The Great Tech War of 2012

I just starting to read the new issue of Fast Company : The Great Tech War of 2012. Who will win the battle for the future of innovation economy? wooohooooooo... it really great to read it. They compare 4 companies with different starting point which has grown ahead of others to be the leader of digital world, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. This is quite a thorough article on each company's excellence, competitiveness and value. And a nice reading for all the tech enthusiast out there... I will update my comment when I finish reading it.

About love

“I thought to myself, If this is my last day on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman?” Then he ran across the parking lot and asked her to dinner.

Virtual Assistant

Back at 2004, I was a freshmen at School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at Bandung Institute of Technology. At the time, there was a competition hold by the student association aiming at High School student, it called LED : Light of Electrical Dream. The competition is simple, you just have to dream, dream about an innovative electrical-electronic technology that will give huge impact on human life. It is a very successful event, and I feel bad that I have enrolled to college at the time, because I want to participate in it so badly. But still, me and my friend talk and toying around about what we would dream of if we can participate in the competition...

There are so many ideas. With no limitation of feasibility, it is great to dream about almost everything. One of my friend talk about biometric identification, where human being can digitally identified with their fingerprint that connected to integrated database of all of their information, from date of birth to bank account. She said, "we don't need any money, we don't need to registered for a passport, all we need is our thumb". Indeed, that is a very brave dream, right? Very Minority Report :)

And then my turn, and I simply think about automatic housing system. Where a house can be so smart that it can detect our mood for music, adjust the room temperature, manage the utilities and most of all can communicate and manage our need by simply directly asking us. Well, it sort of like Tony Stark's Jarvis. Oh hell, I really head over heel for Jarvis. I'm craving to have one :P

That was dream. But I remember about it again last Wednesday,  Apple announced their latest upgrade on the iPhone series, iPhone 4S, exactly one day before they lost they co-founder. Nothing so special about the device. It looks exactly like iPhone 4. They said it is faster in processing, and faster in browsing. They said the camera is better. But nothing really interesting in both, it just old song. What really caught my attention is Siri, a virtual voice-operated personal assistant. They said Siri is so smart, and she can tell you exactly what you want as far as you tell her clearly what you want. Wow... they make mini-Jarvis, the iPhone-sized-Jarvis, and really I'm craving for one.

People said Siri is the new innovation that finally will disrupt Google-search domination in the internet and mobile domain. I'm not really sure about that, but it really worth the attention. Well, we'll see, how far Siri will boost iPhone 4S sales, and how the market react to it. And one more thing, it really will be interesting to see how Google will response.

Stay hungry, Stay foolish

(picture taken from Apple.com)

He co-founded Apple computer, he founded Next, he built Pixar, and not the least, he gave you the 'i'... He was Steve Jobs.

The world mourns today for the lost of the greatest innovator of the century. No one will argue that he has a remarkable life. He inspired generations of people, proved us what it means to be passionate in what you're doing -love what you're doing. He revolutionized global industries, from electronic to mobile, from digital design to merchandising, from application to music. He told us precisely what 'user experience' is about. He showed you that a touch of one finger is matter and that one-click is always better.

Steve Jobs will always be remembered as a great man. Rest in peace Steve.

Hereby, I attach Steve Jobs's commencement speech at Stanford University graduation at 2005. It is one of the best speech I've ever heard delivered by a tech industry practitioner. It's about his life, his vision, his love... and his view of death. It's very moving speech and reading it is a very practical way to recharge your motivation. Here I copied the text from CNN website. For all of you who have a goal to make a dent in the universe.

Kembali ke pojok : I'm not that girl

Aku memanggilnya Kakak, putri satu-satunya dari adik ibuku. Umur kami berdua dekat, hanya berbeda 2 tahun. Tapi kami tak dekat, karena sejak kecil kami dibesarkan di kota yang berbeda. Ibuku sering sekali bercerita tentang dia, tidak membuatku tambah menyukainya, malah sebaliknya aku sangat tidak menyukainya, karena dia selalu terdengar sempurna. Ketahuilah, tak ada hal yang lebih menyakitkan dari mendengar ibumu sendiri menyanjung-nyanjung gadis lain seolah dia berharap gadis itu putrinya, memuakkan.

Hanya 2 hal yang kuketahui sebagai persamaan kami : perempuan dan anak tunggal, selain itu aku merasa sangat berbeda darinya. Dia cantik, atau jika banyak yang mengatakan cantik itu relatif maka aku akan mengatakan dia menarik secara fisik berdasarkan standar umum : kulit putih, rambut panjang, tinggi, langsing, dan itu semua didukung oleh gayanya yang feminim. Aku, boleh dibilang hampir kebalikannya.Aku tak tahu apakah dari sananya kami sudah sangat berbeda, atau dari kenyataan bahwa selama ini kami selalu bersaing -lebih tepatnya aku ingin selalu bisa mengalahkannya. Selalu.

