Deloitte Technology Trends 2011 Report - The natural convergence of business and IT

Deloitte has released their annual Technology Trends report for 2011, taglined "The natural convergence of business and IT".

This report examines the ever-evolving landscape of technology put to business use. Although it is written from the perspective of the CIO, it also informs business executives on exciting new possibilities to apply technology to address their most pressing business challenges.

10 important trends were identified in this report, clustered in 2 categories.

1. (Re)Emerging Enablers are trends that many CIOs and technology executives have spent time, thought and resources on in the past.

They are:

• Visualization
• "Almost-Enterprise" Applications
• Cyber Intelligence
• CIOs as Revolutionaries
• The End of the "Death of ERP"

2. Disruptive Deployments are trends that present significant new opportunities to improve business processes, rethink operations or even enter into new business models. The technologies themselves are not necessarily disruptive, but when when deployed, could disrupt the cost, capabilities, or even the core operating model of IT and the business.

They are:

• Real Analytics
• Social Computing
• User Engagement
• Applied Mobility
• Capability Clouds

Among the list, the convergence of Social and Mobile computing plays significantly.

Click here to download the 68 pages Deloitte Technology Trends 2011 Report.

How to switch from the new Ubuntu 11.04 Unity Desktop to the classic GNOME Desktop

The newly released Ubuntu Linux 11.04 has a new default Unity Desktop interface, which brings different experience from the classic GNOME Desktop in all its previous releases which you are already familiar with.

If you dislike this new Unity Desktop for whatever reason, here is the easy way for you to revert back to the Ubuntu classic desktop.

When you are at the Ubuntu login screen, click on the user to login, and you will be able to see the taskbar at the bottom of the screen as shown below. One of the item on the taskbar is the session selector.

Change the session from the default "Ubuntu" to "Ubuntu Classic" and proceed with the login, your desktop will now changed from the new Unity Desktop to the traditional Ubuntu GNOME Desktop. You just need to apply this setting once, and it will be the default for all subsequence login.

If your Ubuntu is set to automatically login the default user, you can get to the login screen by logout the user.

Ubuntu Linux 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) released

Ubuntu Linux 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) has just released on 28 April 2011.

This version brings some new experience to the user.

The installation process involves less number of step.

Its default desktop interface is a new Unity Desktop instead of the traditional GNOME Desktop. The experience is now more Macintosh alike. You can notice the sidebar on its left, which doesn't found in previous version of Ubuntu. It took me a while to figure out where to access to my favourite applications in this new desktop.

The default office productivity suite has also shifted from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice.

If you want to revert from the new Ubuntu Unity Desktop to the traditional Ubuntu GNOME Desktop, click here to find out the easy method to do so.

Cooling Unifi Broadband Termination Unit (BTU) using Vztec NC2165 notebook cooler

The black Huawei brand Unifi Broadband Termination Unit (BTU) has a metal casing. This BTU is supposed to work 24x7, and when you touch on its metal surface, you will feel some heat.

I use a Vztec NC2165 notebook cooler as its cooling solution. After installed, when you touch the BTU metal surface again, you will feel it is cool.

This Vztec NC2165 is USB powered. You can find one USB port in front of the Dlink DIR-615 Unifi Residential Gateway (RG), which can be a good choice for its power source. Alternatively, you can use any available USB port as its power source.

There are many USB powered notebook cooler in the market, most are just too big for this Unifi BTU, and their fan(s) might not match with the place of the BTU ventilation holes on top. As you can see in the picture, this Vztec NC2165 just suit perfectly, and it cost only RM15.

If you are also using Unifi HSBB, I recommend this inexpensive BTU cooling solution for you.

Cleaning camera lens with LensPen miniPro II

How do you normally clean the dirt, dust, grease, fingerprint, etc. on the camera lens of your digital camera and/or handphone? Using special cleaning fluid? Using brush? Wiping with microfibre? Wiping with cloth? Wiping with tissue paper? Wiping with your shirt? Never clean and let it be?

Regardless how you do the cleaning, I believe the bottom line is:

• The glass surface, as well as other parts of the device, won't be hurt or scratched
• The cleaning must be effective

I use a Canadian product called LensPen miniPro II to clean the camera lens of my digital camera as well as my handphone. It is very effective and inexpensive (selling at RM23 only).

LensPen miniPro II contains 2 cleaning parts. At one end, there is a retractable ultra fine brush to brush away dust and other particles deposited on the lens. At the other end, it has a special cleaning tip to wipe the lens. It is claimed that this special tip can do more than 500 times cleaning.

LensPen miniPro II has a compact size, easy to carry around or put in the camera bag. Its cleaning tip is small enough to be used for compact digital camera and the handphone camera lens. There are also LensPen products with larger cleaning tip for bigger DSLR lens. There is also LensPen MicroPro to clean even smaller lens surface.

To let you have a better picture of its length and size, here is my LensPen miniPro II putting together with my Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera.

Luminance histogram and RGB histograms in digital camera

One of the nice features in digital camera that cannot be found in traditional camera is the ability to display histogram.

Histogram shows the distribution of brightness in an image horizontally, and the amount of brightness vertically. A typical histogram looks like mountain as below. It is a handy tool to evaluate the exposure.

If you see the peaks are gathered on the left, the image is dark; and if you see the peaks are gathered on the right, the image is bright.

In normal situation, we would like the peaks to be in the middle, so that there is no under-exposure (too dark) or over-exposure (too bright). However, there are situations when dark is OK (e.g. shooting the Earth Hour scene) and there are situations when bright is OK too. Anyhow, you can make use of histogram to assist you in adjusting the exposure value of your picture.

Canon PowerShot S95 camera is able to show histogram in Shooting Modes and Playbank Modes. Histogram is not available in Auto modes (you won't need it, as the camera is taking care of the exposure adjustment for you), and is available for P, Tv, Av, M modes.

Canon PowerShot S95 has two customizable shooting displays, and the default setting for each of the shooting modes is different. You can use the Custom Display setting to turn histogram on or off for either one or both of the shooting displays. You can switch between the custom displays using the DISP. button.

Histogram can also be shown in Playback screen of Canon PowerShot S95. You need to switch to the Detailed Information Display playback screen in order to see the histogram of the picture. You can rotate among the available playback screens by pressing the DISP. button. You can set the default playback mode with the Review Info option.
Canon PowerShot S95 is able to display the RGB histograms of the picture in Detailed Information Display screen. You can toggle RGB histograms on and off by pressing the "Up" button when you are in Detailed Information Display.

