Celcom raih anugerah emas

Shazalli Ramly

KUALA LUMPUR 29 Nov. - Celcom Axiata Bhd. (Celcom) telah berjaya merangkul dua anugerah emas iaitu Pusat Hubungan Terbaik dan Meja Bantuan Terbaik di Peringkat Akhir Majlis Anugerah Pusat Hubungan Dunia yang berlangsung di Las Vegas, Amerika Syarikat.
Dalam majlis yang diadakan baru-baru ini, Celcom yang mewakili rantau Asia Pasifik turut menerima anugerah perak Pusat Hubungan Sokongan Profesional Terbaik dalam majlis yang dianggap sebagai mempunyai taraf seperti Sukan Olimpik kepada para penyedia pusat hubungan di dunia.
Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif, Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly berkata, Celcom telah melakukan pelbagai pembaharuan dalam usaha memberi perkhidmatan terbaik kepada pelanggan sepanjang tahun ini.
"Kami berbangga kerana menjadi syarikat pertama di Malaysia menerima anugerah emas tersebut dan ini akan memberi motivasi yang tinggi kepada Celcom untuk terus menyediakan perkhidmatan pelanggan terbaik," katanya dalam kenyataannya di sini.
Beliau berkata, anugerah kali ini disertai lebih 120 pengendali pusat perhubungan dan mereka yang pakar dalam industri tersebut dari seluruh dunia.
Antara yang turut bersaing merebut anugerah tersebut adalah China Mobile dari China, Japan's NTT-ME dan Softbank BB Corporation (Jepun), Qatar Telecom (Qatar), Portugal's Teleperformance (Portugal), Global Bilgi dan Yapi Kredi Bank (Turki), Canada's Accenture dan Virgin Mobile, New York Life serta Whirlpool Corporation (Amerika Syarikat).

 

 

 

Tuesday November 23, 2010

Oh no! Hackers hit firm’s Yes portal

By SUBASHINI SELVARATNAM
intech@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: YTL Communications claims their web portal has been attacked, causing problems for subscribers to the company’s newly-launched Yes 4G broadband service.

YTL Comms chief executive officer Wing K. Lee said the attack swamped the portal with hundreds of thousands of requests for subscriptions, which prevented legitimate subscribers from accessing the system.

“We were getting as many as 300,000 hits per second,” he said.
As a result, he added, YTL Comms had to take lengthy steps over the weekend to filter individual blocks of IP addresses in order to circumvent the fake requests.

Wing said more than 15,000 subscribers had been enjoying the Yes service since Friday, adding that only a small percentage of customers were affected by the attack on the portal.

The company said it listed its Yes Care phone-support number on the portal on Sunday afternoon as an additional channel to handle customer queries. It also said that the number was publicised via social media networks.

Cherry Siow, 27, an operations executive, said she had pre-registered her Yes account before the Friday launch in Kuala Lumpur.

“After I had received a notification that my account was activated, I tried to log in but was unable to. The website showed that my Yes ID didn’t exist.”
On Monday, Yes Care sent her an e-mail response, saying that the Yes service was “currently experiencing some minor technical glitches, whereby there would be difficulty in accessing the Yes portal intermittently.”

Another subscriber, Ong Soo Thiah, 28, a software quality assurance engineer at Seagate Sdn Bhd, also complained that he had been unable to log in to his account since Friday. He, too, had pre-registered for the service.

“I complained to Yes Care via its Twitter account and have yet to receive an answer. I think this (level of service) is unacceptable, “ he said in an e-mail interview with The Star.

Seline Lau, 27, a marketing executive at a cosmetics company, was one of the subscribers who had her account activated over the weekend.

She went to the Yes store at Lot 10 on Saturday. “It took about 15 minutes to get the paperwork done at the counter. Activation takes about two hours and by the time I reached home, I could surf,” she said.

