Hello Windows 7, adios Vista

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, , JAKARTA | Mon, 02/09/2009 12:14 PM | Sci-Tech

Windows 7 fixes a lot of the problems found in Windows Vista. Still in its beta version, it can even run on a netbook with only 1 GB of RAM. JP/Zatni Arbi

Still remember the comments I made in my review of Dell Mini 12 last month? I found that I could hardly use it because the pre-installed Windows Vista made it run like a Toyota Avanza hauling a home trailer.

Still, I loved the netbook because of its large screen, stylishness, lightweight and, especially, comfortable keyboard.

At that time, I actually knew that the solution for the sluggishness was already on the horizon. It was certainly not a downgrade to Windows XP, as the days of the XP were already numbered. Instead, it would be an upgrade to the next version of Windows.

Yes, I knew about the performance remedy, because I had seen it running on a Lenovo S10 netbook. Unfortunately I was under a non-disclosure obligation then, so I was unable to reveal it in my article.

Now that Microsoft has gone public with the product and the beta version of Windows 7 is already available on Microsoft’s website for download, I can share with you my first impression of it ­— it is quite impressive.

During a media outing two weeks ago, Microsoft Indonesia gave each journalist, including myself, a DVD containing the beta version of Windows 7 Ultimate, Build 7000. Back home, I took the Dell Mini 12 and my LG external DVD-RW out, put the DVD into the drive and ran the setup program.

Strangely, it took more than three hours to install it with the Upgrade option. A couple of times I thought the computer hung, but it never did. The great thing was that the installation process hardly required any interference from me. Microsoft said that the installation, which is far more streamlined than Windows XP’s, should normally take 30 minutes or so.

However, once the installation was finished, I got a series of nice surprises. First, almost all of the programs and utilities that Dell had already installed on the Mini 12 were kept intact. These included Dell Dock, Dell WebCam, Dell Video Chat, even Microsoft Works. They all ran smoothly. The Wi-Fi worked well, too, and the netbook automatically got connected to my LinkSys access point without requiring any help from me.

The only things that did not work in the new environment were Windows Desktop Manager and the McAfee antivirus software. That was to be expected and McAfee will for sure make its products fully Windows 7-compatible.

More critical was the responsiveness. Booting up and shutting down still took some time, but it was far quicker than Windows Vista. When the boot up process was completed, the netbook was almost as responsive as a netbook running Windows XP.

As the accompanying picture shows, I can open multiple Internet Explorer windows, a Microsoft Works document, the Dell WebCam and a couple of gadgets without any sign of memory overload. I can switch from one program to another in a blitz.

No doubt about it, the programmers at Microsoft have done a great job. The new operating system is not as resource hungry as Windows Vista. Even in its beta version it is very stable; it has not crashed since I installed it. It can easily take the place of Windows XP as one of the ideal operating systems for a netbook with an Intel Atom N270 processor and only 1 GB memory.

We should also keep in mind that the version I installed is a beta version. It is bound to be plagued with bugs. It will be several months before we can buy the release version. After that, there will be a Service Pack and incremental upgrades to iron out the bugs, and the performance will be improved further.

Faster performance and lower hardware requirement are not the only strong points of Windows 7, though. During the media outing, Lukman Susetio, Microsoft Indonesia’s Product Manager for Windows, demonstrated just a small number of new features found in it.

One of the most interesting and very useful features is the capability to set up a wireless network using the computer’s Wi-Fi. This allows us to share an Internet connection without the help of a router or an access point.

So, for example, if several people are within the Wi-Fi range and one of them has a 3G or HSDPA USB modem that connects them to the Internet, the others can share it through their Wi-Fi network.

Other very useful features in Windows 7 include a search engine, which it inherits from Windows Vista. The user interface is improved and can be personalized more than in its predecessor. For example, gadgets can now be placed anywhere on the screen, whereas in Windows Vista, they can only sit on the upper right hand corner of the screen.

Windows 7 was developed with the needs of users of mobile computing devices in mind. Therefore, in this version we can make more adjustments to the power consumption of the various hardware components so that we can increase the maximum battery life.

DirectAccess is a feature that will benefit enterprise users, as it makes Virtual Private Network no longer necessary. When combined with Windows Server 2008 R2, they can use all the available bandwidth to access their intranet without fear of being snooped on.

According to Microsoft, even today a lot of hardware vendors have prepared the right drivers for Windows 7. Software makers are also developing the next version that will work seamlessly with Windows 7.

But you may have to live with Windows Vista, for now. My guess is that Windows 7 will become available toward the end of this year at the earliest.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Pertamina's New Boss Gets Bullied by Lawmakers

The Jakarta Post , JAKARTA | Tue, 02/17/2009 8:49 AM | Headlines

High and dry: Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan (center) prepares to leave a conference room Monday at the House of Representatives, after legislators abruptly halted a hearing. ANTARA/ISMAR PATRIZKI

A hearing between the House of Representatives' energy commission and the new management of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina turned sour Monday as lawmakers felt offended by a letter from the company, in their view naively questioning the effectiveness and efficiency of their previous meeting.

Commission VII deputy chairman Sony Keraf ended the meeting while Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan was still replying to points from lawmakers on Feb 10.

Sony said Pertamina’s corporate secretary Toharso had disgraced the lawmakers by questioning the House's supervision authorities.

“Nobody, not even the president himself dares to question our authority and rights to question whatever is needed to be asked."

“Pertamina does not only disgrace the commission, but the whole parliamentary body as well. That’s why we need to know whether Toharsos's action also represents Pertamina’s board of directors’ view on the previous meeting,” he added.