The RGB histograms show individual graph for each of the Red, Green and Blue colour captured by the camera in the picture. This will be good piece of information to judge the colour and white balance of the picture.

Shooting modes of Canon PowerShot S95 - from fully automatic to fully manual (part 2 of 2)

In the 1st part of this article, I wrote about the shooting modes of Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera when you dial its mode dial clockwise from Auto (inclusive). Now I would like to share about what I learnt about the shooting modes of this camera when you dial anticlockwise from Auto.

P-mode (Program mode)

P-mode is very close to Auto mode as opposed to Manual mode, in the sense that the camera will automatically adjust the aperture and shutter speed for you. One of the major reason for using P-mode (and above) is the ability to save the picture in RAW format for post processing.

In P-mode, you can decide on the image brightness/darkness by controling the ISO level. You can also make correction to the white balance.

Normally, we like to keep the ISO level as low as possible to produce better quality photographs. That's why we want to take control over ISO level adjustment rather than using Auto-ISO.

ISO level controls the light sensitivity of the camera's image sensor. If the ISO level is too low, you might get camera shake (blur) in the photos. If the ISO level is too high, you will get a lot of digital noise (grains).

Canon PowerShot S95 supports ISO levels from 80 until 3200.

P-mode is handy when quick adjustment is needed to shoot the precious moment that won't wait.


TV-mode (Time Value, Shutter Priority mode)

TV-mode allows us to control the shutter speed, which determine how long the camera's image sensor is exposed to light.

You can use longer shutter speed to capture trailing motion effect, and shorter shutter speed to freeze the moving objects.

Canon PowerShot S95 supports shutter speed as fast as 1/1600 second and as slow as 15 seconds. You need TV-mode to set for slower shutter speed less than 1 second.


AV-mode (Apperture Value, Apperture Prioirty mode)

The aperture controls the depth of field of the photo.

Wider aperture enable you to produce photos of shallower depth of field, with clear focus object and blur out its background. Smaller aperture creates deeper image, with more sharpness across the whole picture.

AV-mode is best when shooting macro (close up) photography with wide aperture. It is also suitable to shoot for landscapes and sceneries with small aperture.

Canon PowerShot S95 supports apperture value from f/2.0 to f/8.0. The smaller the f-number, the larger will be the aperture. One of the selling point of S95 is its f/2.0 capability.


M-mode (Manual mode)

This is the fully manual mode for the professionals. In Manual mode, you take full control to adjust the aperture (rotate the front dial) and shutter speed (rotate the control dial). You can also decide on the ISO level.

As opposed to the P-Mode, the exposure reading is displayed on the LCD screen, and change accordingly when you adjust your aperture and shutter speed.


C-mode (Custom mode)

This is a place for you to instantly get back your favourite settings. You can make the adjustments and settings to the camera, then save them by using the "Save Settings" menu options. When you come to C-mode, you'll get back the settings and adjustments.

Shooting modes of Canon PowerShot S95 - from fully automatic to fully manual (part 1 of 2)

Canon PowerShot S95 is my first high end digital camera. Before this, I use a Kodak EasyShare LS743 point-and-shoot digital camera which doesn't have so much features (it is my 1st digital camera purchased in 2004 and is 7 years old now).

So, what I'm going to write down here is something new I just learnt in order to know how to use my PowerShot S95. If you are also a rookie photographer like me, probably this information might be useful to you too.

You can find the Canon PowerShot S95 camera's shooting mode dial on its top right. This is the dial to control among fully automatic, semi-automatic, and fully manual modes of photographing. It is also the place to switch between photographing and video-graphing.

AUTO mode

This is the fully automatic point-and-shoot mode to let the camera decide and adjust itself on almost everything to get a good quality picture (in the camera's A.I. points of view), and you cannot take control most of the settings in this mode. In Auto mode, your main concern is the focus (or focuses) of the image. Canon PowerShot S95 supports 9-point face detection AiAF, and also 1-point AF at the center.

This is a good mode to start with, before you familiar with the camera features and functions. You can straightaway start shooting photos with this mode right after you get it, even without reading its manual or knowing its controls and settings.

It seems that you can only save the photo in JPEG and cannot save it in RAW mode. Photo saved in RAW mode allows you to do post processing using Canon Digital Photo Professional software provided in the CD that bundled in the box with the camera.

Photo saved in JPEG image is 8-bit image and RAW mode is 14-bit image. This means more colour information is saved in RAW mode.

Low light (Candle) mode

This is a point-and-shoot mode used to take photos in dim environment. The camera will automatically use a wider aperture and higher ISO level for the picture. (Normally, we should use ISO level as low as possible to reduce noise in the picture)

It is ideal to capture dark situations, especially when you don't want to use the flash light. Example will be birthday cake with lighted candles in a dark indoor.

Scene (SCN) mode

This is a point-and-shoot mode to tell the camera to optimize itself specific to the subject you want to shoot. Sometimes, the camera Auto mode has no idea what type of subject you are photographing, and you can get better pictures using SCN mode instead of Auto.

The modes available for Canon PowerShot S95 are: portrait (shooting people), landscape (shooting scenery), kids & pets (capture the moment while they are moving around), beach (people in bright surrounding), underwater (aquatic life, with higher ISO shot), foliage (trees and leaves), snow (people in white snowy background), and fireworks (higher ISO shot).

Besides that, you can also make special effect to your photos in SCN mode. The effects available for Canon PowerShot S95 are: Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Sepia, Black/White, Color Accent, Color Swap, High Dynamic Range, Miniature, Fish-eye, and Nostalgic.

In addition, you can produce panoramic (long) photos using software, by merging the continuous shot of Stitch Assist pictures.

Video mode

One of the nice features of Canon PowerShot S95 is its capability to shoot 720p HD video.
There are 3 picture quality options for video shooting in this camera:

• 1280x720, 24 frames/second (fps). You'll probably need a Class 4 or higher SDHC Card to get a smoother movie with this setting.
• 640x480, 30 fps
• 320x240, 30 fps

Special effects available for Canon PowerShot S95 video shooting are Miniature Effect, Color Accent, and Color Swap.

