Life As It Goes By

When I heard the news of Oracle suing Google over some Intellectual Property rights for the Android’s Java Virtual Machine, namely Dalvik, I was shocked and enraged. I could not prevent my hatred for Oracle from growing. It was a sad day for the open source industry though it had long begun with the acquisition of Sun Microsystems. On the surface, the takeover seemed to be aimed at the server hardware (Sparc) and its accompanying software, Unix-based Solaris (another open source operating system). But the fact that Sun Microsystems is a major contributor of open source software ranging from programming language, Java (created with the noble idea of portability and distributed as free as it promised to be: it’s compiler is freely available until recently when Oracle requires you to register in order to perform a download), office application bundle, OpenOffice, virtualization software (which allows you to install different operating systems on 1 host operating system), VirtualBox to database software, MySQL, Oracle’s newly added possession had provided itself a dimension in the software industry.

Of course, Oracle did not start off selling software for free. It almost monopolized or rather dominated the database industry for a length of time that was or is still sufficient for it to accumulate great wealth and resources. It then tried to adapt to the changing face of the industry. The attack of Linux was too huge to be ignored. Oracle quickly ported its key product to Linux and due to Linux’s licensing policy, Oracle was forced to open up some of the sources and labeled them as open source software. However, it was a gamble that paid off (the use of Linux in servers increased) and hence strengthening Oracle’s belief in open source.

Personally, I always have felt that the future of database is a rather bleak one. I mean, the idea of database itself is no longer new. I used to study database systems in school and learnt there are basically 3 types of database: relational, object-oriented and hybrid (both relational and object-oriented). I can’t deny that there are ongoing activities on how to improve the speed of data access (maybe via better indexing), the reliability of data storage and retrieval, and management of ever increasing data size. The point is what you can do or enhance are pretty much trapped within the box.

For this reason, I could empathize Oracle’s continuous, aggressive moves in the takeover business. In one sense, it seems Oracle has given up developing their own products or making new product innovations. It just relied the acquired businesses to boost its revenues and tapped on their technological talents to create products of the tomorrow. To put it plainly, Oracle is just using money to make more money.

I never thought that Sun is going to be acquired by any company. I always felt that it is self sufficient (with the Java licensing). Though it cannot grow into giants like IBM, HP, Dell or even Oracle, it is already a great company with products that change the lives of many PC users. Java is like a disease that spreads so widely and for so long. It definitely does not pale in the competition with Linux for the adoption of open source software. In fact, it has reached areas that Linux can’t even have access to. With its newly acquired technologies, MySQL and VirtualBox, Sun seems to position itself quite well in the industry. However, the truth is Sun is constantly searching for its direction. It is locked within the two domains of both hardware and software. Unlike IBM, it can’t shake off its hardware unit and concentrate on its software (which is not earning much for Sun). Declining hardware business simply imply that Sun had to find an antidote fast and suddenly IBM came into the picture.

For what has happened today, I have to attribute part of this to IBM. Yes, thanks to their strategic hindsight, Oracle has obtained what it has long wished for. If not for IBM, I seriously don’t think the executives at Sun would consider the option of selling the company. Perhaps they were tired after so many years of struggling to find the right way. They had changed enough top guy to have a sense that nothing is working great. IBM makes the perfect match to the marriage, likewise, a strong open source contributor with strong financial backing. If Sun is with IBM now, Java is deemed to be free for life.

I guess this is what life is all about: villains or powerful barons with monetary rights took possessions of something of great value to all and re-offered these valuables at much higher prices with the single-mindedness of bagging all the benefits to themselves. Shame on you and those that played a part in making this happen. I believe the souls of those in Sun had been wrongly sold. For a mere 7.4 billion, our freedom in the software world have been compromised.

As Wikipedia (and coincidentally Google) is given a new face lift, we are reminded how the progress of Internet has helped to improve our lives. The power of collaboration is clearly shown in this mighty encyclopedia, created by volunteers. An information source that is built free and meant to be free, creates the paradigm shift in the business of encyclopedia. Regular updates and editing ensures the validity of the topic over time. Simple to use, quick referencing, easy access over the Internet and consistent web presence (not known to have many connection or server problems) have given Wikipedia a great edge over its competitors.

