Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Falsifying Supporter Documents is Crime, Observers Say

Regarding name’s misused on supporter documents of independent
governor and deputy governor candidates, political observer from
University of Indonesia Arbi Sanit said it is a criminal act that can
be brought to court and the person whose name is misused can report it
to the police. This kind of act is also considered as public
deception. “If the candidate is lying now, what about later when he is
elected as governor?” expressed Arbi when contacted by beritajakarta.com, Wednesday (2/29)

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Gol Unik CR7 Jadi Hadiah Ultah Pepe

FOTO:Getty Images/Denis DoyleBeritabola.com Madrid - Tepat hari Minggu
(26/2/2012) kemarin Pepe merayakan hari jadinya yang ke-29. Di hari
istimewa tersebut dia bisa merayakan dengan penuh suka cita karena
Real Madrid menang, berkat sebuah gol unik dari Cristiano
Ronaldo.

Bertandang ke Rayo Vallecano, Madrid meneruskan
rentetan kemenangan yang mereka miliki. Meski dipaksa bersusah payah,
El Real menyudahi laga dengan kemenangan tipis 1-0, di mana gol dibuat
Ronaldo di menit 54.

Selain Ronaldo, pemain Madrid yang paling
bersuka cita dengan gol tersebut adalah Pepe. Gol itu membuat dia
terhinar dari menjalani hari ulang tahunnya yang pahit, andai 'Si
Putih' gagal menang.

"Kemenangan adalah kado ulang tahun yang
saya harapkan. Rayo membuat pertandingan ini sulit bagi kami," jelas
Pepe di situs resmi klub.

Gol yang dicetak CR7 dibuat dengan
istimewa dan cukup unik. Dari kemelut yang tercipta di kotak penalti
lawan, dari tengah kotak penalti sambil membelakangi gawang CR7
melepaskan tendangan menggunakan tumit. Bola bergulir di atas rumput
dan masuk ke gawang.

"Gol yang dibuat Cristiano adalah sebuah
karya seni. Dia membuktikan kalau dirinya adalah pemain terbaik di
dunia," tuntas Pepe.
(dtc/din) Sumber: detiksport

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Podolski Dikabarkan Setuju Gabung Arsenal

FOTO:(Getty Images)Beritabola.com London - Arsenal telah
memulai misinya untuk membangun kembali skuadnya. Klub London Utara
itu santer diberitakan segera mendapatkan pemain buruannya, Lukas
Podolski dari klub Jerman, Koeln.

Dilansir Daily Mail, Podolski
telah setuju dengan kesepakatan pribadi yang ditawarkan oleh Arsenal.
Pemain internasional Jerman itu akan hengkang ke Emirates jika kedua
klub menyepakati nilai transfernya.

Disebutkan pula Koeln hanya
bersedia melepas Podolski dengan tebusan sebesar 15 juta
poundsterling. Sementara The Gunners hanya mau membeli si pemain
dengan harga delapan juta poundsterling saja.

Rumor yang
mengaitkan Podolski dengan Arsenal sudah cukup lama berhembus. Pada
Januari silam, pemilik 95 caps bersama Jerman itu santer diberitakan
akan meninggalkan klubnya namun urung terjadi akibat cedera
kaki.

Mulai kariernya bersama Koeln, Podolski digaet Bayern
Munich dengan nilai transfer sekitar 10 euro. Namun selama tiga musim
di Allianz Arena, pemain keturunan Polandia itu justru meredup dan
kemudian kembali ke Koeln pada 2009.

Podolski kembali menemukan
kembali performanya di musim ini dengan torehan sebanyak 15 gol dalam
20 kali penampilannya bersama Koeln.

Selain Podolski, Arsenal
juga mengarahkan bidikannya kepada bintang Borussia Dortmund Mario
Goetze. Akan tetapi, untuk mengeluarkan Goetze dari Signal Iduna Park
diyakini tidak akan mudah.

Goetze beberapa kali menegaskan
komitmennya kepada Dortmund sedangkan sang klub juga tidak punya
niatan untuk melepas pemain andalannya itu.

