Facebook - Are Your Kids Ready ??

Are your children ready for Social Media? While there are a ton of networks out there today, in all likelihood they would start with Facebook. That is still the cool place. So right from the Facebook, you must be 13 in order to sign up. Is that too young? Is that acceptable? As with most decisions as a parent, this should be specific to your own child. 

Some areas to think about and discuss with your child…

Privacy: You can leave it at the door. The moment your child signs up to any Social Network they are exposed. They’ve entered a new arena. Don’t ask Facebook or any network to be their keeper. Don’t be surprised if there information shows up elsewhere on the net. It’s just the nature of the beast no matter what your security setting. For most there will never be an issue, but if you’re highly sensitive to privacy, Social Media probably isn’t the best place for your kids.

46% of kids have given out personal information to someone they’ve met online
34% of kids have friends online they’ve never met in person

Cyberbullying: Bullying has reached new levels since I was kid. We’ve all heard of the tragedies over the last few years. One reminder is the story of Phoebe Prince. While this is an extreme case, cyberbullying is very real. It’s another potential pitfall of being online.

32% of all teens on the Internet say they have been a victim of cyberbullying

Social Media Positives: Undoubtedly you’ve heard or will hear, “but Mom and Dad all my friends are on it.” Social Media should be a fun and enjoyable experience. For most teenagers it has become another important form of communication. Some recent research uncovered some other positives.

Young adults who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing “virtual empathy” to their online friends.

Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop.

Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

As with most topics with our children communication is paramount. Keep this in the forefront, and your kids experience should be safe.

Percentage Source: Family Online Safety Institute

Research Source : American Psychological Association

Cloud Computing Datacentres in Cyberjaya

Cyberjaya

Cyberjaya is a town with a science park as the core that forms a key part of the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia. It is located in the district of Sepang, Selangor and is situated about 50 km south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. This town aspires to be known as the Silicon Valley of Malaysia.

The official opening ceremony for Cyberjaya was held in May 1997 by then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad.

Cyberjaya is planned as an intelligent city with ICT and multimedia industries, R&D centers, a Multimedia University and operational headquarters for multinationals wishing to direct their worldwide manufacturing and trading activities using multimedia technology.

Toward this end, leading edge technologies were used, some with mixed results. In addition to the successful implementation of the above-mentioned Cyberjaya Dedicated Transportation System, the Cyberjaya blog is another example of the technology-based features that have been put in place

Several data centres operate in Cyberjaya. Notable are those operated by Shell, Basis Bay, NTT MSC, BMW and DHL. A small scale Data Centre ideal for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is located at SME Technopreneur Center Cyberjaya SME Data Centre that provides Rack Location Unit (RLU) space rental and server co-location. There is also the largest carrier neutral, high-end purpose built data centre facilities, CX1 and CX2, in Cyberjaya, that is managed by CSF Advisers, a member of CSF Group plc CSF Group.

The proven cost savings and high return on investment from virtualisation and cloud computing in the datacentre have captured the imagination of many CFOs and CEOs.

In most cases, organisations can reduce datacentre costs by moving more applications onto fewer servers and can reduce software licensing fees and administrative resources by migrating to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

When they add in faster deployment times for new applications and services while ensuring 24×7 reliability, organisations have a compelling business case for virtualisation and cloud computing in the datacentre.

At some point in the future, this type of highly virtualised, services-on-demand delivery model enabled through cloud computing will be the IT gold standard.

Cloud Computing

In terms of the physical network infrastructure, virtualisation and cloud computing complement each other in the following ways:

1. Cloud computing services can reside on top of virtual datacentres. Virtualisation can support cloud architectures;

2. Cloud computing software can orchestrate virtual server deployments. Cloud management software can control virtualisation services;

3. Cloud computing adds another virtualisation layer between end users and the entire IT environment, which enables a pay-per-use model; and

4. Both virtualisation and cloud computing require robust physical network infrastructures. They rely heavily on the network and require new ways of thinking about network architecture and design.

Before this transition occurs, however, the underlying network architecture must provide greater availability, performance, and security while simplifying datacentre operations.

A complete revolution in the datacentre, with its associated costs, disruptions, and time requirements, is unnecessary in almost every case. Instead, the transition to a highly virtualised datacentre can be smooth, non-disruptive, and full of business advantages.

As organisations add Virtual Machines (VMs) and shift to a cloud-based operations model, the network must be hardened against failures that disrupt traffic yet adaptable and flexible enough to support new business requirements.

The key to achieve "failure proof" datacentre is to move toward a target design along a well-planned path and to use incremental steps to control risk.

Therefore,Cyberjaya planning guidelines strongly required all datacentres to have two electricity connections from two separate substations. Diesel generators up to full load (except air conditioning load) were specified to be installed in all commercial buildings.

The electricity grid connection was also organized to enable “power islanding” and supported by the Serdang Power Station. The electricity service standard is set at 99.99% availability with maximum of 10 seconds interruption for office and commercial areas and maximum 15 minutes interruption for residential areas.

These measures were dreamed up to provide Cyberjaya with a comparative advantage against other areas outside the Multimedia Super Corridor.

Smart Motoring vs GPS ^0^

ON a traffic-jammed Jalan Kuching in Kuala Lumpur, the newly-installed navigation app on my HTC chimed and a message warned: “Police hidden. Jalan Kuching. 545 metres away.”

It was noon and I was driving to a lunch tweet-up in Mont Kiara.

Half a kilometre later, indeed there were cops hiding behind some bushes.

Wow! What a clever navigation app, I thought.

Cleverer than my domineering 70-something mother who drives me crazy with her incessant turn-by-turn instructions when seated next to me while I’m driving.