To date, Wikipedia has 3,301,848 English articles (of the million English words), and 20,429,470 pages in total. In January 2010, it has nearly 68 million visitors.

At personal level, Wikipedia has contributed greatly to both my work and my part time studies. It helps to answer all kinds of possible questions I could have in my work and studies. Sometimes, I just needed some clarifications on a term or jargon (for software or MBA) and I knew I can grab something off Wikipedia. I almost felt like an expert instantly. This is what it should be like living in the Information Age.

What’s more is the power of links. You can never find this feature in multi-volume, hardcover and extremely encyclopedia. A primitive word for this is index, which is highly dependent on efforts put in by the author or the publishing team. Now, the knowledge from Wikipedia is built into a tree that extends to the level of depth (of the links or limited by the “capacity of your mind”).

Acceptance of Wikipedia knowledge is much higher at work than at school. Academics doubt the quality of the articles and warn students of quoting or referencing them. Instead, other websites (probably created by the professors themselves) are encouraged. For me, Wikipedia is the default starting point of any research topic. So long an external link is quoted instead of the Wikipedia article, I should get some decent scores for the assignment.

The explanation that I can find is everyone feels more assured with a product they pay for. There got to be some quality assurance behind the brand. A brand closely associated with the word “free” should be considered worthless. Well, you just give people what they desire. Charge them a price and immediately you will see the rise in value.

But the beauty of all this work is that it costs nothing and yet worth everything. I can’t live a day without Wikipedia. I have learnt more about world history from Wikipedia than my history classes. I have seen more illustrations than any textbook has shown. As a poor student struggling to make both ends meet, Wikipedia had indeed saved my academic life. Who can really afford to buy all the related materials, and read all of them? Burying your head in piles of library books doesn’t help much: you have to ensure that you always have the access to the materials you need, and for those materials that need further research, you might want to join the queue for copier. Life has been made simpler. So, just learn how to enjoy it.

Well, I know I am not the first to glorify the benefits of Wikipedia (a search on Amazon returns 3,000+ book results though quite a number already out of print). I just love it. It provides me answers to more than half of the questions I google for. I don’t really care whether it is not a dictionary (I still use it as a dictionary) or the most accurate reference. It serves me just fine. My life has been better. Nowadays, discussions among my colleagues begin like “according to Wikipedia, blah blah blah”. It doesn’t matter how it gets started. What matters is the end point or points.

I would just like to take it to another level. Not too long ago, I found a great tool called WikiTaxi. What it does is it takes Wikipedia offline by creating a database of Wikipedia snapshot. This database can then be downloaded to your PC and viewed offline with WikiTaxi. I dumped everything to my pendrive and walked around, feeling very secured with what I know or may know. The only issue is that the database file has now grown so huge that it is almost impossible to have a quick download. And having gone through the hassle of downloading it, you will realize that the images are stripped off. This might have been caused by the same tool that creates the collaborative framework of Wikipedia. The XML tags could be a great overhead. Anyway, I have learnt to live with it. Guess you could do the same. For the pampered ones, you can choose to pay for the DVD version of the offline Wikipedia or some other commercial tools.

Finally, I would like to end off with a comment to Wikipedia team. To encourage endorsement from academics, perhaps one approach is to set up a so-called “Wikipedia Labs”. I don’t mean to physically set up a lab. I mean the “Lab” should work in the same way as Wikipedia. Anyone who has done some tests or verification on the article could post his or her result in the “Lab”. If there is any controversial result, then it should be stated clearly as the conclusion. This, I hope, helps to raise the credibility of the knowledge installed in the article. By collaborating in the same way, I believe certain doubts can be removed and confidence re-installed.

