Digital Living

How To Make Unlimited Calls Around The Globe At $12.95/Mo??

Skype recently introduced a new pricing scheme that allow people to make unlimited call to a country, or to many countries around the globe.

They provide people with ability to subscribe at around $5.95 (for one country) up to $12.95 (for many country) per month. With such subscription, everybody can enjoy unlimited calls to landlines telephone number, at anytime, around the globe.

This is the complete pricing scheme:

Now imagine that a start-up company located in Jakarta or Bali have some major customer and partners (all with landline connection) in USA, Hongkong, Singapore, Australia and China. They need to communicate constantly. How much would such everyday communication and coordination cost now? $12.95 per month!!

A major shake up on the great VOIP communication revolution is about to begin! And Skype is definitely in the best position to dominate and/or win that all.

Jayalah Indonesiaku!

This video show the best song and scenes of the Olympics Opening Ceremony 080808, and highlight the mark of China and Asia as the emerging new force in the globally connected world. It is amazingly wonderful! superbly awesome!

One day Indonesia shall be able to do the same, and together contribute something advanced, fascinating and better to the world, and to global society as a whole. http://www.youtube.com/beijing2008

Afterall, honesty and dignity is always the root of our Indonesian anchestor since thousands of years ago. We're intrisincly good-hearted, work-hard, people-caring people. That's what TRUE Indonesian are made of. If we are honest country once more, then we have our chance back to become a great country once more.

Jayalah Indonesiaku! Merdekalah dari pembodohan, kebohongan dan ketidakjujuran yang melingkupinya saat ini. Happy Independece Day 2008!

iTunes U: Another (Great) Innovation From Apple!

When life & information is being digitized, the innovation possibilities are endless. Apple iTunes U is another great example:

What If "Cool Product" + "Trying To Be Cool" Product Combined ?

Recently I come to a conclusion that Microsoft perhaps can be best described as a "work productivity" company, it's product is "working stuff, input, document". Apple is a "life experiences company", it's product is "sound, picture, expressive medium".

Microsoft is trying to be cool through these set of product:

Apple is simply cool through these set of product:

Now imagine what would happen if an integrated-work-processing company can transform Apple's great life experiences product to become integrated part of work productivity activities, and in the process connecting Apple's life experiences product ..

• ... seamlessly with Microsoft's work productivity tools and activities (where necessary).

• ... seamlessly with Open Computing's work productivity tools and activities such as: OpenOffice.org [Office], Firefox [Browser], Thunderbird [Email] .

The synergic transformation would be wonderful.

iPhone 3G Is Released Today!

Apple 3G is released today. And with it comes a new way to take a look at the internet from a totally different view, experience and perspective.

Not only the device is a 3G device. It is also offering a new whole way to buy and experience application, on and off the net. Awesome.

Mr. Ballmer will need to start "photocopying" these concept again I assume, and -- while his troop is busy photocopying -- he will, as usual, start announcing his "pooh pooh" statement of what his lauzy Windows mobile system can do (better?) against Apple iphone/itouch system.

What a lauzy leader.

Microsoft After Gates

8 days after Bill Gates leaving Microsoft, Microsoft -- the company that he founded -- are still busy promoting "fighting viruses" and "get rid of spam".

These Ballmerian Microsoft really got it mixed up. While in the past customer doesn't have any choices (except to use Microsoft OS and software), in today's era -- where people get exposure to MacOS, Linuxes and stuff -- why people need to "fight virus" if "avoiding virus" could be the best remedy?

They really still "get mixed" up in the past. If someone can consistently effectively trace this out, Microsoft is out.

Samsung Instinct & HTC Touch Diamon Is Coming!

If iPhone is not moving fast to dominate the market, these iPhone-look-alike might eventually creeping in.

 

The Last Week Of Bill Gates At Microsoft

This would probably be the last week of Bill Gates at Microsoft.
Here's a link to his whole fascinating "career", passion, strategy and story.

And this is one his best best best vision ever; of how computing could be, at those momentous, daring, beautiful time:

Microsoft in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s (when they massively shift to the internet) -- all under Bill Gates direct, intense, passionate leadership -- is really really passionately awesome.

And to those great works and passion which has changed society and humanity for the better, there's only one proper deep word to say:

THANK YOU.

The world is one step ahead to become a better place for everybody.

 

"You don't get it. You don't get it. We are going to put a computer on every desk and in every home". -Bill Gates to Steve Ballmer, back in the early days of Microsoft.

June 30: Bill Gates Officially Leaves Microsoft & Final Day Of Windows XP

Photo of Microsoft whole team - 1978
The Microsoft that we all (once) love

June 30, 2008 would be an important date that the world would remember. It would be the date when Bill Gates -- the founder and key driver of Microsoft would officially leave Microsoft. At the same time it is also planned to be the date when Windows XP would be stopped released from the marketplace.

This becomes significant because it might marks a new era. A day when the great entrepreneur and business builder start to focus/pursue on his other interest; also the day when the greatest hits of his long term works being replaced by a new "era" that still have to found its relevance and meaning.

After Gates, new leadership such as Mr. Ballmer, Ray Ozzie and the likes will start take over. So far, they haven't got any great hit product yet. Gates legacy is still what makes Microsoft great. DOS, Windows, Office , IE, XBOX -- these are all happening during the great Gates era.

OOXML, Office 2007 new interface, Vista, Zune -- these "floppy" failure (or "delayed success"?? -- as Mr.Ballmer would always love to "phrase" it?) are all happening during the "post Gates era".

We shall see how the days at Microsoft goes after Gates left. The long time veterans of Microsofts now will take over, later even the new comers will start to take over.

Whether Microsoft will stay relevance and exciting as a company after the post-Gates era remain to be seen. But for sure Bill Gates is one of the greatest entrepreneur of all time. The era of the 80s and 90s are still -- after all these years -- the best era, when we see Microsoft as our greatest company that we would fully support with our heart, the same way we get excited, dedicated and support open computing, horizontal scaling architecture, innovation and dedication to great software craftmanship that is happening in the world today.

Larry Dignan of ZDNet writes a great video wrap-up about the many hits (and few misses) of Gates works. It worth to take a look. Although -- to be in all fairness -- in my opinion, many of the failure I think is really happening more in the "new Microsoft leadership era" (which is not Bill Gates') rather than being Bill Gate's misses.

Here's the link to the video: http://news.zdnet.com/2422-13568_22-207992.html?tag=nl.e539

Firefox Sets A New Guiness-Book World Record As The Most Downloaded New Released Software!

The formal announcement is not yet made, but the official is now preparing to announce Firefox as the most downloaded new-release software on the internet.

We always believe in the power of the people. The magical act of people doing things together.

But the way they do it is really really awesome. How they come up with an idea that makes people around the world do something great and really excellent together is really really awesome.

And -- at the end -- the way they let everybody that is involved to keep a "token-of-rememberance" of such world-scale accomplishment is really really wonderful. Truly wonderful too. This is how they did it:

People around the world. We can create truly magical things together.

Truly awesome!!

ps: I'm waiting for my "banner" too :-) Such would be really really awesome to keep and remember. :-) :-) :-) Once, in a lifetime occassion. :-)