RM300,000 lesap di Internet sebulan

 

 

 

22 November 2010

RM300,000 lesap di Internet sebulan

Oleh JUNHAIRI ALYASA
junhairi.alyasa@kosmo.com.my

BUKAN semua penjualan dalam talian merupakan penipuan tetapi jika pengguna tidak berhati-hati mereka menjadi mangsa. - Gambar hiasan

---

KUALA LUMPUR – Para pembeli pelbagai barangan secara dalam talian melalui Internet di negara ini mengalami kerugian di antara RM200,000 hingga RM300,000 setiap bulan gara-gara tertipu dengan sindiket perniagaan yang sebenarnya tidak wujud.

Presiden Persatuan Pembekal Kandungan Mudah Alih, Azli Paat yang mendedahkan perkara itu berkata, jumlah tersebut berdasarkan lima hingga 10 peratus daripada keseluruhan transaksi urus niaga yang dibuat menerusi pelbagai kaedah pembayaran seperti kad kredit, perbankan Internet atau bayaran secara bersemuka bernilai RM2.5 juta hingga RM3 juta setiap bulan.

Setiap hari, rakyat di negara ini berbelanja kira-kira RM100,000 untuk membeli pelbagai produk secara dalam talian di Internet.

Katanya, terdapat empat proses penting ketika pembelian dalam talian iaitu carian Internet, pengesahan atau perjanjian pembelian, penghantaran dan pembayaran.

“Malangnya penipuan sering berlaku apabila proses ini tidak diikuti. Kaedah yang salah ialah pembayaran dahulu baru penghantaran menyebabkan barang tidak sampai kepada pembeli,” katanya ketika dihubungi Kosmo! semalam.

7.5 juta pemilik akaun Facebook

 

Oleh SHAWKATH AZDE
shawkath.ashraf@kosmo.com.my

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Rakyat Malaysia merupakan antara pengguna aplikasi rangkaian sosial Facebook, Friendster dan Twitter yang tertinggi di dunia.

Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim berkata, dianggarkan terdapat 7.5 juta pemilik akaun Facebook di Malaysia kini.

“Ini adalah potensi rakyat yang harus digunakan oleh industri dalam bidang ini untuk memajukan negara khususnya menerusi kandungan mudah alih.

“Terdapat fakta yang menunjukkan bahawa kewujudan Facebook, Twitter, inovasi platform Android, aplikasi dalam talian dan mudah alih telah mengubah landskap komunikasi, pemikiran manusia dan melahirkan jutawan baru di Amerika Syarikat,” katanya.

Ikuti berita selanjutnya di KOSMO! hari ini.

Ahli MBPJ disaman kerana fitnah menerusi Facebook

SHAH ALAM - Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Ahli Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ), Mahharul Ismail dan tiga anggota keluarganya kerana didakwa mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah menerusi laman sosial Facebook.

Zalina Jaafar, 42, selaku plaintif memfailkan saman itu menerusi peguamnya Faizul Mohd. Nasir di pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini.

Selain Mahharul, dua adik perempuannya, Maisarah dan Norsyam serta anak saudara mereka, Wan Ikhwan Wan Azani, turut dinamakan sebagai defendan.

Zalina, yang menyatakan jawatannya sebagai pembantu seorang “ahli majlis" Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), mendakwa Mahharul telah mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah terhadapnya di laman sosial milik Mahharul pada 28 September lepas dan kenyataan di laman sosial milik Wan Ikhwan dikeluarkan pada 21 September lepas.

Beliau turut mendakwa Maisarah dan Norsyam dengan niat jahat telah mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah yang menyentuh peribadinya secara palsu pada laman sosial milik Wan Ikhwan. - Bernama

Woman fired after posting Facebook remarks fights back

WASHINGTON: A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labour laws.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleges that American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc illegally fired Dawnmarie Souza from her job as an emergency medical technician late last year after she criticised her supervisor on her personal Facebook page and then traded Facebook messages about the negative comments with other employees.

The complaint, filed Oct 27 by the board's Hartford, Connecticut, regional office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as more workers use social networking sites to share details about their jobs.

"It's the same as talking at the water cooler," said Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel. "The point is that employees have protection under the law to talk to each other about conditions at work."
Federal labour law has long protected employees against reprisal for talking to co-workers on their own time about their jobs and working conditions, including remarks that may be critical of managers. The law applies whether or not workers are covered by a union.