... continue reading on Part 2

Good deal to buy Canon PowerShot S95 premium compact camera @ PIKOM PC Fair 2011

I have been eyeing for Canon PowerShot S95 premium compact digital camera since its launch. This is a good camera close to DSLR quality and standard with an easy-to-carry light-weight compact body. The camera is made in Japan (not made in China) and its official list price is RM1549.

This Canon PowerShot S95 camera received a lot of good comments and recommendations in the Internet. You can use it as a point-and-shoot in its fully automated mode, and there are also many manual controls for you to play around as if using a DSLR. If you don't play around with lenses (which will probably burn a hole in your pocket), perhaps S95 is good enough for you to take some good pictures.

Today I found a good deal in PIKOM PC Fair 2011 at KL Convention Centre, and finally bought it at the price of RM1299 using credit card. There are several exhibition booths selling this Canon PowerShot S95 camera, all selling at the price of RM1399 with different free gift goodies, and I only found one willing to sell at RM1299. The booth is located at Exhibition Hall 4.

Here is what I get at the cost of RM1299 (using credit card).

• Canon PowerShot S95 digital camera with all standard accessories in its box (made in Japan and with Canon Genuine DNA sticker)
• 1+1 years warranty
• Canon screen protector
• Canon camera's protective case for PowerShot series
• Toshiba 8GB SDHC memory card (5 years warranty)
• Canon digital alarm clock and MP3 player
• No-brand 170mm small tripod
• Fahrenheit (飞轮海) concert 2DVD pack
• Fahrenheit (飞轮海) recycle bag

Actually, the following are standard goodies that all Canon booths in PIKOM PC Fair 2011 will give. The rest need to bargain to get.

• 1+1 years warranty
• 8GB SDHC memory card
• Canon digital alarm clock and MP3 player
• Fahrenheit (飞轮海) concert 2DVD pack
• Fahrenheit (飞轮海) recycle bag

Forseeing that the recent earthquakes in Japan will probably affect its production and supply, I think the PIKOM PC Fair now is a good time to still get a good deal to buy made in Japan product(s) like this one.

Use Unifi HyppTV to preview new and upcoming cinema movie trailers

With Unifi HyppTV, now it is very easy for us to know the new and upcoming movies coming soon or currently on screen in local cinemas. We can even instantly and freely preview the movie trailers.

Cinema Movie Trailers is the first option inside the Unifi HyppTV iNTER@CTIVE menu.

It will list down the new and upcoming movies to be on screen in local cinemas, and also allows us to preview those movies' trailer.

Nice feature isn't it? I wonder why Astro doesn't have such feature, although TGV and GSC are both under the same group with Astro.

Checking the HSDPA/3G/EDGE/GPRS coverage area of Celcom, Digi & Maxis

Before you sign up for a new data plan with either Celcom, Digi or Maxis, I think it is wise for you to check up their HSDPA broadband coverage availability in your favourite areas. Otherwise, you might regret to later find out your frequent visit area only has low speed GPRS coverage.

All Celcom, Digi and Maxis provide a "coverage map" for you to check for their broadband data service coverage easily. Celcom and Digi provide a more detail and precise map, while Maxis map is not so detail.

The URLs to check for their HSDPA/3G/EDGE/GPRS coverage online are:

• Celcom: http://coverage.celcom.com.my/CelcomCoverageIIPub/faces/CelcomCoverage.jsp
• Digi: http://www.digi.com.my/internet/coverage.html
• Maxis: http://www.maxis.com.my/3G/coverage_local.asp

Below are their HSDPA broadband coverage around SS2 area.

Celcom:

Digi:

Maxis:

Three of them also let you search for the coverage area using location keywords. The  keyword search webpage of Celcom and Digi is the same URL as above, while the keyword search webpage of Maxis is http://www.maxis.com.my/3G/coverage_search.asp.

Digi to sell HTC Incredible S for RM599 only on 2 April 2011 (limited to 300 units)

The long awaited HTC Incredible S Android phone is now officially available in Malaysia. Currently, the official distribution channel is exclusive to Digi Stores only.

HTC Incredible S is equipped with:

• Android 2.2.1 Froyo, upgradable to 2.3 Gingerbread soon
• 4" Super LCD capacitive multitouch screen
• 1 GHz CPU
• 1.1 GB ROM, 768 MB RAM
• 8GB microSD (support up to 32GB)
• HTC Sense v3.0 UI
• Li-Ion 1450 mAh battery
• 8 megapixel rear camera
• 1.3 megapixel front camera

Its normal price is set at RM1,999 when launched. Digi is selling it at RM1,449 for 12-month contract, and RM1,199 for 24-month contract.

In order to get the HTC Incredible S at the price of RM599 only, you need to:

• Sign up DG Smart Plan (RM68 per month)
• Be the first 300 to purchase the phone on 2 April 2011 at one of the Digi Retail Centres
• Tie up with 24-month contract for the DG Smart Plan

Click here for more information about this Digi HTC Incredible S one day promotion.

Garmin releases MalSingMaps Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei NT 2011.10 for free update

Garmin has made available MalSingMaps (MSM) Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei NT 2011.10 (2011-Q1) for free update now.

You can click here to download the installation file of MalSingMaps Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei NT 2011.10 from Garmin server. The download file is split into 4, and you just need to download the file relevant to your Garmin GPS navigator:

• nuvi 3790
• nuvi 1250
• nuvi 1460, 1350, 765 or 255w
• nuvi 205 or 205w

The installation file for nuvi 255w is 237MB (243,671KB), almost the same size with its previous version.

For nuvi 255w, the installation program requires you to have an SD Card slotted in your GPS before it can proceed. It will install gmapprom1.img (42,128KB) and SGMYMAL.JCV (215,403KB) into your SD Card instead of the flash memory of your GPS. This is something new from all the previous nuvi 255w MSM updates. Anyhow, the gmapprom1.unl file is still updated in the flash memory of the GPS.

In fact, you can move gmapprom1.img and SGMYMAL.JCV back to the flash memory of GPS after the installation.

During the installation process, you'll be asked for the unlock key. The key is stored in the existing gmapprom1.unl file in your Garmin GPS navigator, which you can open with Notepad or any text editor. Just copy and paste the key to the installer when asked.

Free unlimited full version of Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements 10 (limited time offer)

Right now, Computeractive is offering free exclusive license (normal price US$29.99) for the famous Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements 10. This offer will end by 14 April 2011.

Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements 10 provides the straightforward, fast and effective way to burn movies, music and data easily. It is a handy tool to create data discs, burn backups, rip music, create audio CDs, burn already existing film files on Blu-ray Disc, create/burn disc images, create bootable discs, erase data in rewritable discs, design and print labels and covers, etc.

Note that there are several versions of Ashampoo Burning Studio software available for download:

• Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements 10 is based on Version 10 of the software
• Ashampoo Burning Studio 2010 Advanced is based on Version 9 of the software
• Ashampoo Burning Studio Free is based on Version 6 of the software

This Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements 10 can be upgraded with a discounted price to Ashampoo Burning Studio 10 (premium edition) which contains more features, including the Autoplay Editor module for building auto-start data discs with attractive interactive menus.

Click here to download your full version of Ashampoo Burning Studio Element 10 for free. You will need an email address to receive your free unlimited time license key from Ashampoo.

Shaolin soccer - from movie to comics to games to reality

Shaolin soccer (少林足球) is about applying Shaolin Kung Fu to play soccer.

In 2001, Hong Kong comedy actor and director Stephen Chow (周星驰) came out with the famous Shaolin Soccer film. In less than a year time, a 4 volume Shaolin Soccer comics was published in Hong Kong. Following that, several Shaolin Soccer computer games also appear in the market.

Now, you guess what? The actual legendary Shaolin Temple (少林寺) in Dengfeng city (登封市)，Henan province (河南省) of China has established a Shaolin Youth Soccer Academy (少林青少年足球学校) in October 2010.

And who is the chief coach of this soccer academy? He is not a monk, nor a Chinese. He is Tchami, a former Cameroon international player.

Yes, Shaolin soccer has now come to reality. Among its main mission is to improve China's soccer skill, with the hope to bring some of the Shaolin warrior-monks to be international soccer superstars some day.

"Shaolin Kung Fu and football are similar in some aspects, especially the brave and diligent spirit of kung fu which I think will help promote the level of Chinese football," said Shi Yanlu (释延鲁), the chief coach of Shaolin warrior-monks training base.

We all know that although China has been superb in various sport games, they have never been outstanding in the soccer arena. Can we see China make its way into the World Cup championship with Shaolin soccer? Time will tell.

Clearing the doubt on My First Home Scheme a.k.a. Skim Rumah Pertamaku (SRP)

My First Home Scheme (a.k.a. Skim Rumah Pertamaku, SRP) was just launched by the government of Malaysia, aimed to help younger segments to buy their first home.

Without the scheme, most bank only offer up to a maximum of 90% financing for housing loan, and the home buyer need to prepare for the first 10% of the house, partially paid as the down payment or booking fee before S&P agreement is signed, with the rest payable within a very short period of time right after S&P agreement signed.

Under the scheme, mortgage borrower can obtain 100% housing loan from the participating banks. Cagamas SRP Berhad (a unit under Bank Negara) will guarantee the bank on financing above the 90% level. Borrower is liable to the bank for the full financing amount (up to 100%), and the guarantee indemnifies the bank for any loss incurred as a result of financing above 90%.

Here are some of the information I gathered about this My First Home Scheme:

• Borrower must be an employee in the private sector (not applicable to self-employed, non-employed or government servant)
• Borrower must be employed for more than 6 months with the same employer (not applicable for employee still under probation period)
• Borrower must be a Malaysian
• Borrower gross monthly income must not exceed RM3000
• Borrower's age must not exceed 35 years old
• The property must be a residential unit
• The property can be completed or being developed
• The property can be from developer or from existing owner
• The property must be the first property under the borrower's name
• The property must be occupied by the borrower (must not be rented out or keep vacant)
• Cost of property within the range of RM100k to RM220k
• Not applicable to refinancing existing property
• Available for both conventional and Islamic housing loans
• Not available for flexible home loan or any housing loan with redrawable features
• Compulsory fire insurance/takaful. Depends on the bank if MRTA/MRTT/MLTA is also compulsory or not
• Maximum financing tenure is 30 years
• Monthly financing repayment amount should not be more than 1/3 of borrower’s monthly gross income. This may be increased to a maximum of 1/2 of borrower's monthly gross income, subjected to approval from the bank.
• Joint application is only applicable to family member only (spouse or siblings)
• All applicants in joint application must meet all the requirements above, including citizenship, first home, employment, age, income criteria, etc.

Participating banks of this My First Home Scheme include:

• Affin Bank
• Alliance Bank
• Ambank
• Bank Islam
• Bank Muamalat
• CIMB Bank
• EON Bank
• Hong Leong Bank
• Maybank
• OCBC Bank
• Public Bank
• RHB
• Standard Chartered
• UOB

Click here to go to the official website of My First Home Scheme.

Disclaimer: The above information is gathered from several reliable sources. I have no guarantee nor liability on its total correctness. Please verify the information by yourself.

Earth Hour @ 8.30pm this Saturday 26 March 2011 - go beyond the hour

Time is moving fast, and another year has past since I last posted about Earth Hour. Yes, it is back again to be happened on this coming Saturday 26 March 2011. The time remains fixed at 8.30pm.

This year, the theme is about "going beyond the hour". Well, this is not talking about switching off your light for more than 1 hour. This is about using the Earth Hour event to commit to a meaningful action, be it big or small, that will sustain for the future of our planet earth. And this echoes well to what I wrote on my Earth Hour article here last year.

Note that this year, there is a slight change to the Earth Hour logo to reflect the theme. Compare with the logo in my previous Earth Hour article and you'll see the different.

You can share with the whole world about your action of going beyond the hour here.

Bank Negara imposes higher income requirement for credit card holders

Bank Negara has just imposed some new measures on credit cards, with objective "to promote prudent financial management and responsible business practices".

Now, you need to have a minimum income of RM24,000 per annum in order to be eligible to apply for new credit card, compared with the previous RM18,000 per annum.

In addition, if your income is less than RM36,000 per annum, you can only hold credit cards from a maximum of 2 issuers, and your maximum combined credit limit per issuer shall not exceed 2x your monthly income.

This will affect at least 50% of existing credit card holders in Malaysia, as "currently 50% of 3.2 million credit card holders have income below RM36,000".

I think this is a good measure, as long as the merchants also accept for alternative card payment mode, such as debit cards, charge cards (American Express, Diners Club, ...) or ATM cards (MEPS, e-POS, ...).

After all, credit card is meant for convenient to make cashless payment, and not for making spending that we can't affort to repay in near future.

There will be tighter security for credit card transactions too.