Toharso wrote to lawmakers on Feb. 13 that Pertamina was very disappointed with the way the lawmakers questioned the capacity of its current president director. He considered the questions had deviated from the initial agenda, thus violating the House internal rules.

Right after Sony terminated the session, Karen promptly packed her things and left the meeting room.

“We'll answer any questions but not on the deprecatory points. Comparing Pertamina’s president director as similar to a satpam (private security guard) is outrageous,” Karen said, referring to a metaphor by lawmakers in the previous hearing.

“The board of directors know about the letter, and gave approval to send it to the House based on the recommendations from our legal team," said Karen rushing to her car.

The Feb. 10 meeting was more dominated by mockery than a discussion about Pertamina's problems and future strategies.

Despite the incident, Toharso, in the job for less than five months, insisted the House would have efficient hearings in the future.

Energy analyst Pri Agung Rakhmanto said the “bullying” Karen received was common practice. She needed to learn the ropes.

“I think there is nothing strange about the incident. What Karen needs to do now is to prove her capacity by delivering excellent performance,” he said.

Perceived widely as a cash cow for ruling politicians, Pertamina bosses often receive out-of-context humiliating remarks from lawmakers during hearings. Sometimes, lawmakers hope to get kickbacks later if they keep quiet for the next session.

Despite numerous problems plaguing the energy and mining sector, other hearings between related authorities and Commission VII have been regularly far from hostility and more amicable.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Nokia discontinues WiMax tablet computer

Peter Svensson , The Associated Press , New York | Thu, 01/22/2009 8:29 AM | Sci-Tech

Nokia showing the N810 WiMax Edition. (AP/Nokia, File)

Just as Clearwire Corp. has fired up its long-awaited WiMax wireless data network in two cities, Nokia Corp. has stopped selling the only portable gadget that can use the network without accessories.

Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong confirmed Wednesday that the company has discontinued the N810 Internet Tablet WiMax Edition on its Web site.

Armstrong did not say why the tablet was withdrawn. But she said Nokia is still interested in WiMax, and by the time WiMax networks are more widely deployed, "refreshed products with even better performance will be required."

Nokia's portable computer, which has a 4.1-inch touch-sensitive screen and a slide-out keyboard, is still for sale for $438 in a version without a WiMax modem.

WiMax, sometimes described as a long-range version of Wi-Fi, is a competitor to traditional cellular broadband technologies. It offers relatively fast data speeds, and its proponents hope that WiMax antennas will be built into a variety of gadgets, from small computers to GPS devices.

Leading computer manufacturers have announced their intention to make their laptops WiMax-capable, but for now the only way to use Clearwire's "Clear" network is with plug-in modems.

"We have a robust pipeline of devices slated throughout 2009 and will be providing more details in the coming weeks," said Susan Johnston, spokeswoman for Clearwire.

The network is live in Baltimore and Portland, Ore.

Clearwire was formed last year by the union of a smaller company of the same name with Sprint Nextel Corp.'s WiMax division.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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Indonesia Seeks Larger Japan Currency Swap, New Pacts

By Arijit Ghosh and Patricia Lui

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia’s central bank is seeking to expand its currency swap agreement with Japan from $6 billion and is seeking new pacts to bolster the rupiah, which slumped the most in eight years in 2008.

Indonesia, which has similar agreements with China and South Korea for $3 billion each, may also initiate talks with a fourth nation, central bank Governor Boediono said, without identifying the country. The rupiah, which fell 16 percent last year, closed at 11,673 per dollar yesterday in Jakarta.

“We think the critical period is six months in which the main problem is tight liquidity and investors pulling out money to return home,” Boediono said at a dinner with local newspapers late yesterday. “In the U.S. itself there’s dollar scarcity, which is ironic.”

Bank Indonesia is boosting supply of foreign exchange as a deepening global recession pummels exports and prompts overseas investors to sell emerging-market assets. The nation’s currency reserves slid to $50.9 billion at the end of January, from $60.6 billion in July, as the central bank intervened to slow the rupiah’s decline.

“The more resources and ammunition that they have in terms of foreign exchange, the more ability the central bank would have in terms of stabilizing the currency,” said Sailesh Jha, a senior regional economist at Barclays Capital Plc in Singapore. “It would be fair to say that one possibility is to look towards the U.S.”

Kazakhstan Devalues

Kazakhstan’s central bank yesterday devalued the tenge by 18 percent, joining Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in abandoning attempts to prop up exchange rates as currency reserves dwindle. Finance ministers from Japan, China, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian nations plan an unscheduled meeting this month to forge a deal to pool $120 billion of foreign-exchange reserves to help defend their currencies.

A $5.5 billion so-called standby loan from Japan, Australia, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and $4 billion of proposed bond sales may help shore up reserves, Boediono said. The country’s foreign-exchange holdings are the 10th biggest in Asia and less than half those of Thailand.

Sales of Indonesian equities by foreign funds have exceeded purchases by $101 million this year. Exports from the $433 billion economy plunged 20 percent in December, the biggest decline since 2001.

The central bank said last week it would lend dollars to banks holding the nation’s foreign-currency denominated government debt to reduce volatility in the rupiah market.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arijit Ghosh in Jakarta at aghosh@bloomberg.net

Source : www.bloomberg.com

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Tsunami Memorial and Museum in Aceh

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 02/03/2009 10:55 AM | National

Acehnese sit down side by side inside the tsunami memorial and museum built to commemorate the 2004 Asian Tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Monday. AP/Binsar Bakkara

Source : www.thejakartapost.com

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