A couple of months ago I openly asked for dream phone of mine to be designed and hence made. A couple of weeks ago I swapped my makeshift mobile with an Android and my life has changed since. Yes, it is true. I always desire to have an iPhone: I have tasted the power of Blackberry with Nokia’s E-Series and enjoyed the large, paranomic photos taken from my Samsung ultra slim handset. The fun of downloading and running all sorts of applications is a first for me, except for limited experience with Nokia and Samsung. I liked my Samsung phone though: it is light, “pocketable” and it slides with styles and communicates well with my touches (until I try iPhone).

For one reason or the other , I have to give up my favourite phone to my old man and the search for the next phone began. Luckily, the search didn’t take long. Android-powered phone became a great substitute for the much desired iPhone. Refusing to pay a huge amount of money (around USD 787) for a phone that I will replace in 1 or 2 years’ time, I opted a cheaper (around USD 213, after trade-in of USD143) and yet comparable device in modern life. With a touch screen that recognizes gestures, sensors, accelerometers, wifi, GPS (or aGPS) and HSPA connections, I become a true mobile warrior with mail, news & weather update, location finder (as well as the other associated services such as food, shopping and ATMs finder), online “socializing” and a lot of stuffs to do to kill time while in a queue or waiting hopelessly for something to happen. All of a sudden, I am more efficient than I expect myself to be. Like what my horoscope on the day when I purchased the phone described, it opens up a whole new life with surprises and changes.

“Big deal!”, I can hear this from the ever growing number of iPhone owners. They have this, “we have already all these indulgence long time ago” in their looks. But guess what, Android is going to change all that.

To be honest, I have heard of the Android word too often for the past 2 years. I was like, “Big Deal, it’s just another Operating System for mobile devices”. To some level, I was not wrong to think in that way. It’s running on a Linux kernel and coupled by a Java Virtual Machine: 2 of the most powerful open-source (in other words, free) software in the world. What is really different now is the simple word called “application”. What iPhone or iTouch taught the world is applications that can be downloaded and used for free. The capabilities of the device are immediately extended to a limit that can only be determined by the creativeness of application designers. Digital songs are now a fad of the past. So are the digital videos and talking iTouch. Applications are the “in” thing nowadays. You can do all kinds of stuff (as mentioned above) with the applications. If there is anything you don’t like about the apps, just remove them as they cost nothing… Imagine, in the older days, when we happily purchased a IBM compatible PC with MS-DOS (alright, not to exaggerate too much) or Windows, the first thing after booting up the PC we see a colorful window that was to be interpreted as the desktop. We were expected to work on that desktop. But there was nothing much we could do. The only application that is opened more often than the calculator app is probably Solitaire. The point is: we need more applications than just those provided by the OS to make full use of our computers. Otherwise, they would just be performing the role they had in shops or companies (to show a sign of intelligence or technological advancement).

Until the Free Software movement arrived, every application that we wished to try out provided a painful experience of facing the verdict that whether we had purchased the right software. With free applications, we learned more about our needs of these applications and became more knowledgeable. It was a delightful and carefree experience.

One reason why Linux is still losing its long time battle with Microsoft Windows is the user friendliness or ease of use. Most people are already pampered by a wonderful tool called mouse and have a distaste of keeping two hands locked to the plane of bricks in front of their screen. This may explains why Android may have a better acceptance than its predecessor if not, cousins from the PC world.

Another benefit of Android is that it can run on many mobile platforms. It doesn’t have to be running on devices with the bitten apple logo. It can run on your favourite Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, or even BlackBerry if they like. It is pretty much like Microsoft Windows running on Dell, HP, Acer or Toshiba hardware. It doesn’t have to be using an Intel or AMD chipset.

Guess what? It will follow iTouch or iPhone (or even iPad) closely as the platform software shifts from one hardware domain to another. It is not locked to just mobile phone devices or platform. One day, a TV might be powered by Android, which really prompted me to ask why Google is investing on another OS called ChromiumOS. Unless the answer is Chrome OS is actually meant to match up Mac OS X, I can’t take in any other explanation. Back to the topic, Android will grow in terms of width, depth and heights.