Arsene Wenger juga
disebut berminat untuk mendapatkan pemain tengah Blackburn Rovers
Steven Nzonzi. Setelah ini kubu Arsenal akan memonitor performa pemain
berusia 23 tahun itu hingga akhir musim sebelum mengajukan tawaran di
musim panas.
(dtc/rin) Sumber: detiksport

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In battling cyberattacks, public-private partnerships the best weapons? (video)

Jelang Vallecano vs Madrid - Higuain Ingin Madrid Terus Tancap Gas

FOTO:Getty ImagesBeritabola.com Madrid - Jarak yang melebar
dengan Barcelona tidak membuat penyerang Real Madrid Gonzalo Higuain
santai. Ia ingin timnya terus tancap gas sebelum gelar juara didapat.
Termasuk saat menghadapi Rayo Vallecano.

Madrid masih kokoh di
puncak klasemen dengan perolehan 61 poin atau unggul 10 poin dari
seteru abadinya, Barcelona. Dengan keunggulan yang besar ini, El Real
diyakini akan merengkuh titel La Liga di akhir musim.

Higuain
enggan memikirkan sesuatu yang belum pasti sehingga ia meminta Madrid
untuk tidak mengendurkan performanya di pertandingan-pertandingan
berikutnya sebelum gelar juara benar-benar didapat.

Madrid akan
berkunjung ke Estadio Teresa Rivero, Minggu (26/2/2012) malam WIB guna
menghadapi Vallecano. Tiga angka niscaya tak sulit diraih karena Los
Merengues punya rekor apik dari lawannya itu.

"Itu akan menjadi
sebuah pertandingan yang sulit melawan tim yang tengah berjuang tapi
memiliki para pemain hebat. Untuk sebuah klub promosi, posisi mereka
cukup bagus. Tapi kami akan tetap melakukan pekerjaan kami dengan baik
dan harus terus demikian," ucap Higuain kepada Sport.

"Kami
tidak bisa santai dan kami harus terus menekan lebih hebat daripada
sebelumnya sebelum benar-benar memenangi liga," lugas pesepakbola
Argentina itu.
(dtc/rin) Sumber: detiksport

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Hands-on with side-loaded Android apps on the BlackBerry PlayBook (gallery)

A few days ago I wrote about my new excitement over the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook and my 64GB model should be here by Tuesday. I followed the quick and easy guide for side-loading apps from the CrackBerry site and found it quite easy to install some of my favorite Android apps that are still missing in BB App World. You can check out several screenshots of these Android apps in my image gallery.

Here are the apps I currently have side-loaded onto my BlackBerry PlayBook:

  • Amazon Kindle
  • Amazon MP3
  • Dolphin Browser
  • Evernote
  • Google Maps
  • Pulse
  • QuickOffice Pro
  • SNES emulator
  • Twitter
  • Words with Friends
  • YouVersion Bible

Image Gallery: Check out some screenshots of Android apps side-loaded onto my BlackBerry PlayBook.Image Gallery: Android apps on PBImage Gallery: Donkey Kong Country

You may be wondering why I would load up Evernote when that is an official app for the PlayBook, but if you have used the Android version of Evernote you will easily see it is far more functional than the PlayBook version. There is a limitation on Android apps currently on the PlayBook so that notes created by taking photos with the camera are not supported.

Here are my thoughts and experiences on using the other applications I have loaded on my PlayBook:

  • Amazon Kindle: There still is no official version from Amazon, but so far this side-loaded app works just fine. I was able to download my library and reading is a pleasure. I still enjoy using Kobo, but have several titles I bought from Amazon since the Kindle app is on so many other mobile platforms.
  • Amazon MP3: I have quite a few songs on Amazon MP3 and enjoy listening to music through the great speakers on the PlayBook.
  • Dolphin Browser: The web browser on the PlayBook is excellent, but I wanted to try out the Dolphin Browser too since it is my favorite on Android.
  • Google Maps: I like Google Maps and so far the Android version is working fine on my PlayBook. I haven’t setup my PlayBook for GPS voice guided navigation yet, but after the 64GB version arrives I will look into this some more.
  • Pulse: Pulse is my favorite RSS/Google Reader application on Android (Flipboard rules on iOS) and I like it on my PlayBook too.
  • Quickoffice Pro: Documents To Go is now running well thanks to the PlayBook OS 2.0 software, but I really like Quickoffice Pro too since it has so much support for cloud storage services.
  • SNES emulator: There are some excellent games on the PlayBook (make sure to go download the free Asphalt 6 and Modern Combat games), but I also enjoy reminiscing with games from my youth. I loaded up the SNES emulator and a few Donkey Kong Country games and had a blast playing them on my PlayBook.
  • Words with Friends: This is my favorite word game, primarily because I can play all of my friends when I am on my iPhone or an Android device. It works well on my PlayBook, but I have noticed some very slight delays in status updates and gameplay. Even with these though, it is still very playable and nice to have on the PlayBook.
  • Twitter: There is still no official Twitter app on the PlayBook, although Twitter is integrated in a limited fashion through Contacts. I use Blaq for Twitter, but also loaded up the Twitter Android application to see if that works better for me.
  • YouVersion Bible: I have a daily Bible reading plan and devotional that I read in YouVersion and found this .bar file to use on my PlayBook. It looks to be the smartphone version and is not optimized for the large screen, but it is still quite usable until some other version comes along.