Kalau kakak menang satu perlombaan, aku akan berusaha untuk menang dua. Kalau Kakak juara kelas, aku akan juara angkatan. Kalau Kakak murid teladan kota, aku akan murid teladan provinsi. Kalo Kakak masuk ke jurusan favorit di universitas terbaik, aku masuk jurusan terbaik di universitas terbaik. Kalo Kakak lulus sebagai sarjana terbaik, aku lulus sarjana dan master terbaik. Aku akan melakukan apapun lebih baik dari dia! Itu terus berlanjut, bahkan sampai saat ini. Hanya, kali ini ada yang berbeda, sesuatu yang membuatku sangat kesal.

I'm not that girl...

Don't wish, don't start
Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl
There's a girl I know
He loves her so
I'm not that girl
[I'm not that girl - Elphaba & reprise by Glinda - Wicked]




Nope, I'm not being melancholy or else... it just I really, really want to watch Wicked musical... at least the one that will be played at Singapore Esplanade this December. I hope I have the opportunity to watch it :)

Hope and Pray

And if you don't mind

Can you tell me

All your hopes and fears

and Everything that you believe in

Would you make a difference in the world

I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation

Only you can make me

[Yuna - Deeper Conversation]

Independence month

August is always been an independence month in Indonesia, because we are commemorating our independence day at 17th August. But for me personally, this month is a whole new level of independency, I try to elaborate it in 3 points:

1. Independence from complaining!

"Work very very hard. Be honest and fair. Be professional. Be low-profile. And move very fast." - 5 principles by BJ Habibie

In the past semester, I think I busy nag around about my work and position and salary and whatever it has to do with my office. But then I come to realize that I'm not deserve to be like that yet.

Come to evaluate myself, Did I complete a doctorate degree in Europe in the subject that other people just dream about? not. Did I build a big industry that become the nation proud and giant leap in technology? not. Did I inspire a generation of youth about the dream of technology, science and industry? not. Did I serve as a president at the most chaotic time in this country ever? not. So, do I have the right to complain around and being lazy over a disappointment to system? of course NO!

Mr. Habibie has done all those things, has given a great contribution to this nation, has inspire generations of people and yet, he never find it enough. So why should I?!?!

Don't push your luck, because every man/woman's fortune is already written, if it's not the time... then it's not the time. I will just try my hardest and I have faith that Allah will give me equally.

2. Independence from rats!

Yes, rats! My territory a.k.a my room has been invaded by a rat and for the most bizzare thing ever happened, the rat think that my room is quite comfy to get labor, yes, get LABOR! THERE'S A RAT GET LABOR AT MY ROOM, UNDER MY BED! GROOOOOSSSSSSS!!!!

I can't even let myself look at those baby rats. All I did is waiting the help to get rid of those rats and then I clean up my room like a freak, to the point that I think that I behave like an OCD. After that grossy incident, I filed a complain to the landlady, but hey... like always, she seems to think that it's no big deal. Rats lady, RATS! What in the world you would think that a rat got labor in your room is no big deal??? So, I call it quit, I move out. I have rented out another room yesterday and will move in tomorrow. Sorry, I fear snake, and rat is snake's snack, so I always scare that there will be snake appearance if there are rats, it's a nature... food chain. No tolerance over this one.

3. Independence from credit card debt.

Unfortunately, it is still an on going process. But heyy... I have a quite good progress. I accept the fact that credit card is the most convenient payment method ever existed, please note that you don't have to pay the bill in full amount. But then I remember what my ex-boss have said to me,

"it's alright not to pay your bill in full, but if you spend the money to pay the interest into some investment, it will be more profitable to you" (it's my roughly translation from bahasa to english).

Then he gave me the illustration, that if I spend the same amount of money for interest monthly into investment, like reksadana maybe, in 15 years I will have enough money to send my child to a good university in UK. Holly crap, UK!!!

So I bear it in mind : no credit card interest means investment, investment means college in UK for my child, means she or he can go to college happily without bearing any worry about tuition fee. Means they can reach their education to the fullest and be a smarter man/woman than their mother. That seems really nice to do. So, I close one of my credit card and pay full the other, it feels very light for my next monthly expense also.

That's a wrap for now. I will have tons to do before the Eid holiday. Move out, break fasting with LSS 04, break fasting with elektro 04, and of course mudik... (please ya Allah, give us a decent traffic *pray*). So, happy holiday everyone, and do your last days of ramadhan wisely, it will be a whole year before you meet one again, hope that we all have the opportunity to meet the next ramadhan :)