Apple is feeling the strain of managing the quality of its applications and starts to charge money for any application that wishes to be listed in their Store. This is uncommon as it is never practised by Microsoft (they only do so for the different hardware running below Windows) on the PC platform. It is unclear whether Android or Google will follow suit. To me, software quality only grows by rules of Darwinism: evolution and survival of the fittest. The perfect example is stable software I am using now from Sourceforge and GNU.

From one angle of view, iPhone portrays the image of elegance, class and sophistication. Android phones may look pale in that kind of comparison and hence, considered to be more rugged: something suitable for the streets or alleys and probably the mass market. I would imagine such marketing campaign to differentiate the two in the future. Of course, Apple is capable of taking the mass market with iPhone, just like how it took away the entire market with iPods. The same could happen to Android makers. Take for instance, a Vertu phone with Android.

The two camps (i-whatever and Android) will be inseparable from now on. There are tons of application developers who want presence on both software platform in order to achieve universality. Of course, more competition will come as Microsoft, Symbian and Palm OS (or maybe WebOS) realize the importance of applications. So far, the tens of thousands applications should act as insurmountable barrier to entry.

The story is the same as having a very powerful TV with fast processing speeds and display of high resolution, but not enough content to keep the viewers tucked in their couch.

As China moves to a more market oriented currency policy, questions for the rationale behind this move remain unanswered. True enough, the main topic of the debate is unfair valuation of the currency, which is now currently used by almost every country around the world (actually only those who have trading with the Chinese, but who hasn’t). A slanted view would be to the benefits of trading businesses in US and Europe. But how so?

Apparently, number crunchers for trade figures feel that reducing the deficit is the top priority in improving the overall economy (though raising the prices of the imports will, in fact, increase the deficit). Making imports more expensive will turn the ‘free’ market to alternatives or substitutes such as cheaper if not, more convenient or better valued local products. In the world today, where everything we buy has some parts manufactured in China, there should be more than 1 reasons why they are made there. At the same time, more expensive yuan doesn’t automatically translate to more expensive exports from China. It would be a big mistake to think the Chinese as big fat, lazy workers (and more productive maybe) as in the West. With 37% of its people (about 481 million;greater US’s 309 million population) earning less than $2 a day, it won’t be too difficult for Chinese bosses to find cheaper employees to tide over. Having said so, it is still worth a try for the West to find out the effects of better valued yuan. It feels better to be in the shit together.

What is in for the Chinese to perform such an act? And as a big nation, the central government will not be easily let off for such a grave mistake made. Not only will they lose their competitive advantage, the US treasury bills on their hands will worth less as well. There were calls to reduce the value of the US currency but they were all ignored. China could have done the same. There are now accusations that the wrongly valued yuan has a part to play in the financial meltdown in US and subsequently in Europe and around the world. These even encourage bankers to stand out openly to claim it is not their faults.

Perhaps the steel trade means a lot for the Chinese. This is not the first time duties has been imposed on Chinese steel. From my understanding, such duties are meant to help US industry and punish China for their dumping activities. China has been singled out (as previously on the rubber tyres). I was alarmed to learn that (having known only Arcelor Mittal) there are already 4 Chinese steel producers in the top 10 list (no wonder, the special treatment). So much for the anti-protectionism…

China must have taken the hits quite badly. By agreeing to the terms, it hope to receive more favourable treatment. If this is the case, then China will have to prepare for more “sanctions” (since it sets as a perfect example on how to pressurize China). This is also a move that breaks away from its normal self: unwavering and uncompromising.

A more market oriented currency would imply a step nearer to the status of a world currency. To be as exchangeable as the US currency, this is definitely a big step to take. At the same time, it also expresses the high level of confidence shown by the Chinese government on its currency, economy and future. There are also concerns about the risks that a more global currency would bring. Many have failed before (such as Russia, Argentina and Thailand). Even the mighty pounds can fall into the hands of the speculators. By opening its door to attack, China will show the world that it is more than just a manufacturing base.

