guna Komputer dan talian talipon sekali ( bersama dalam satu masa ). Kalau dengan Tmnet dial up kena guna salah satu, samada e-mel (computer) atau talipon, kecuali dengan guna dua line satu khusus untuk talipon dan satu khusus untuk tmnet dial up baru boleh guna kedua sekali ( bersama dalam satu masa ). Dengan broadband, walaupun satu line kalau ada call in ianya tidak memaksa pengguna computer yang melayari lamanweb berhenti.

2.2 Firefox sebagai Browser melayari alam siber.

Ambo dapati firefox lebih baik daripada hak Microsoft buat, internet explorer. Firefox tiada pop-up, iklan dsbnya. Firefox senang di dapati dari websitenya dan boleh download percuma sahaja. Firefox ini di perkenalkan oleh anak ambo. Firefox ambo guna untuk melawat websites, melayari alam siber. FF2 tidak mudah terganggu seperti IE6 atau IE7.

Walapun Bill Gates merahsiakan Operating System dia, hinggakan Microsoft kena denda ANTI-TRUST di Eropah baru ini. Firefox antara yang bagus dan senang untuk digunakan dengan Microsoft Windows. Cuma di ingatkan disini bila nak download pastikan version windows anda boleh menerima software yang di kehendaki itu.

Selain dari firefox (FF2), dalam PC ambo ada browser lain seperti Avant, Opera dan IE7. Ambo baru install flock yang di minati oleh anak ambo hok form three untuk friendster dia. AOL browser ada ambo download tapi telah uninstall kerana di dapati slow. Ambo boleh kata the fastest dan kurang kerenah sekali adalah Firefox2.

Firefox, FF juga membenarkan communiti untuk membina addons dan extension untuk browser FF. Ambo tahu hal ini apabila ambo bina personal google pages ambo. Yahoo pun ada function ini, untuk membuat personal pages. Masing boleh buat addon dan extension mengikut selera dan kehendak hati masing-masing. Sekiranya sesiapa nak cuba bolehlah masuk komuniti Google firefox mozilla thunderbird tersebut. Jadi banyaklah addons dan extension Firefox dan Ambo happy kerana kita boleh pilih untuk download addons dan extension kepada browser FF2 itu mengikut selera dan keperluan kita.

2.3 Email Address (Addy)

Ambo pakai melebihi tiga “e-mail address” yang berkekalan streamyx, yahoo dan gmail. Dulunya semua ID sama tapi sebab lupa password yahoo, terpaksa tukar ID Yahoo, sebab ID bila ada dah di guna orang kita tidak boleh guna lagi. Jadi dari segi yahoo ID hok ambo dulu telah digunakan orang. Untuk ringkas dan cepat dapat khidmat yahoo balik ambo buat ID lain dengan password baru.

Streamyx ambo guna untuk urusan peribadi yang “official” seperti berurusan dengan “utility companies”- seperti air, api, telekom, Pihak atau Badan Kerajaan, Bank dan kelab. Streamyx agak leceh untuk posting kita tidak boleh tunggu lama akan keluar “session out”. Kalau slow atau typing panjang habis. Gapo lagi kalau nak tingal posting dan melayari web semula, kaedah streamyx ini tidak membolehkan kita optimize “tab browsing”. Kalau banyak guna dtreamyx akan keluar “WTF!”.

gmail ambo guna untuk egroups. Memandangkan “memory” gmail besar, berita dan rencana dari Malaysiakini dll (seperti yang kita boleh arahkan “Yahoo Alert” misalnya berkenaan Irag) juga diterima melalui gmail dalam spam yang akan dibuang dengan sendiri selepas 30 hari kalau tak penuh atau dengan prinsip “first in first out (FIFO)”. gmail juga ambo guna untuk berurusan dengan AJK PERWI untuk membezakan dengan mel biasa.

gmail ini lain sikit cara penyusunan mel dengan Yahoo, setiap mel disusun mengikut satu rangkaian susulan perbualan itu, jadi amat sesuai dengan group yang aktif yang perbincang berdasarkan tajuk dan banyak tajuk dalam satu hari dibincang. Ianya tidak sesuai dengan group yang tidak aktif, tidak berbincang secara bertajuk dan banyak mengirim attachment seperti rencana dan gambar. Begitu juga dengan googles group – bagus untuk perhubungan “perkataan bertulis”, tiada simpanan database atau gambar di dalam “grouppage” nya.

Sekarang ini ambo edit rencana lama. Paragraph di atas tidak sesuai dan tepat lagi. Ada boleh guna picasa2 untuk gambar-gambar. Kebelakangan ini gmail telah improve dan berkembang begitu cepat dan pesat sekali. gmail pun sesuai untuk attachment dan gambar-gambar. Google group beta begitu hebat sekali sehingga ada yang telah hijrah (migrate) dari yahoo group ke google group. Yahoo pun kebelakangan itu membuat revision dalam business nya untuk bersaing dengan google.

Cara Yahoo menyelesaikan berbualan berangkai ini juga lucu sikit. Misalnya apabila seorang membalas kemudian seorang lain menjawap kemudian seorang lagi kemudian seorang lagi mengulas, sekiranya kita guna versi yahoo melayu akan keluar tajuk, “balasan balasan balasan”. Anda boleh fikir apa akan jadi sekira rangkaian perbualan itu telah melebihi “double digit” (berbelas atau berpuluh).