NLRB officials claim the Connecticut ambulance company has an unlawful policy that prohibits employees from making disparaging remarks about supervisors and depicting the company "in any way" over the Internet without permission.

"This is the first complaint we've issued over comments on Facebook, but I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more," Solomon said. "We have to develop policies as we go in this fast-changing environment."

The trouble for Souza started when her supervisor asked her to prepare an investigative report when a customer complained about her work, according to the complaint. Souza claimed she was denied representation by her union, the Teamsters Local 443.

Later that day, Souza logged onto her Facebook page from a home computer and wrote: "Looks like I'm getting some time off. Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor."

A 17 is the code the company uses for a psychiatric patient. Souza also referred to her supervisor with two expletives. Her remarks drew supportive Facebook postings from other colleagues.

John Barr, an attorney representing the company, said the real reason Souza was fired was because of two separate complaints about her "rude and discourteous service" within a 10-day period. He said Souza would have been fired whether the Facebook comments were made or not.

Barr said the company understands that workers have right to talk about wages and working conditions. But he said it stands by its policy against employees discussing the company on the Internet, including social media sites.

"If you're going to make disgusting, slanderous statements about co-workers, that is something that our policy does not allow," Barr said.

Jonathan Kreisberg, director of the board's regional office in Hartford, said the company's policy is overly broad. He acknowledged that the law protecting worker speech has some limits, such as not allowing employees to disrupt the workplace or engage in threatening conduct. But Kreisberg argued that Souza's Facebook comments did not cross a legal line.

"Here she was on her own time, on her own computer and on her own Facebook page making these comments," Kreisberg said. "If employees are upset about their supervisor and get together on their own time talk about him, criticise and call him names, they can do that."

A hearing on the case before an administrative law judge is set for Jan 25. - AP

Hospitals try high-tech to better inform patients

CHICAGO: Learning he had prostate cancer floored John Noble. Then came the prospect of surgery and his overpowering fear of being "put under" with anaesthesia.

Remarkably, he found comfort in a computer. A soothing woman's voice explained the operation step-by-step, its risks and benefits, and even answered his questions. 
Noble's phobia vanished. The operation to remove his tumour was uneventful and Noble is doing fine.

The 54-year-old Pennsylvania lawyer was aided by an interactive computer program that is part of a growing trend in health care, helping patients better understand what they are consenting for the doctor to do.

Proponents say this way of getting informed consent makes patients partners in decision-making.

Such a system "sends a message that the decisions are truly owned by the patients," said Dr Harlan Krumholz, a Yale University heart specialist and advocate of changing informed consent procedures.

Computer-based informed consent programs are also part of a broader push for electronic record-keeping that President Barack Obama's administration has advocated to improve patient safety and curb medical errors.

The Emmi Solutions program that John Noble watched about prostate cancer surgery can be viewed at home, and that's where Noble watched it.

Shortly after his diagnosis last December, while he was still grappling with shock and denial, his doctor e-mailed him the program.

"I put off watching it for a while," he said. "Who wants to be filled in on the facts of the surgery? Ultimately I forced myself to review it when I was all alone."

By the time he watched it, he felt better prepared mentally than when his doctor first told him he had cancer.
Noble said his biggest fear "was being knocked out. I was terribly afraid of it."

As the interactive explained the operation, Noble could pause it and ask questions or review the information to make sure he understood it.

"It changed my perspective. It removed my fear," he said.

Traditionally, informed consent has involved a conversation with the doctor and signing medical forms written in tough-to-decipher legalese.

It has a dual purpose: to make sure patients understand risks and benefits, and to protect hospitals from lawsuits in case something goes wrong.

Even for someone with a law degree, like Noble, that process can be dizzying in the emotional aftermath of a scary diagnosis.

Research shows patients often have no clue about what they just signed and may end up totally uninformed about why a procedure is being recommended or how it might help or hurt them.

Chicago-based Emmi Solutions has developed programs used in more than 100 hospitals, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, where Noble had his surgery.

Dialog Medical in Atlanta makes another popular informed consent program, iMedConsent, used by more than 190 US hospitals. It's designed for doctors and patients to go over together. Versions written for patients with a sixth-grade reading level are available.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) now requires its doctors to use iMedConsent programs for all procedures needing informed consent. The VA estimates it will receive 2.6 million consent forms this year from patients who used the program.

