Life As It Goes By

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.

Captain America, leading Uncle Sam, had responded to the nonsense from the brash Wall Street fighters. Slamming a 10-year 50% tax on banks was really something I had in mind as well. However, I still feel the range should be extended to the individuals that receive the sky-high bonus. A 50% income tax on their bonuses is still way too little for the kind of risks (unless a life is cost less than trillions of dollars) they have taken for the past year.

I don’t expect this to end so quickly. That gotta be some kind of retaliation, given the fact these bankers had been so well fed with silver spoons. Besides, they are elite, top of the minds. They will come up with groundbreaking schemes like those in the derivative products they sold. Unless they wise up and keep their mouth shut. In this way, the damage shall be limited just to the banks, not the individuals. They will win most in this option. This is why I propose President Obama to launch a second attack with the income tax.

Yes, we do want to corner them and give them really a hell of time. We badly need some discipline in the house. The financial crisis has hit us hard and painfully. We should not forget this and so should they not. If this crisis is to be labeled as a classic excuse of being the norm of economic cycles or trends, then let regulation be a new lesson of uncertainty. Yes, they are going to be so screwed that they will regret what they have done for the making of the crisis. They would want to change industry and not work in this line any more. Yes, we are going to come so hard on them that they would have nightmares every nights, worrying about the unethical deals they have committed during the day.

In reality, here are a few things that I feel will follow suit: rise in stock market, poor quarterly results for banks (blaming government actions have severely demoralized the spirits in the banks) and acquisitions. The rise in stock market means a transfer of funds from the hard cash to paper profit or loss. Of course, it is not just limited to the stock market. Any market that is capable of giving returns of investment shall be affected: currency, bonds, commodities, ETFs and so on. This is only the short term strategy. To get these money back after only 10 years, it will be an unsound investment. In the meantime, there will be lots of political lobbying around to try to shorten their sentence. Money is power and banks have plenty of them.

Any investors would think of a long term plan. At this juncture, they have a choice of stating their true financial status now (and hence justify the levels of their current bonus) or report a much lesser value, keeping a portion for the future. Those banks on the borderline  ($50 billion) could save themselves by not joining the leaders of the herd. Those leaders might want to take a gamble and go for it this round. No one will ever know when such opportunity will knock again. Besides, first time offenders might take a lighter punishment or let off unnoticed. But it is still a 50-50 game. If they do think long, they will find ways to produce 2 quarters of rather disappointing results to avoid a repeat next year.

One best way of spending is to acquire big. This will slow the whole growth while keeping the stock price up. What this brings would be laying off of staff in banks and less consumer choices. The smart ones are already doing that now. And while we are talking about banks all this time, the tax proposal by President Obama include other financial institutions such as insurance companies.

This is assuming no big reactions from the those involved in this tax proposal which will only come into effect in June. Since it is based on the past year’s books (unless I got it all wrong), I believe the effect will remain. There got to be a way to bypass the tax restrictions imposed. With their clever minds, they will soon come up with something. Benefits-in-kind can include stuff such as properties, stock options/shares themselves and all kinds of big-ticket items. As for the companies themselves, they can break into smaller parts, so that none falls into the category of “above $50 billion”. Basically, options are plentiful.

It will be more than just a chasing game. It’s life and death. These monies or bonuses are the blood of these people and they will do anything for them. Expect the best, the very best from them to get back what they feel they deserve.

The financial crisis is over now. At least for the bankers. They have the best of years for the past few years. Having received record bonus in the year 2007 before the tumbling of stocks in 2008, which triggered the flow of funds from governments to help them save the free fall. Amazingly, like perfectly crafted plan, the stock market returned to the levels before the crisis towards the end of 2009. The bankers were thrown another lifeline: another chance to bag big money. Once in a lifetime opportunity, some must have felt. Where can you find someone who will give you money to gamble, take back exactly what he or she has lent you and ask no share of your winnings even though they are 2 or 3 times the amount you have lent? There is no way they are going to let go of this chance…

Disappointed? Why should I? I have finally found a certain future for myself. No matter how smart the governments are, they are just politicians. What do they know about making money and controlling the financial systems? It belongs to the exclusive club, only for the most intelligent men. The past 3 years have shown who are made of better materials. Even in the post crisis, the bankers still dare to show hand to the guys in the White House or Westminister. Never once there is a need for them to be on their kneels to beg. Saying sorry in the public costs so much little to the amount of dollars they will get from the bonus. It doesn’t take a financial analyst to see how worthwhile the deal is. Only the fools at the top of the nations think repentance is on the way.

The end is fixed. A sad ending for the bankers is a mission impossible. Sarcastic I may sound here but helpless is the louder voice in me. There is nothing anyone can do to change that. No, it’s not the duty of the God to punish those who take profits for the risks taken. It’s the choice of the governments to pick the jobs of the bankers, rather than the general public to save. Their fears of greater failures have provided the answers to why they made such a choice. And now to save their own jobs, they are thinking of ways to raise taxes (or incomes to the governments) for the majority while keep taxes on sensitive items such as stock markets and currency stimulant.

I have decided not to wait and see anymore. No more disappointments. Now it’s the time to jump on the bandwagon. Join the banks or you will regret for life. Be on the winning side. The line is clear.