Satu lagi yang perlu di atasi adalah “double posting” kepada kita. Ini berlaku apabila ada overlapping “egroup” yang kita sertai berhubung dengan keahliannya. Mithalnya Batch ambo dengan egroup Alumni ambo. Cara ambo atasi ialah dengan memilih satu e-mail yang mengeluarkan beberapa ayat di bawah tajuh nya. Dengan melihat ayat tesebut ambo boleh tahu samaada telah membacanya atau belum. Kalu telah ambo boleh terus hit “DEL”.


2.4 Untuk Keluargawanishak egroup

Yang paling sesuai digunakan untuk keluargawanishak ialah yahoo. Ada kelebihan lagi selain dari kemudahan untuk memasuki webpage dan lihat kesemua apa yang ada di situ seperti database, gambar, files, links berkaitan dan boleh pakai voice mails dan IM (Instant Messaging). Perkara yang teknikal tertulis di ruangan ini ambo serahkan kepada yang lebih arif, dalam AJK ICT, untuk menghuraikan cara penggunaan nya.

Dari segi menyimpan nama-nama ahli, cara ambo buat adalah dengan menggunakan ruangan First Name mengisi nama/gelaran ahli misalnya “Na” dan ruangan Last. Last Name ambo isi nama kelaurga misalnya “Mok Ngoh”. Ambo sort arrangement dengan Last Name. Sebab itu, kalau ambo mail dengan cara “first principle” – dari Compose and menggunakan “insert addresses” – akan keluar “Na Mok Ngoh<>”. Dengan cara begini ambo dapati senang untuk cari seseorang. Misalnya nak cari Kak Mie, Ambo cari Che Nab, dan boleh “tick” sahaja untuk hantar emel kepada Kak Mie. (Nota, version Beta telah di ubah fungsi ini).

Satu lagi kita boleh buka dan buat list. Cuba tenggok menu Address. Ada satu “LIST”. Sebagai contoh ambo buat list untuk senaraikan anak beranak Arwah Wan Som. Ketika hendak hantar email dalam mode “insert Address”, klik “Categories” kemudian boleh klik nama list tersebut misalnya “wansom” semua nama yang ambo senaraikan itu akan keluar di ruangan “TO”. Tidak perlu taip banyak kali yang akan boleh menyebabkan ada kesilapan menaip. “List” kita boleh adakan dengan menggunakan “Last Name”, letakan semua yang “Last Name” yang sama dalam satu list (ini berdasarkan versi original, bukan Beta, belum cuba dengan Beta).

Kegunaan “List” pada pandangan ambo akan menjadi penting di egroup “keluargawanishak”. Dulu ambo pernah sarankan untuk menggunakan kaedah ini bagi kumpulan yang pejabat mereka telah “block” mel egroup ( orang gomen la ). Sebabnya age group, professional group dsbnya dalam egroup keluarga ini amat luas. Mungkin puak Che Gu nak bincang hal berkaitan dengan penguruan mereka saja. Atau pun mungkin “contents” ada hal yang melanggar AUKU ataupun age limit. Ataupun mungkin hanya untuk orang yang pandai cakap Jepun sahaja, ha..ha! Third language will be very fashionable soon as we go Global! Jadi masing “sub-group” ini hanya perlu buat “list” sahaja dan tidak perlu buat e-group.

Satu lagi kegunaan “LIST” adalah bila ada di antara kita yang menggunakan Secretary di Pejabat, selalu on the move dengan tugasan dan mengarahkan / delegate the secretary membuka emel kita. Tentulah hanya mel yang resmi/official, seperti perhubungan antara AJK yang sesuai untuk di baca oleh Secretary. Jadi “office email address” hanya diletakan didalam “LIST AJK” dan address lain seperti Yahoo atau gmail di letakan didalam egroup untuk hubongan harian – yang ada kala sedih, ada kala serious dan ada kala gelak ketawa dan bukan untuk “consumption” orang luar seperti secretary kita.

gmail ada satu fungsi group, fungsi ini boleh digunakan dan diadaptasi untuk tujuan “LIST” seperti Yahoo.



Hal-hal teknikal lain seperti masok gambar, buat album, voice mails, hantar video, instant messaging dan sebagainya ambo tinggal ko orang lain untuk teruskan ruangan ini.


3. A Caveat – clearing the air

Ambo tulis rencana ini sebagai permulaan sharing dalam bab ICT. Kita tahu dan faham isu hok di bincang ini isu teknik saja. Jadi kita selalu dengar, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”. Bukan satu cara untuk melepah kulit kambing. Cuma orang India kata orang Melayu gatung kambing kepala keatas sebab itu kambing Melayu lepah berbau. Orang India gatung kambing kepala kebawah ketika melepah kulit jadi tidak berbau. Itu lah moralnya.

Mungkin ada cara lain hok molek lagi dari segi teknik mengendalikan apa yang ambo telah huraikan, silalah kemukan dan buat kita faham – ambo pun nak tahu jugak dan gunapakai gapo hok sesuai dan sejiwa dengan selera ambo. Kita nak achieve “personal satisfaction and optimization” in using ICT. That is Rome. And we know that there is an English proverb, that says “all roads lead to Rome”.

<the article will be rendered into English for the benefit of our English readers >

Ma6 matlesen
Dec 2006 AD