Effective 1 January 2012, transaction alerts via Short Messaging Service (SMS) will be implemented by card issuers for their card holders after transactions are performed. But who will bear the cost of the SMS sending? I hope that it is not the card holders.

On top of that,  Personal Identification Number (PIN) verification for all card transactions will be imposed from 1 January 2015 onwards. This is a good measure, especially for unattended transactions such as petrol payment at the pump station. However, I wonder how this is going to apply for credit cards issued overseas. We do have many expatriates and tourists holding foriegn credit cards!

So, apart from the credit card holders, these new measures will most probably also affect:

• CIMB Direct Access - which target to fresh graduates.
• Mobile operators - they will have increased income in SMS soon.

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) today

After about 1 year of public testing since its 1st release of Platform Preview to developers on March 2010, Microsoft finally releases Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) today, in conjunction with the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) 2011 in Austin, Texas.

IE9 improves on support to the latest web technologies nowadays, including HTML5, CSS3, SVG, XHTML, and a new Javascript engine called "Chakra" (is this developed by Indian developers??). It also features GPU-powered hardware acceleration for better and faster graphical and video support.

However, IE9 is only made available for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and is not supporting Windows XP. This means that if you are still using Windows XP and want to use a modern web browser, you are forced to upgrade to later version of Windows, or you better change your favourite browser to the upcoming Firefox 4 or Chrome 9, which will also support for the latest web technologies, and at the same time still available to Windows XP.

Click here to download Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.

How to pay Unifi bill online using credit card

Unifi bill payment account is different from Telekom or Streamyx payment account.

There are 2 places in the Internet where you can make payment to your Unifi HSBB bills with your credit card.

If you have a Maybank credit card, you can login to Maybank2u, go to Bill Payment section and make a payment to the payee named as "Telekom Malaysia Berhad - Unifi". Of course, you can also pay with your balance in your Maybank account there.

Another place in the Internet to make payment to your Unifi HSBB bills with your credit card is in the My Unifi Online Customer Centre - http://occ.unifi.my.

After login to MyUnifi OCC, go to the MyBill tab, you will see a blue "Make Payment" button at the bottom of the page.

There is a trick here. Before you click on the "Make Payment" button, you need to set your web browser to allow for pop-up within occ.unifi.my as the payment form is a pop-up page.

After clicking on "Make Payment" button, this is what you will see. You can then make payment with any of your credit cards there.

Note that your credit card information will be sent via secured HTTPS channel.

Upgraded my home Internet from Streamyx BB Deal 110 to Unifi VIP5 HSBB

I have just upgraded my home Internet from Streamyx BlockBuster Deal 110 (RM110/month) to Unifi VIP5 so-called High Speed Broadband - HSBB (RM149/month).

This upgrade increases the Internet bandwidth from 1024/384 kbps to 5120/5120 kbps, and also includes telephony voice service similar to BB Deal, with additional free Caller Line Identity Presentation (CLIP) service and a free Motorola DECT cordless phone. On top of that, there is also HyppTV service with its own separate bandwidth.

Although the Unifi VIP5 HSBB of RM149/month is considered expensive compared with the high speed broadband Internet in some other countries, I think it is still a good deal to upgrade from Streamyx BB Deal 110 by paying extra RM39/month to TM for much higher bandwidth, phone CLIP (identify the calling number) and IPTV.

However, there is also a trade-off. Unifi phone bills don't come with free itemized call log detail. It just gives you lump-sum figure on the call charges.

This is my tested Internet bandwidth after upgraded to Unifi VIP5 HSBB:

Unlike Streamyx which uses the copper line, Unifi is using fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) cable. I place my termination unit behind my monitor.

Note that the power adapter in between the termination unit and the fibre wall socket you see in the picture is actually belongs to my monitor and nothing to do with Unifi.

I put the Unifi premise gateway (D-Link DIR-615) on top of my computer.

Note that I also make use of Aztech HL110E 200Mbps HomePlug AV to connect the line to my TV some distance away. There is another HL110E near the TV, and the network between the 2 units is linked with existing electric wiring in the house. In fact, I intended to buy the HL110EP model, but unfortunately not available in the computer shop.

One "disadvantage" of Unifi is that, there are quite some equipments which need a few power points. If you want your telephone to function 24x7, the broadband termination unit as well as the telephone power supply need to be always switched on. The rest of the equipments can be switched off when not in use.

The first thing after Unifi installation is to change the default operator and admin password of the DIR-615. Operator is a more priviledged account in DIR-615 than admin, who can see and configure more options.

I placed my Unifi HyppTV Set-Top-Box (STB) beside my Astro Decoder. I think I will still subscribe to Astro as it contains much more interesting channels than HyppTV at the moment.

And this is the Unifi HyppTV channel selector screen (Channel 100) shown in my TV. I noticed that the RTM channels in HyppTV is sharper than Astro's.

There is some Video On Demand (VOD) titles in HyppTV, which can be purchased at around RM8 per movie for 24 hours unlimited access.

And I found out that HyppTV supports Picture-in-Picture (PIP) display inside Astro screen. Of course, the other way round to PIP Astro inside HyppTV is also supported.

Currently, TM is promoting Unifi by waiving the RM200 installation charge and also the 1st month subscription fee (for online registration from their website). However, Unifi is only available in certain area only and not yet rolled out nationwide.

If you no longer need your old telephone and Streamyx service, you might need to go to TM Point to terminate them after successful Unifi installation.

Digital Mall dmCard

It seems to be a norm in the retail industry nowadays to come out with some sort of membership system and give you yet another plastic card to fill up your wallet (or your drawer).

Probably I'm a bit late to know, and just realised that Digital Mall in PJ has also come out with its dmCard now.

So, what does this Digital Mall dmCard offer?

• Admission priviledge to half yearly member's day Pre-Sales event
• 3 hours free parking with purchase of RM100 and above (worth RM2)
• Free shuttle bus service to Millenium Square and Asia Jaya LRT station (seems like this is free for non-member too)
• Special price on their online Virtual Mall purchase
• Discount from participated outlets
• Free RM5 Sushi King voucher (when you collect your card)
• ...

The membership is free, and the expiry date is pretty short (until December this year).

You can apply for dmCard either physically at their counter in Digital Mall ground floor, or register online in their website.

Online registered my kid to Standard 1 in primary school

If your family has a child at the age of 5 or 6, now it is the time to register your kid to Standard 1 in local primary school for year of entry 2012-2013. The registration is open from March until April 2011.