I look forward to seeing more official Android apps in BlackBerry App World, but in the meantime I will continue to side-load those I find necessary for full tablet functionality. Some others that I look forward to seeing soon on my PlayBook include:

  • Google+
  • Netflix
  • Spotify
  • USAA banking
  • TripIt
  • Skype

What apps do you want to see on the PlayBook?

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Facebook tweaks app reporting options

Facebook recently introduced new options for users to report issues with apps on the social network. The company said it changed the app reporting flow to provide consistent reporting options and to let developers get feedback directly from users. When a user selects either the “Report/Contact this App” link at the bottom of a canvas page or the “Report App” link from the Auth Dialog or Request channel, they will now be presented with more granular options on what type of issue they want to report.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the new “Report or Contact App” dialog box has the following options:

  • I’m reporting a bug or loading issue within the app.
  • I’m reporting the app for spam.
  • I’m having an issue with a payment or virtual goods purchase in [App name].
  • I’m reporting abusive content within the app.
  • Data Issue.

The different options route you either to the developer or to Facebook, depending on the particular issue. If the developer has provided their own User Support URL, located under the “Advanced” tab in the developer app, users will be directed to the developer’s help center to report a bug in the app or issues with load time. If the developer does not provide a User Support URL, Facebook will send an e-mail report to the user support e-mail address listed.

Previously, Facebook was seeing users report issues such as bug reports to the company instead of the developer. The social networking giant says this is now corrected in the new flow, which applies to all apps.

Facebook is also reminding developers of the following breaking changes on March 1, 2012:

  • Removing the third settled callback from Payments (announced in November 2011). To ensure the best experience for users, Facebook is asking developers to ensure that they are fulfilling the order in the callback with status=placed. Once Facebook calls you with status=placed and you respond with settled, the transaction will be complete and you will be paid. You should not be waiting for the settled callback before fulfilling the order.
  • Returning up to 960px wide photos in “photo” FQL table and photo Graph API (announced August 2011). Facebook this week will begin returning photos up to 960px wide in the src_big field of the photo FQL table, as well as the source field of the photo object, increasing the current max width of 720px.

If you haven’t acted on these two items yet, you have less than 48 hours!

See also:

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Has Apple just confirmed the iPad 3 'retina display' screen?

Has Apple just confirmed it its press invite to the iPad 3 event that the updated tablet will have a ‘retina display’ screen?

Here’s the image from the invite:

Image credit: Apple

Let’s take a closer look at that calendar icon:

Now compare this to the existing calendar icon in the current iPad screen:

I don’t know about you, but that shot of the ‘iPad 3′ seems a heck of a lot clearer and smoother to me. You can’t tell what it is, but the rumors that the pixel density might have been bumped up from 1024×768 to 2048×1536 might have been confirmed in this shot.

Also notice something else that seems missing? The Home button. That said, the tablet could be in landscape mode and therefore not visible in that shot.

[UPDATE: I now think that the iPad in the shot above is in portrait mode because of the way the water droplets line up.

The Calendar icon in in the same position on-screen as my DocsToGo icon below:

Here are the same droplets on the official invite:

Those droplets DO NOT appear on screen in landscape mode.]

Seems I might have been wrong all along and the iPad 3 will indeed have a retina display screen.

What do you think?

Related:

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Barca Enggan 'Bobol Kas' di Musim Panas

FOTO:Getty ImagesBeritabola.com Barcelona - Wakil Presiden
Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu mengatakan bahwa klubnya tak akan
belanja pemain mahal di bursa musim panas. Meski Barca santer diisukan
tertarik dengan Gareth Bale dan Robin van Persie.