Unlike Google, China seems to listen more to its big customers now. In return, it may expect something greater. A shift up in the service level will justify for the higher price paid for. All this while, the manufacturing giant has accommodated all kinds of unreasonable demands to produce at a cost not even half of the local produce (I guess this applies to almost everywhere). However, the giant does know a tip or two. It can’t stay low forever. To compete with the best, it has to raise its standards. For those who can’t compete at this level, they would simply continue to make low end products by cutting further into their costs. For those who make it, it will have a vital stabilizing effect on the economy. In other words, China can’t be the world’s 2nd largest economy for nothing. It has to show it has quality as well. By selling its products at almost the same price, Chinese hope to match the required standards if not more.

The pursuit for perfection is the key. Productivity levels in China are not really that high (I don’t think they work as hard as the Japanese, Korean and Americans). The reason why Japan is ahead of China for so many years despite having a smaller population is partly due to its workers’ productivity. Now that China has raised its level to maybe half of what is possible, but at a much larger scale, things look totally different. Technologically, China is at a distance away from Japan, Europe and US. But it has much room of improvement and it has an easier task in achieving that, unlike its rivals.

If the transition to a more flexible currency is managed well, the benefits to be reaped can be great. Besides, the fact that yuan is under valued brings out more why this is the direction that China should head.

This is a desperate call to all handset makers! I need this phone badly.

I am looking for a phone that does Blackberry, runs iPhone and Office applications, communicates with GPS, Bluetooth, GPRS (or any mobile broadband networks) and wifi, works obediently according to my gentle touches if not, with the multi-functional QWERTY, processes faster than my Netbooks, doubles up as my iPod with video playback, shoots sharp and colorful photos with 5x zoom, panoramic mode and flash in at least 2 x HD resolution, looks clear under the bright sunlight, is alive for more than 3 days (with all the above functions running at the same time) before a charge via USB is required (or charges by kinetic) and fits my pocket well with a feeling of weightlessness.

Good, I know you will ask this. How much am I going to pay for this? Probably less than USD 500. So, are you game for it?

Remember dreams are to be pursued. Hope to hear from you soon!

It is about time to talk about digital press.

Google Books, a feature on Google website, is nothing new to everyone by now. Google has now digitized 10,000,000 books (according to Official Google Blog) since 2004. This is about 10 times the estimated number of English words (Merriam-Webster). However, Google Books is not the only source for digitized press. There are Internet Archive, Europeana, Gallica and HathiTrust. Also, the Project Gutenberg is really the pioneer of digital library. Forget about buying classics such as Alice in Wonderland and works from Charles Dickens. You can get it free from PG. Don’t worry about copyright issues if you are in the States. My only complaint is the number of supported formats (from text to audio files) is large but not consistent (you may not find the format you want).

To me, this is a fantastic idea though not the most original one. To digitize all the books (currently only in English) around the world and put together in a space-saving server, it just too productive. Yes, that is the correct economics term to use. Productivity level is high for this that I can’t even determine a reasonable value for it. Imagine all the books’ contents that can be stored and made available to all everywhere around the globe. You don’t have to queue or fight for the book you badly need for your assignment. You don’t have to buy the book which you only need a few pages of. The best part is you can search faster than your physical eyes for the words that you are looking for. If you learn better by listening, then you can simply use some reading software to aid your learning. Audio books are another alternative.

Well, this is just me. There are many others who are against the novel idea behind this movement by Google. Surprisingly, Microsoft and Yahoo (or just Microsoft) happens to be among them, the Open Book Alliance (representing… er… people of Open Book?). Amazon has the loudest voice and at some level of justification, it does have some rights to express its views. However, the alliance represents only such a percentage of the whole publishing industry. Where did they find the courage to put up such a fight. It costs peanuts to them to set up the same equipment as Google and starts creating their own digital library (Microsoft did try before but apparently, they feel seeking the other path is easier).

