Author: Aulia Masna

Former tech journo, used to write for Macworld, DailySocial, e27. Ex , ran a national startup initiative program in Indonesia. Very much into the news.

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Thought via Path

The new search on Path 2.9 is an acceptable feature in lieu of actual periodical query, which may yet still be added. For people who treat Path as a personal blog, being able to search posts by month would be priceless.

If it had tags to categorize them, it’d be even better. And then we’d have Path as the ultimate mobile blog network, going head to head with Blogger and WordPress but for private audience. It might supplant Facebook for this purpose because I don’t think people use Facebook in this way even though its clearly capable of doing that.

I think my mind just exploded with ideas. – Read on Path.

Google and the competition

This morning I found out that Google is removing support for Exchange Active Sync. This essentially cuts off proper Gmail services to Windows Phone. As the creator of Exchange, Microsoft isn’t keen on supporting the open alternatives to Exchange services but without such support, all consumers considering Windows Phone will hear is, “Windows Phone doesn’t do Gmail” or “Gmail sucks on Windows Phone” and then they’ll go running to iPhone or Android.

Google is cutting off Microsoft from its services because it knows that Windows Phone is a potential threat down the line. Cut it off early and Google has a chance to limit or even stunt its growth.

Don’t think you’ll be safe on iOS. By brushing aside Windows Phone, Google will only have iOS to deal with and currently it’s cozying up real tight to it, offering apps and services that work really well on Apple’s platform to get people to use them instead of Apple’s own. Before you know it you’ll be using all of Google’s apps on iOS which will give Google close to total market dominance.

If it can’t get certain people to use Android, it will get them to use as many of its services as possible that make up Android. If the threat is small enough, it will move to shut it down. Let me point you to Acer which wanted to use Alibaba’s Aliyun OS before Google issued a threat to expel Acer from the Android gang if it went ahead.

The only reason Google hasn’t harassed Amazon for its Kindle Fire is because it will face antitrust issues in the US and Europe if it does. Google has refused to acknowledge Kindle Fire as an Android variant despite Amazon having built its OS from Android and at this point, it can’t go further than that.

Once people who don’t use Android predominantly use Google’s services, Google will get them to jump in and switch to Android and when the number is high enough, it will cut off access from the remaining major competing platforms, which at this point may well be iOS only.

This is a real danger time for companies that aren’t immediate Google partners. In five or so years, without a strong competitive landscape, we’ll likely return to the days of Windows dominance over desktop computers with Android playing the Windows role.

Launching iPhone 5 at 7 Eleven might not be such a bad idea after all

Indonesia’s third iPhone carrier plans to launch iPhone 5 at two 7 Eleven outlets in Jakarta. The absurdity of the idea probably hides the genius behind this launch strategy by Indosat. Unlike in many other countries, Indonesia’s 7 Eleven outlets are set up as more than just a mini mart. They are actually quite large, about the size of regular Apple Stores (seriously, no kidding), they have seating areas, many have a second floor dining area and a balcony, free wireless Internet, and highly popular among teens, youngsters, the middle class.

Hamid Muhamad argues that Indosat’s unorthodox strategy is quite brilliant. People can buy drinks, food, and smoke, at 7 Eleven while they wait in line, but the primary reason he says, 7 Eleven provides Indosat with a completely different market segment from what malls offer and by targeting that specific segment, Indosat does not have to compete directly with the other carriers for customers. As he says, teens who frequent 7 Eleven are the kind who can not only afford DSLR cameras but use them casually on a daily basis. These kids have (their parents’) money to burn and they want the latest and coolest gadgets.

All the carriers are aiming for the middle class but by virtue of their corporate image, their voice and data plans, their choices of launch venues, they are already aiming at different markets within the middle class segment and by steering clear of the malls, Indosat may be on its way to carve its own iPhone market.

Telkomsel may grab the parents, business executives, corporate types, the loyal, long term Telkomsel customers, XL Axiata appeals to the young upstarts, the hip, the digitally aware and the value seekers, while Indosat is aiming at the teens and young adults with money to burn.

On top of that, launching at 7 Eleven got people talking about it on Twitter. It even got me writing about it. It’s genius.

*note: Indosat picked two 7 Elevens to launch iPhone 5, one is at Teluk Betung and another at Bintaro. The 7 Eleven at Teluk Betung is located directly at the entrance to Grand Indonesia, one of the most prestigious malls in Jakarta right in the middle of the city with high foot and car traffic and it’s within walking distance from a bus stop. I’m not familiar with the one at Bintaro unfortunately.