New Waze ; Outsmarting Traffic



Introducing Waze, the amazing social networking navigation app with the tagline “Outsmarting Traffic, Together”.

How does it work? First download the free app to your iPhone or android smartphone, sign up, set your destination and drive.

The app will provide turn-by-turn directions, with an automated woman’s voice telling you where to go.

“By simply driving with the app open on your phone, you passively contribute traffic and other road data that helps the Waze system to provide other Waze drivers with the optimal route to their destination, including live traffic information,” according to Waze in waze.com.

Waze is about “crowdsourcing”.

Here’s how it works: say you are driving 60kph on Jalan Kuching, that information will be sent to Waze via the Internet.

It will analyse that data together with other data sent by Wazers, and it will know the traffic situation on Jalan Kuching.

The fun part about Waze is that you can submit reports on accidents, traffic jams and “hidden” policemen.

There have been times when I wished there had been an accident so that I could report that there was an accident.

A few weeks ago, I was a Waze baby with a cute avatar – a pink quote bubble on wheels sucking a baby pacifier.

After 100 miles (about 160km), I graduated to Waze Grown-Up (I lost the baby pacifier).

The next rank is Waze Warrior, when I reach the top 10% of scorers in my region.

Waze has the inside knowledge of a taxi driver. It will suggest unconventional routes so that you can avoid a traffic jam.

With crowdsourcing, when there is an accident on the road, Waze will warn you not to take that route.

At first I did not believe that Waze was that smart.

Instead of taking a toll road which it suggested, I took the NKVE Highway which on the Waze map was congested because of an accident.

Big mistake. I was stuck in a 30-minute crawl because drivers were slowing down to jot down the licence plate of the cars involved in the three-car pile-up in the other lane.

Waze Makes Driving Exciting

Waze also makes driving exciting. Instead of your habitual route, it would suggest a route that you did not consider for your favourite neighbourhood shopping mall.

It thinks of routes that you’ll never think about. Wonder if there is a Waze app for sexual positions?

As predicted by Waze, I arrived at KLCC at around 12.35pm.

I raved about Waze to my Twitter friends. And I was not the only one raving.

If you have passion for maps, you can edit and update the Waze map.

My Travelogue ; Expo 2010 Shanghai, China

Don in Shanghai

Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 

By the end of the expo, over 73 million people had visited – a record attendance – and 250 countries and international organizations had participated.On 16 October 2010, the expo set a single-day record of having over 1.03 million visitors enter the exhibition that day.

Malaysia Pavilion:Pearl of Southeast Asia

Unique Features of Malaysia Pavilion

The inspiration of the pavilion design comes from the traditional Malaysian hut in the expression of a unique style and national spirit of union. The building will comprise two streamlined high slopes with a cross on top, the symbol of Malaysian architecture. The facade of the pavilion will be made from a combination of recyclable materials of palm oil and plastic.

Visitors will encounter world heritages of Penang and Malacca and get access to characteristic Malaysian artworks and their production process. Electronics, rubber and timber products will also be exhibited in the pavilion

Visitors will encounter world heritages of Penang and Malacca and get access to characteristic Malaysian artworks and their production process. Electronics, rubber and timber products will also be exhibited in the pavilion.

The corridor and entrance at the ground floor will be based on Mosque design with elevated roof on columns to resemble the traditional long house in Malaysia. The exterior wall will imitate Malaysian textile printing with patterns of butterfly, bloom, flying birds and geometrical drawings.

Along with palm oil, rubber and other economical plants, the pavilion will also exhibit tourist attractions of beach and golf court, as well as ordinary family lives in Malaysia. Visitors will be able to pitch and putt at an indoor golf area. The sightseeing elevator between two stories will be designed to simulate the famous Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

During the Expo, the central stage in the pavilion will host two local dance performances every day to showcase all 47 ethnic groups from the country.

The pavilion will hold lucky draws on key days during the Expo, such as Malaysia’s national day, and the anniversary of China-Malaysia Diplomatic Relationship.

Visitors will see characteristic Malaysian artworks and their production process in the pavilion and will have the chance to taste delicious Malaysian foods such as bak kut teh, etc. 

Germany Pavilion ; Theme Balancity

Germany Pavilion Features

It is the epitome of a city, boasting the creation of a "harbor image" and a "dynamic tunnel" with urban scenes from Germany. This is the "Balancity," a magnificent crystallization of Germanic originality and technology. The structure is wrapped in silver membrane. A terraced landscape stretches from the ground level up to the third floor of the pavilion. Four exhibition structures appear to hover, creating a perfect roof for visitors.

Japan Pavilion ; Theme Harmony of the Hearts , Harmony of the Skills

Japan Pavilion Features

The Japan Pavilion is a semi-circular structure, covered by a purple membrane material. Several antennae and caves make the pavilion a "breathing organism," which will express the harmony between the human heart and technology. The pavilion has been dubbed "Purple Silkworm Island" by Chinese people.

China Pavilion ; Theme Chinese Wisdom in Urban Development

China Pavilion Features

The main structure of the China Pavilion, "The Crown of the East," has a distinctive roof, made of traditional dougong or brackets, which date back more than 2,000 years. The dougong style features wooden brackets fixed layer upon layer between the top of a column and a crossbeam. This unique structural component of interlocking wooden brackets is one of the most important elements in traditional Chinese architecture. Dougong was widely used in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-467 BC).

Italy Pavilion ; Theme City of Man

Italy Pavilion Features

The design of the Italy Pavilion is inspired by the children's game "pick-up sticks," which is known as "Shanghai" in Italy. The rectangular pavilion has been laced with intersecting lines - representing pick-up sticks. It comprises 20 functional modules of different shapes, bounded by the "sticks." They represent Italy's 20 regions. The modules can be assembled into smaller structures.

Courtesy of www.chinaexpo.com