Main players in the publishing industry, on the other hand, looked calmer than expected. They seemed to be concerned much about having their copyrights paid for. One can’t deny that the potential market for electronic books is huge. It’s unbelievable when you work out the costs and profits of running a completely digital publishing. It’s just basically you, formally the publisher, and the authors running the whole show. You just have to do away with your printing operations and logistics, which are the greatest costs of your business. Enough said.

If this day is to come, purchasing of e-book should be as easy as a mouse click. The moment you click and read the book, you have to pay. As your mileage (i.e. the amount of data downloaded) increases, the savings for payment increase. When you finish the book, you will be given a one-time offer to download the book for keep and your name will be printed on every page of the e-book to avoid the book from falling into the hands of others. You can transfer the ownership by simply giving a small administrative charge for it.

Mr. Darwin have long reminded us the existence of evolution in our world. It is just a matter of time. Take the example of MP3. Many years ago, the downloading of MP3 songs were widespread and almost uncontrollable. The music industry suffered greatly from the loss of revenue. Lawsuits began to take place, targeting at software providers who facilitated such downloads. While these were happening, the price of audio Compact Discs (CDs) fell and fell. The same CDs can store 100 over songs in the MP3 format, compared to around 10 to 16 songs in the WAV format. It really made little sense to pay so much for something less. However, MP3 is not totally free. There is a license fee charged to all players of such format. Hence, makers of audio devices created their own audio formats to avoid such charges. Then, a brilliantly timed move by Apple Computer, a webstore is established for the sale of songs in AAC format. These songs can be downloaded to iPods for playing. Each song was charged at 99cents and artists were paid for their rights to their hard work. And the rest became the history of digital audio industry.

Google has been paying for the rights of the digital books they have converted. More policies would be enforced on usage of these information. They may not reap the rewards for all these deeds. There are more than 1 online stores selling e-books and audiobooks. Like in the example above, all it takes is a well-thought business model that keeps everyone happy and realistic of what is feasible. It is about time that Google re-think who they should be paying and whether selling digital books is going to be a business venture for them.

It had been a quiet winter for me. No big news around the globe that are worth mentioning or debating about. Forget about Toyota and valuation of yuan. Earthquakes are now of frequent occurrence round the Pacific Rim. Terrorists are still everywhere in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Palestinians are back to the fight with Israelis. Southern Europe are giving unwelcome news of their ailing economies.

There were more liveliness in Vancouver for the Winter Olympic. Thank goodness it ended well (that should be the way to remember the city), making a U turn from the worst expected start. The good news are that there are no more giant companies falling and most economies are now technically out of recession. Things are even looking brighter on this small island that I stay in. Property prices have been on the rise for the past 24 months. News of the latest developments in the integrated resorts are keeping interests on this country high. Stakes are high on this and the government will never let it fail. So, the people believe.

One thing to look forward to is probably the World Cup in South Africa. After 4 years of waiting, it is time to get an update of who is the world’s best. After watching Invictus, I have a feeling that this World Cup is the perfect opportunity for the blacks in South Africa to prove something. By recent traditions, a no. 4 placing might be desirable.

A rare quietness prevails in the White House as well. Other than a few foreign exchanges, the President seems to have simmered down. Reforms seem to be a thing in the past; job done and rest is up to those below him. Perhaps we should define this the moment of truth. A moment when big plans are translated into big actions, and hopefully into big results as well. It decides if the President’s honeymoon year turns out to be a perfect marriage. Symptoms can be defined as smoke screens to divert the attention of the public (who are watching closely) to other matters such as nuclear threats, war with terrorists, unbalanced trade with the world, and the stability of Middle East.

Yes, big plans need time. They need more than that. But the clock is ticking and time waits for no man. It’s hard to determine what is a good plan. A good plan may start off bad and turn out better than expected. An effective plan is different. It produces results, in a very short term. So, a good and effective plan might just be the ideal case for everyone.

Quiet is good. It keeps one and all calm. Winter makes you feel numb too. It reminds me of a scene in part III, “Return of the King” of the Lord of the Rings, the night before Gandalf prepared for war with Sauron in Gondor. The wise man warned the Hobbit the calm before the storm.