Dr Ellen Fox, the VA's chief health care ethics officer, recalls a patient who watched the program with his doctor before having a repeat test to see if his bladder cancer was back. Afterward, the man told his doctor he thought he would be having the same test he had four times before.

It was the same test. "But for the first time, the patient really understood what was going to be done to him," Fox said.

"In order to make informed choices about health care, patients need complete and accurate information," Fox said.

"It is ultimately the patient's choice" whether to have a procedure. It's just that patients may not realise they have a choice. The program helps make that clear, she said.

The University of Chicago Medical Centre recently began requiring new patients referred for colonoscopies to watch an Emmi program, with hopes that it will reduce the no-show rate.

Kristen Miller, 29, an online marketer with an intestinal condition called Crohn's disease, watched the Emmi program before she had a recent colonoscopy.

Miller has had previous colon exams and wasn't nervous about the procedure. But for the inexperienced, she believes it would take away "the intimidation factor."

Knowing more about the procedure may make it seem less unpleasant, and better informed patients are more prepared for their treatment, said Dr Stephen Hanauer, the hospital's gastroenterology chief.

Research has shown that better informing patients about their care also can make them less likely to sue if something goes wrong. Still, it's no guarantee, and computer-based informed consent programs provide an electronic record that gives hospitals extra ammunition against malpractice lawsuits.

When patients watch Emmi programs, stopping and starting them to review information, they create an electronic trail. Hospitals have used that data in court to argue that patients were informed about specific risks because they watched portions of the program where risks were detailed.

Sara Juster, a vice-president at Nebraska Methodist Health System, says that feature may have played a role in a patient's recent decision to drop a lawsuit against Methodist Hospital in Omaha.

The patient had sued over a shoulder injury her baby suffered during childbirth, a problem her first child also had encountered. 

The woman had watched an Emmi program detailing risks for the injury, but claimed she had not been informed, Juster said.

The hospital had electronic documentation, so the woman dropped her suit.

Juster said most of the system's obstetricians give pregnant patients "prescriptions" to watch Emmi programs about labor and delivery.

Within the past eight years, obstetrics-related suits against the system's hospitals have dropped by half, from about 12 a year to six. - AP

Bulk of fund went to netbooks

By Farrah Naz Karim

farrah@nst.com.my

CYBERJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) revealed yesterday how the RM4.15 billion Universal Service Provision (USP) fund was spent. The bulk was used for the purchase of netbooks. USP division acting senior director Zulkarnain Mohd Yassin said RM1 billion was spent to buy the netbooks as MCMC could not achieve some of the fund's objectives.

The MCMC came under scrutiny as questions were raised over the use of RM1billion from the fund to finance the netbooks when the allocation was meant for developing infra/connectivity in underserved areas, especially rural areas.

USP-funded projects are related to communications and multimedia, such as basic telephony, cellular coverage, Community Broadband Centres (CBC), Community Broadband Libraries (CBL) and People's Internet Centres (PIR).

As at Sept 30, the cumulative contribution from eligible licensees to the USP fund stood at RM4.15 billion.

Of the total, RM629.23 million was for basic telephony, telecommunication towers for expansion of cellular coverage (RM1.87 billion), CBC and CBL (RM573.7 million), Mini CBC and PIR (RM10 million) and 1Malaysia netbooks (RM1 billion).

Another RM150 million was for the expansion of broadband network coverage areas to the communities surrounding CBCs and CBLs, while some RM520 million had been set aside for collective broadband network and Kampung WiFi.

Another RM40 million was for "other collective broadband network projects".

This will leave a cash balance of RM380 million by next year.

Earlier, MCMC chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli gave a welcome address, noting that there had been much interest generated in the press relating to its work as an industry developer and regulator of the communications and multimedia sector in the country.

He was at the briefing conducted by Zulkarnain but was absent during the question-and-answer session.

Zulkarnain said 123,000 netbooks had been distributed under the first phase (2002-2008).

The remaining 300,000 netbooks under the second phase (2009-2011) would be distributed from next month. Students and low-income earners are expected to receive them by February.