If you are staying in Selangor, you can register your kid online with the web registration service of JPN Selangor: Pengurusan Murid Tahun 1 Online JPN Selangor - Permohonan Penempatan Murid Tahun 1

You will need to key-in the parents detail as well as the kid's detail. Then, you can pick the primary school of your choice for application. At the end of the process, you'll be given a PIN number.

The website could be quite slow. If the page jammed for more than 10 minutes, you can try to click the Back button to go back to previous step, and resubmit again.

The online registration is only half of the whole process. After that, you will need to bring the following documents to the school you wish to register your kid for verification. Acceptance of the registration will depend on JPN Selangor.

• Birth certificate (original & photocopy)
• MyKid (original & photocopy)
• Parents' MyKad (original & photocopy)
• Marriage certificate of parents (original & photocopy)
• Utility bill with your address (TNB/water/telephone)
• Health record card of the child with vaccination records
• Self-addressed envelop of 4"x9" with 60 sen postage stamp

You can check for the processing and acceptance status at the same website above (with the 4th link in the menu).

Develop cross-platform iPhone and Android games with Corona Mobile Development Platform

Corona SDK is a mobile development framework by Ansca Mobile (established by a team of former Adobe mobile engineers) for creating high-performance, multimedia rich mobile applications and games for the iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Corona SDK uses Lua programming language. Although this is a new language to most application developers, I can assure you that this scripting language is pretty easy to learn and master, much easier than Objective-C, C++ and even Java.

One of the success stories of mobile application developed with Corona SDK is that: a 14 years old kid from Utah, Robert Nay, has developed a popular games with Corona SDK called Bubble Ball, and uploaded it to iTunes App Store. Within a very short period of time, this game has attracted millions of download, outshining the famous Angry Birds games.

The Corona SDK contains an integrated simulator for iPhone, iPad and Android. It also comes with a debugger, and a rapidly growing library of APIs and sample codes. It is integrated with Box2D physics engine, make it easy for games development. It can also take care of different screen size and resolution of mobile devices, and scale the application display accordingly.

Corona SDK is available for Mac OS X and Windows (still beta). It is free for trial during development stage. However, you'll need to pay for the annual Corona SDK Subscription in order to distribute and/or sell your mobile apps developed with it.

You might probably also be interested to read about:

• Coding cross-platform iPhone, iPad and Android mobile applications in Javascript

Coding cross-platform iPhone, iPad and Android mobile applications in Javascript

Talking about mobile application development, most of us will think about Objective-C for iPhone/iPad and Java for Android devices.

Well, there are at least 2 ways we can produce cross-platform iPhone, iPad and Android mobile applications in Javascript.

One is by using the open source PhoneGap mobile framework by Nitobi Software, which is basically a wrapper that runs your mobile application via the webview browser object and provides some access to native APIs of the mobile platform. The trade-off of using PhoneGap including: slower application runtime, limited access to OS and hardware APIs, web-like user interface (compared with native user interface), etc.

Another way is by using the open source Appcelerator Titanium Mobile development platform, which will compile your Javascript codes into native iPhone, iPad and/or Android mobile application. As a result, the mobile apps developed with Titanium Mobile will have almost the same runtime speed with native apps developed in Objective-C (for iPhone/iPad) and Java (Android SDK).

You will need an Apple Macintosh computer (with Apple iPhone SDK installed) to build iPhone applications with Titanium. You can build Android applications in Apple Mac, Windows or Linux computer, with the Android SDK and emulators installed. This also means that if you are using Titanium in a Mac, it is possible for you to develop cross-platform mobile applications for both iPhone and Android using the same code base.

One of the beauty of Titanium is that it has a rich library of APIs of 30+ modules, 80+ objects, 800+ methods and 2800+ properties  (and still expanding) which enables developers to get the most out of the mobile resources, including resources from Internet such as the Facebook APIs, Yahoo APIs, etc. It even made available a Kitchen Sink demo program, which showcases majority of its available APIs.

Mobile apps developed with Titanium including Sugar Mobile by SugarCRM, eBay Corporate by eBay, GetGlue by AdaptiveBlue, etc.

You might probably also be interested to read about:

• Now it is possible to develop Desktop applications (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X) with web programming language (Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, Python, Ruby)
• Develop cross-platform iPhone and Android games with Corona Mobile Development Platform

Now it is possible to develop Desktop applications (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X) with web programming language (Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, Python, Ruby)

For decades, programming for Desktop applications running in Windows, Linux or Mac OS X is a different world from programming for Web applications (LAMP, Django, ASP.Net, etc.).

Developers from the Java world, and the Adobe Flash world, might argue that their development platform can go across Desktop as well as Web application development, and even Mobile application development too. That's true, but the application developed with Java or Flash will have trade-off in performance compared with native applications. There is also limited support to OS level controls, interfaces and functionalities as well.

If you are a Web developer familiar with languages such as Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, Python and/or Ruby, have you ever though of using your favourite web programming languages to develop desktop applications that run on Windows, Linux and/or Mac OS X?

Appcelerator Inc. has put their endeavours to make this dream come to reality with their open source rapid application development (RAD) platform called Appcelerator Titanium Desktop. In fact, you can also build cross-platform applications that run on these 3 different OS platforms, compiled from a single code-base.

Titanium platform is a similar product in a number of ways with Adobe AIR. For web developers, its main advantage is that you don't need to learn a new language like Flash or ActionScript, as you can leverage on your existing knowledge in Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, Python and/or Ruby. In addition, Titanium provides access to native OS controls, as well as numerous APIs for you to work with.

The Titanium Developer tool itself has separate build for installation on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. This means regardless you are using Windows, Linux or Mac OS X, you can develop applications with Titanium in your favourite OS platform, and even develop for another OS, such as developing Linux applications in your Windows computer.

This is what they claimed: "Flaunt your geek cred with Linux applications, go mainstream with Windows, get hip with OS X, or do all three from one code base. Titanium apps take up to 1/10th the memory of Adobe AIR apps and have complete access to the local system. "

Sounds promissing? Well, Titanium is still a relatively new product, and you might hit some bugs or flaws when using it. It has been improving from version to version, and its community base is growing.

In fact, Appcelerator Titanium is more popular being a cross-platform RAD for mobile application development (iPhone, iPAD, Android, etc.)