Launching iPhone 5 at 7 Eleven might not be such a bad idea after all

This video shows signal degradation on a VHS recording over generational copies. While the narrative on screen describes what happens to the video almost exclusively, the audio issues are almost just as significant. You could tell from the first copy that the quality of the audio has been greatly reduced and after the sixth generation, you start hearing white noise creeping in to the recording.

On the first copy, the bass is completely gone, there is no more depth to the audio, by the fourth, it sounds like someone placed a cover on the speakers. White noise becomes audible on the seventh generation. The 12th generation has louder white noise than the song. On the 17th generation, both video and audio are no longer stable and while by the 20th generation you won’t be able to tell what’s going on on screen, the audio is still somewhat there albeit very faint.

None of this is new of course and the video is from 2008 but it’s still fascinating to see. 

theatlantic:

332 to 206: The Romney Campaign Conceded Florida Today, so the 2012 Electoral Map is Finally Complete

[Image: Alex Hoyt]

Source: The Atlantic

Thought via Path

There this disturbing trend of companies in Indonesia running writing competitions about their brands or products aimed at journalists and bloggers who attend their events in the hope that they get maximum exposure.

This kind of douchebaggery wouldn’t be accepted in countries with more mature media practitioners and it shouldn’t be accepted here. Journos and bloggers write about things that are worth writing about from their perspective and the perspective of their readers, not because they’ll get prizes.

The argument is it encourages them to write but they’ll be writing under a heavily influenced state of mind. They won’t be critical about the product or the brand and they’re far more likely to write it in the hopes of winning said prize instead of being informative.

I don’t know how many people here would be against such a practice seeing that it’s becoming very common but it would be extremely detrimental to the already poor state of journalism in this country. – Read on Path.

First impressions of the HTC Windows Phone 8X

HTC is launching its Windows Phone phones here well before the others and having used the 8X briefly, it’s very hard to resist. It’s slim, incredibly light, and looks very, very attractive. The rubbery enclosure is a godsend for those who tend to drop their phones since it gives a very good grip. The camera on the 8X works really well on its own, pictures come out great and the macro can be really tight, but Nokia just has better camera support.

Sure, it’s thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920 and arguably has better speakers but it doesn’t offer the cool and fancy camera tools that Nokia has, there’s no Nokia Drive, which means no turn by turn navigation, and no CityLens. 8X definitely wins on style but the substance fails to carry it over the line. 920 on the other hand has far more substance, really nice style, but a tad on the bulky side. Let’s hope the bulkiness is due to having a bigger battery. 

I still need iOS for Path, Tumblr, Tweetbot, FaceTime, Google+, WordPress, Flipboard, Instapaper, YouTube, Skitch, and a host of other daily apps that I use. Android would win over Windows Phone in this regard since it has most of the apps above aside from Instapaper, Tweetbot, and FaceTime, but I can’t stand using Android.

YouTube doesn’t seem to have recognized Windows Phone as a viable mobile device. Not just yet. There’s no proper native YouTube app yet to let people watch videos without having to resort to the browser and this stops people from watching certain videos that require the native app for ad display purposes.

The Galaxy S III put me off large screen phones because it’s just so difficult to operate using only one hand and the iPhone 5 is a tiny bit awkward to use due to the height. However, it turns out that these usability issues are strictly tied to the design of the software. The nature of Windows Phone software seems to eliminate this problem almost entirely. Very rarely do you have to reach up to the top quarter of the display to activate particular functions. Most of the controls on Windows Phone apps can be found at the bottom or near the center of the screen.

HTC has a winning chance here with its Windows Phone options but I’d wait for the Lumia 920 or even 820. The 8X is a great phone that’s only let down by the fact that the Lumia phones have much better camera tools and exclusive apps. – Read on Path.

Dear Google, it’s 2012, stop asking people to install Flash. Yes, I’m in the HTML5 trial program.

Thought via Path

When mobile phones first became fashionable in the late 90s, people didn’t really care about what those things can do since they all did the same thing and everyone played Snake. And then came the cameras.

At this point, focus was still on how the phones look. The utilitarian devices had become fashion statements and Nokia was the General Motors of its industry, offering all sorts options for all segments.

Then came the all screen iPhone, followed by apps, which destroyed the hardware oriented mobile industry. Now we’ve got everyone making black slabs of glass and metal or plastic, showing squares of all variations.

We’re back to the utilitarian era of mobile industry. How soon will the fashionable era returns? The Lumias are showing the way and HTC is taking the bait. – Read on Path.