A netbook costs RM830, with an additional RM80 for installation of Microsoft software and another RM2 for anti-virus software.

The remaining allocation will be spent in the third phase, where some 500,000 netbooks will be bought.

The third phase will be launched after the study on the effectiveness of the project in the first two phases is completed.

Zulkarnain said suppliers had stated that there would be no hiccups in supplying some 100,000 units a month under the second phase.

He named well-known manufacturers such as Dell, Samsung, Acer and HP. It is understood that the netbook has been rebranded as Idola.

"Logistically, it may be difficult as it will be the school holidays and monsoon season, but we are confident of distributing some 100,000 machines every month and will complete the roll-out in three months."

He said the recipients would be thoroughly vetted, not only by government authorities but also by community leaders and MCMC officers.

About 60 per cent of the recipients will be secondary school and university students. The rest of the netbooks will go to those in the low-income group.

Flanked by four senior MCMC personnel who interjected every now and then, Zulkarnain stopped short of saying there was nothing MCMC could do to ensure recipients made good use of the netbooks instead of selling them for a quick buck.

Report lodged over fake Umno Facebook account

JOHOR BARU: Tebrau Umno Youth has lodged a police report that an individual has set up a Pemuda Tebrau account on Facebook with the Umno logo to spread rumours. 

Division vice-chief Norazhar Abd Hamid said the individual had posted that Pekan was preparing for a by-election because of the failing health of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the MP for Pekan.

He said Pemuda Tebrau was not Tebrau Umno Youth and that the individual had caused confusion among Umno members and the public.

"We believe this person is trying to tarnish our image," he said.

Programme aimed at bridging digital divide

THE Universal Service Provision (USP) programme, which began in 2002, is aimed at bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural population. The USP fund was established under Section 204 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to implement network facilities and provide network services in underserved areas and communities.

Regulation 27 of the USP Regulations requires all licensees under the act, except for Content Application Service Providers, whose weighted net revenue exceeds RM2 million to contribute six per cent of their revenue derived from designated services to the fund.

The initiatives under the USP programme are aimed at addressing the digital divide and preventing people living in the rural areas from being further marginalised from the nation's development and information, communications and technology progress.

It began with basic telephony projects. Since 2002, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has identified 462 underserved areas in the country for the purpose of implementing telephony, broadband and cellular access projects.

The MCMC said prior to 2008, the main focus of the USP programme was to build communication infrastructure but due to progress in technology and consumer demand, the shift is towards addressing content, access and application use as well as affordability of communications and multimedia services.

The MCMC said it was strictly guided by the requirements of the Communications and Multimedia (Universal Service Provision) Regulations 2002 in managing the USP fund.

The USP Regulations also require that MCMC publish the USP annual report which details the audited accounts, financial notes and investments under the USP programme.

Web browser pioneer backs new way to surf Internet

REINVENTING THE WEB: Andreessen (left) and Horowitz are betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt. - AP

 

SAN FRANCISCO: The Web has changed a lot since Marc Andreessen revolutionised the Internet with the introduction of his Netscape browser in the mid-1990s. That's why he's betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt.

The browser, available now, is built on the premise that most online activity today revolves around socialising on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter and monitoring a handful of favourite websites.
It tries to minimise the need to roam from one website to the next by corralling all vital information and favourite services in panes and drop-down windows.

"This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again," Andreessen said. "These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web."

Andreessen didn't develop the RockMelt browser the way he did Netscape, whose early popularity waned as Microsoft Corp bundled its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.

RockMelt is the handiwork of Tim Howes and Eric Vishria, who formerly worked with Andreessen. But Andreessen's seal of approval has been stamped on startup.

The biggest chunk of RockMelt's US$10mil (RM32mil) in funding has come from the venture capital firm that Andreessen runs with his partner, Ben Horowitz.

Andreessen also sits on RockMelt's board of directors, and his advice has been called upon frequently.
"When you are trying to reinvent the web browser, who would you rather run your ideas by besides Marc?" said Howes, RockMelt's chief technology officer (Vishria is CEO).

Facebook's imprint also is all over RockMelt, although the two companies' only business connection so far is Andreessen. He also serves on Facebook's board of directors.