Take a look at my next article about Titanium Mobile.

Converted my CIMB credit card transaction to Smart i.Pay instalment

During Chinese New Year time, I have made a relatively large purchase in a retail shop with my CIMB credit card, amounting to RM3k+.

After considering the additional cost incurred (the interest), I've decided to convert that transaction to 10 months instalments with a one-time upfront interest of 2%. This means that by paying CIMB RM60+ for the interest, I can repay the RM3k+ credit card transaction in 10 months period, equilvalent to 0.2% interest per month.

The process is pretty simple. Just make a call to 03-62047877 (CIMB credit card customer service) and inform them you want to convert the transaction to CIMB Smart i.Pay instalments. After some verification and confirmation, the transaction will be converted into the instalment plan accordingly.

CIMB Smart i.Pay scheme is as below:

Maximum amount for Smart i.Pay conversion is RM30k per transaction.

In fact, if the transaction made is for education, insurance or hospital expenses, you can convert it to CIMB Smart Flexi-Pay for 10 months, 0% interest repayment scheme. The minimum spending for that transaction is RM1k to be eligible for CIMB Smart Flexi-Pay.

• Click here for more information about CIMB Smart i.Pay
• Click here for more information about CIMB Smart Flexi-Pay
• Click here for more information about CIMB Balance Transfer (6 months 0%, 12 months 1%)

Changed my ceiling fans from Panasonic FM14C5 to Alpha VS-5

About 5 years ago, I installed 3 Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fans in my house. It was an OEM of a similar KDK fan. It has pretty good looks and feels, and functioned well until recently, 2 of the 3 units gave problem and disappointed me.

The problem ceiling fans gave out noise when operating. They also no longer controllable with the remote control. And their warranty period was over.

I called my electrician friend to come and take a look. He said many household already encountered the same problem with this model of Panasonic ceiling fan. The motor control circuit is damaged and only serviceable by Panasonic.

As a result, I decided to change the 2 problem Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fans to Alpha VS-5.

Alpha VS-5 is slightly more expensive than FM14C5, but yet within the range of RM2xx. It looks bulkier, but actually is better than FM14C5 because:

• VS-5 has 5 blades, while FM14C5 only have 4 blades
• The blade of VS-5 is ABS type, while FM14C5's is metal type

As a result, VS-5 is able to deliver stronger wind, and its operation is very quiet because ABS is used for its blades.

Hope that these Alpha VS-5 ceiling fans in my house can last longer.

Proposed stations of Klang Valley MRT (Sg Buloh - Kajang line)

Apart from the Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension to Subang Jaya and Puchong area, another hot topic in KL public transport nowadays being the new Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system from Sungai Buloh to Kajang.

Currently, the Land Public Transport Commission (Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat, SPAD) is organizing the Klang Valley MRT Open Day at Exhibition Hall 3, Mid Valley Convention Centre for 3 months from 14 Feb 2011 - 14 May 2011, open daily from 10am to 9pm.

There, we can see a 40 feet satellite image featuring the proposed alignment of the 51km line consisting of 35 stations running from Sungai Buloh to Kajang, namely The Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT Railway Scheme .

Beside Mid Valley, the railway scheme is also displayed at the following place for public review during the Klang Valley MRT Open Day period:

• SPAD office
• Bangsar LRT station
• Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL)
• Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA)
• Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ)
• Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKj)
• Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS)

The proposed MRT line and its stations is as shown in the map below.

You can click here to download this map in PDF.

From the map, we can see that the proposed 35 stations are:

• Sungai Buloh
• Kg. Baru Sungai Buloh
• RRI
• Kota Damansara
• Taman Industri Sg Buloh
• PJU 5
• Dataran Sunway
• The Curve
• One Utama
• TTDI
• Seksyen 17
• Seksyen 16
• Pusat Bandaraya Damansara
• Semantan
• KL Sentral
• Pasar Seni
• Merdeka
• Bukit Bintang Barat
• Bukit Bintang Timur
• Pasar Rakyat
• Cochrane
• Maluri
• Taman Bukit Ria
• Taman Bukit Mewah
• Leisure Mall
• Plaza Phoenix
• Taman Suntex
• Taman Cuepacs
• Bandar Tun Hussien Onn
• Balakong
• Taman Koperasi
• Taman Mesra
• Saujana Impian
• Bandar Kajang
• Kajang

Click here to visit the official website of Klang Valley MRT Project.

Importing contacts from SIM card to Samsung Galaxy Tab

If you are switching phone to Samsung Galaxy Tab, and have stored your contacts used in your previous handphone into the SIM card, you can import those contacts in your SIM card to the Contacts application of Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Here is the way to do it.

Step 1: Open the Contacts application in your Samsung Galaxy Tab by tapping the Contacts icon as shown below.

Alternatively, you can also open the Phone application and select the Contacts tab to reach the same place.

Step 2: Press the Menu key (the 1st of the 4 keys below Samsung Galaxy Tab) and select Import/Export.

Step 3: Select "Import from SIM card", then select Save contact to "Device".

Step 4: The list of contacts in the SIM card will be shown on screen. Press the Menu key again and select  "Copy to device" to duplicate the contacts to the phone, or select "Move to device" to move the contacts from SIM card to the phone (after moving, original contacts will be removed from SIM card).

Note that you also have the option to delete unwanted contacts in SIM card here with the Delete option.

Step 5: You will be given the option to select the contacts you want to copy or move. If you want to select all, then just choose "Select All".

Step 6: Tap on the "Done" button below and the import will be performed.

When the action finished, you can press the Back key (the 3rd key) to return to Contacts.

Perhaps you already figured out how to export contacts from Samsung Galaxy Tab to SIM card. The process is similar, just that you select "Export to SIM card" instead of "Import from SIM card" during Step 3.

Apple iPad is entitled to LHDN personal income tax relief but not Samsung Galaxy Tab

In reference to Paragraph 46(1)(j) of Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967, an amount limited to a maximum of RM3,000 is deductible in respect of the purchase of non-business use personal computer for individual tax payer.

This deduction is allowed once in 3 years, but no deduction will be granted if the computer is used for business purpose.

Now, the question: are tablet computers such as Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic ViewPad 7, Toshiba Folio 100, CSL Spice Mi700 DroidPad, Blackberry Playbook, ZTE V9, etc. entitled for this personal income tax relief?
 