RockMelt only works if you have a Facebook account. That restriction still gives RockMelt plenty of room to grow, given Facebook has more than 500 million users.

After Facebook users log on to RockMelt with their Facebook account information, the person's Facebook profile picture is planted in the browser's left hand corner and a list of favourite friends can be displayed in the browser's left hand pane. There's also a built-in tool for posting updates in a pop-up box.

The features extend beyond Facebook and Twitter. RockMelt includes a tool that shows results from Google searches in a drop-down box that can be scrolled through to peruse the recommended websites in the main part of the browser.

The browser's right-hand pane is reserved for listing favourite websites, with automatic notifications whenever they get fresh information on them.

RockMelt stores each user's preferences on a remote server, making them available on any computer that has the browser installed on its hard drive.

Although its backers hail the browser as a breakthrough, RockMelt is borrowing some technology and ideas from other sources. Its foundation is built on Chromium, the same open-source coding that spawned Google Inc's Chrome browser two years ago.

Another browser called Flock has been trying to tap into the online social scene for the past five years.
No browser has come close to surpassing Internet Explorer, despite various challenges through the years.
Internet Explorer still holds a roughly 60% market share, according to the research firm Net Applications. The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, which drew upon Netscape, ranks a distant second at 23% followed by Chrome at about 9%.

RockMelt is starting off with a modest goal: it hopes to attract a million users as it extends invitations to people interested in trying the browser. Requests can be made through www.rockmelt.com.
Andreessen is convinced Internet Explorer's lead remains vulnerable, even after more than a decade of domination and repeated upgrades.

"I don't believe in mature markets," he said. "I think markets are only mature when there is a lack of innovative products." - AP

What broadband is about

Google in 'significant breach' of UK data laws

BBC - 3 November 2010

Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham: "I think the important thing was to get the foot in the door for an audit of Google which had to be by consent"

There was a "significant breach" of the Data Protection Act when Google collected personal data via its Street View cars, the UK's Information Commissioner has ruled.

But Google will not face a fine or any punishment, Christopher Graham added.

Instead, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will audit Google's data protection practices.

The move marks a U-turn for the ICO which originally ruled that no data breach had occurred.

Last week the ICO vowed to look again at the evidence, after the Canadian data agency found the search giant in breach of its law.

Its decision was welcomed by MP Robert Halfon, who has been critical of the ICO and of Google, which he recently accused of deliberately collecting the data for commercial gain.

However, he said that action had come too late. 

"The ICO failed to act when it should have done, despite the fact that Google staged a significant infringement of privacy and civil liberties, by harvesting millions of e-mails, wi-fi addresses, and passwords.

"Furthermore, the ICO has already proved that it lacks the technical expertise to audit Google's activity. What confidence can we have in their audit now? People feel powerless."

The ICO said it "strongly refutes" Mr Halfon's suggestion that it did not have "the necessary expertise to audit" Google. 

"We have a team of experienced and qualified auditors who regularly check organisations compliance with data protection requirements."

Mr Graham said Google must delete the data - collected from unsecured wi-fi networks - "as soon as it is legally cleared to do so".

Google has apologised for collecting the data, which it said had been done by mistake. 

'Profoundly sorry'

Google has been the subject of scrutiny from data protection agencies around the world, following news that software in its Street View cars collected personal information.

 

Street View has been under scrutiny in Germany

 

This was revealed following a request from the German data commissioner to audit all the data being collected by Street View cars.

Google discovered that, along with legitimate data about the location of wi-fi hotspots, the cars were also hoovering up personal details from unsecured networks, known as payload data.

Peter Fleischer, Google's Global Privacy Counsel, said the firm was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting payload data in the UK".

Google said it happened as the result of code written by one of its engineers being mistakenly incorporated in the Street View software.

"Since we announced our mistake in May we have co-operated closely with the ICO and worked to improve our internal controls," said Mr Fleischer.

"We are in the process of confirming that there are no outstanding legal obligations upon us to retain the data, and will then ensure that it is quickly and safely deleted."

'Serious violation'

It announced recently that it would appoint a head of privacy and ensure that all its engineering teams followed strict privacy protocols.

New impetus was given to the UK enquiry, which had originally ruled that no significant breach had occurred, following harsh criticisms of Google from the Canadian authorities.

Last month it found that the search giant had breached its privacy laws.

"This incident was a serious violation of Canadian's privacy rights," privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart concluded.

But she said that no further action would be taken if Google tightened its privacy policies.

Backlash

Street View is now available in around 20 countries and allows uses to walk through towns and cities using photos taken by the Street View cars.

Anyone wishing to have an image removed can request this from Google.

But there is a growing backlash against the service, following complaints from people that their privacy was breached when the photos were taken.

In Germany, where Google is imminently rolling out a service, the government forced it to allow people to opt out of the service before pictures went live.

Italy has asked it to give citizens notice before starting mapping operations while the Czech Republic has banned it from taking any more pictures.

Lower prices for Internet services?

 

Lower prices for Internet services?

By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Competition in the mobile and Internet business is expected to heat up with the entry of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd's Yes service, and some analysts believe that a price war may erupt.
There's a potential (for a price war).

With YTL coming into the market, the probability is higher, CLSA Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd head of research Clare Chin said.

She said the new entrant would also raise competitiveness among telecommunications companies while broadband operators would be worried about their margins.

Expectations surrounding the launch of Yes sent shares in YTL Comms' parent company, YTL Power International Bhd, to their highest level in almost three years in early trade yesterday.

The counter ended eight sen, or 3.19%, to RM2.59 but off the intra-day high of RM2.64.

An analyst said the new entrant did not bring in competition automatically. He said telcos would up the ante against each other to woo customers in a saturated market and that was where the competition or price war would kick in.

In crowded markets where penetration (of voice) exceeds 100%, it can be difficult for an operator to distinguish itself from its competitors if it can only offer the same services.

To differentiate, it needs to be able to offer something new and different with better value proposition, the analyst said.

While competition is good for the consumer, it is not so for the local telcos which have spent the last few years battling each other in a price war, where consumers ultimately reaped the benefits in terms of low mobile call and SMS rates.

Every player's nightmare would be a price war, as margins would be pushed lower, hurting revenue, an analyst said.

YTL Comms' Yes 4G wireless broadband service would charge customers nine sen for a minute of call, one SMS or 3MB of data.

And that's before our rebates kick in, YTL Comms said in a teaser yesterday.

According to analysts, at nine sen a minute the service could be the cheapest in the market. However, they prefer to await confirmation from YTL on the price.

Sources said YTL would also be throwing in a rebate as high as 30% for its subscribers.

The more you use, the more rebate you'll get. For example, if you hit a threshold of 3GB, the price will drop and if you hit another threshold at 5GB, the price will continue to drop, the source said.

A simple calculation shows that nine sen per 3MB works out to about RM90 for 3GB, giving users roughly about 2,000 emails.

CLSA Securities' Chin did not discount consumers migrating to the latest network since cellular voice had already reached saturation.

She said consumers may want to choose a service provider that could offer them a better value proposition.
Investors are getting too excited, too early, Chin said, adding that today's event was just a launch and the hybrid TV would only be launched by end-2011.

Analysts said the triple play, which offers television, Internet and telephone in a single connection, would be the next wave that could change the traditional consumption pattern among Malaysian users of telecommunications services.

Apart from coming up with new products and services to steal customers from rivals, they would also have to entice their existing customers to spend more.

Yes is expected to cover up to 65% of the peninsula from day one. The other areas would be covered later.
The company has spent some RM2.5bil for the Yes 4G infrastructure.

The 4G network will be SIM-less with the 018 prefix.

In a report, OSK Research said that YTL Comms would need to capture at least 300,000 subscribers based on the assumption of average revenue per user of RM100 a month, given the steep initial investment outlay and operating expenditure.

Although the prices of WiMAX equipment and devices have fallen by over a third in the last two years, we believe YTL Comms would probably have to provide a steep upfront subsidy to lure subscribers given the stiff market competition as well as high mobile penetration rate, it said.

YTL Comms is also launching its flagship store at Lot 10 in Kuala Lumpur today after the official launch of the new service.