I have asked this question to LHDN, and the official answer is: if the tablet computer only have computer features and is for home and family use only, then it will be treated as "computer" and is entitled to the personal income tax relief of up to RM3,000, claimable once in 3 years.
 
This will be the case for Apple iPad, Toshiba Folio 100 and Blackberry Playbook. Let's say you purchased an Apple iPad 64GB with Wifi+3G at the price of RM2,599 in year 2010, and your tax rate is 24%, when you file your 2010 personal income tax now, you can claim back RM2,599 tax relief, which is equilvalent to a saving of RM623.76 in your income tax. (If you have any family member or friend or colleague who purchased Apple iPad recently, please forward this good news to them using the "Share" button below.)
 
However, if the tablet computer also have handphone features in addition to computer features, which mean you can make phone calls and also send SMS/MMS using the telco service with the tablet, then it will be treated as a "phone" and is not entitled to personal income tax relief. This is the case for Samsung Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic ViewPad 7, CSL Spice Mi700 DroidPad, ZTE V9, etc. Bad news.
 
If you need to verify this information, can make a call to LHDN at 1300-88-3010 or email to callcentre@hasil.gov.my.

Best deal to buy original Samsung Galaxy Tab in Malaysia

Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7" tablet computer, smaller than the 9" Apple iPad and larger than the 5" Dell Streak,  with full phone feature and dual camera.

It was first officially introduced to Malaysia by Maxis with the following data plan commitment packages:

• 12 month: RM1,849
• 24 month: RM1,749

However, right now Maxis has already removed Samsung Galaxy Tab from their range of bundled smart phone packages.

Beside Maxis, Digi is selling it with the following data plan commitment packages:

• 12 month: RM1,849
• 24 month: RM1,599

And before 28 January 2011, Celcom is selling it with the following data plan commitment packages:

• 12 month: RM1,738
• 18 month: RM1,668

After 28 January 2011, now Celcom has reduced its price to:

• 12 month: RM1,568
• 18 month: RM1,498

SenQ is also selling Samsung Galaxy Tab. Although the price is slightly higher, you don't need to tie up with any data plan, and you can use your credit card to pay by installment. There is also extended warranty period up to 3 years. The current price:

• Non-Citibank member: RM2,199 (free RM50 Chinese New Year voucher)
• Citibank credit card: RM2,099

Therefore, right now the best deal to buy original Samsung Galaxy Tab in Malaysia seems to be:

• RM1,498 with Celcom Exec 50 + mBasic 1GB data plan (18 month contract period)
• RM2,099 in SenQ, pay by Citibank credit card (no need data plan commitment, 3 years warranty, 36 months installment period)

Recently, Celcom and Digi has signed a partnership to share their telco infrastructure. Therefore, we can expect that either you are with Celcom or with Digi, the 2G/2.5G/3G data service quality and availability will be the same after this sharing of telco infrastructure.

Asia Trader & Investor Convention (ATIC) @ KL 2011

The annual Asia's largest trader and investor event, Asia Trader & Investor Convention (ATIC) 2011 is coming.

Date: 2-3 April 2011
Time: 9.00am - 6.00pm
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KLCC, Malaysia
Fees: RM28 for 2 days entry ticket

ATIC has travelled to 7 Asian Cities, i.e., Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Mumbai, Shenzhen and Tokyo. With participation by over 300 financial services companies, including securities exchanges, retail and consumer banks, securities brokerage firms, asset/fund management firms, listed companies and other financial services providers, the events have attracted over 100,000 active traders and serious investors across Asia.
ATIC Kuala Lumpur 2011 is targetted to feature more than 40 seminars conducted by international and local gurus and experts.

I noticed that the ATIC ticket price keeps on increasing every year. In 2009, it is free. Last year, there was an early bird price of RM18. This year, no news about early bird price yet.

Click here for more information about ATIC at KL 2011.

IPv4 will be used up really soon. Are we ready for IPv6?

The IP address in the format of XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (i.e. IPv4) which is the basic identification of every device connected to the Internet is predicted to be fully allocated (used up) on the estimated date of 2 February 2011. Take a look at the ticking counter of IPv4 exhaustion here.

The current IPv4 address space is a 32 bit field, possible for 4,294,967,296 (4.29 billion) allocations. It is used by all network devices connected using the TCP/IP protocol, including computers, mobile devices, network devices, certain telecommunication devices, certain electrical appliances, and everything connected to the Internet with TCP/IP.

IPv4 started around 1980. By that time, only a handfull of computers, mostly in military and academic institutions (i.e. universities) are connected to the Internet and linked up with TCP/IP. The allocation of IPv4 accelerated in the 1990's when the whole world are connected to the Internet. Its exhaustion rate spurred further in the 2000's when not only computers and network devices are connected to the Internet, but also many other electrical and electronic devices, especially the mobile phones.

As a result, now we are very close to the end. All the 4.29 billion IP addresses will be fully used, and will not be sufficient for every devices that need to connect to the Internet anymore.

Various measures have been taken to slow down the exhaustion, such as special allocation for private IP address blocks (10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x, and 172.16.x.x – 172.31.x.x) so that devices not directly connected to the Internet can make use of these private IP addresses, and they can share a same Internet IP address with NAT translation at the gateway/router.

The exhaustion of IPv4 has already taken into account for these kind of measures. It should have come even earlier if without private IP address and NAT in place nowadays.

In fact, the Internet authorities have thought about this issue long time ago, and have planned for the migration to the next generation of IP address system, namely IPv6. In fact, one of my project assignment during university studies in mid-1990's is about IPv6. Therefore, you should know that the research on IPv6 has been around for more than 10 years.

IPv6 uses a 128-bit address, whereas IPv4 uses only 32 bits. The new address space supports unlimited address allocation (3.4 x 10^38). With this much amount of IP addresses available, it also eliminates the need for NAT, and every devices can have their Internet IP address, just like the scenario for IPv4 before the introduction of NAT.

The IPv6 format will look like this: XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:YYYY:YYYY:YYYY:YYYY, where the first 4 groups (XXXX part) is a 64-bit network prefix, and the last 4 groups (YYYY part) is a 64-bit host address. All the digits are in hexadecimal.

It is reported that big Internet players including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Akamai, Limelight Networks, etc. will have a 24-hour test run on IPv6 during the World IPv6 Day on 8 June 2011. Click here to read more about World IPv6 Day.

We have to move on. Are we ready for IPv6? (Especially service providers, device manufacturers, software developers, network engineers, ...)