Rumor
menyebutkan bahwa Barca ingin mendatangkan sejumlah pemain kelas dunia
saat jendela transfer dibuka lagi. Bale dan Van Persie dikabarkan
menjadi bidikan raksasa Spanyol itu.

Penampilan menawan Bale
berujung sukses Tottenham Hotspur yang kini nangkring di peringkat
tiga klasemen. Sedangkan Van Persie telah mencetak total 28 gol dan
menjadi tulang punggung Arsenal.

Jelas untuk dapat mengeluarkan
Bale dan Van Persie tentu saja akan membutuhkan biaya yang besar. Kubu
Los Cules mengaku tak siap untuk jor-joran.

"Para pemain itu
memang sangat bagus, tapi kami selalu membutuhkan akal sehat dalam
setiap negosiasi," ujar Bartomeu yang dikutip Sky Sports.

"Kami
tidak ingin masuk ke dalam bursa transfer yang gila karena tidak
mungkin bagi Barcelona untuk membayar 40 atau 50 juta euro untuk
seorang pemain. Ini keputusan klub," sambung dia.

"Kami tidak
bisa bersaing melawan setiap klub. Tapi kami punya keuntungan bahwa
banyak pemain yang ingin datang dan bermain untuk
Barcelona."

Musim ini, Barcelona sudah belanja cukup mahal
untuk mendatangkan Cesc Fabregas dan Alexis Sanchez dengan total nilai
transfer yang mencapai 72 juta euro atau lebih dari Rp 800
miliar.
(dtc/rin) Sumber: detiksport

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Monday, February 27, 2012

Tanda-Tanda Vital Tubuh Akibat Stres

STRES yang berkepanjangan bukan hanya menimbulkan
depresi. Ternyata tubuh juga memberikan respon akibat gejala awal
depresi yang satu ini. Berikut seperti yang dikutip dari
timesofindia.com.

Rambut
Anda akan terlihat lebih tua, hal
ini disebabkan karena rambut Anda akan berubah menjadi abu-abu bahkan
memutih dalam waktu yang lebih cepat.

Mulut
Gejala stres
dapat membuat rahang mengeras, mulut kering akibat kurangnya produksi
air liur, bahkan kesulitan dalam menelan.

Saluran
pencernaan
Anda akan mengalami kram pada perut. Stres juga akan
menyebabkan sembelit.

Organ reproduksi
Bagi perempuan, stres
juga dapat menyebabkan gangguan pada siklus menstruasi, bahkan inveksi
pada vagina. Sedangkan bagi pria, stres ternyata menyumbangkan gejala
impotensi dan ejakulasi dini.

Kulit
Bagi organ kulit, stres
dapat menimbulkan keringat berlebih, ruam pada kulit, gatal, dan juga
infeksi. Untuk kulit wajah, stres juga menyumbang masalah penyebab
timbulnya jerawat.(*/OL-06)

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Belanda Coret Rafael Van Der Vaart

Asosiasi sepakbola Belanda (KNVB) mengungkapkan, gelandang Tottenham
Hotspur Rafael van der Vaart telah dicoret dari skuad Oranye saat
menghadapi Inggris dalam pertandingan uji coba di
Wembley.

Dalam keterangannya, KNVB mengatakan, Van der Vaart
meninggalkan kamp latihan akibat mendapat cedera engkel ketika Arsenal
mengalahkan Tottenham 5-2 di Liga Primer Inggris akhir pekan
kemarin.

Diwartakan AP, pencoretan itu terpaksa dilakukan,
karena Van der Vaart diperkirakan tak akan pulih pada Rabu
nanti.

Dengan demikian, Belanda sudah mencoret dua nama dari
skuad mereka untuk laga uji coba itu. Sebelumnya, kiper Swansea City
Michel Vorm juga dipulangkan, karena terserang virus
perut.

Pelatih Bert van Marwijk tidak memanggil pemain baru
untuk menggantikan Van der Vaart dan Vorm.(goal/DNI)

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Ali Mudhori: Mati di Sini Juga Nggak Apa-Apa

Metrotvnews.com, Jakarta: Saksi kunci kasus dugaan
suap alokasi dana percepatan pembangunan infrastruktur daerah (PPID),
Ali Mudhori, akhirnya muncul di Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi,
Jakarta Selatan, Senin (27/2) malam. Ali sempat mangkir tiga kali,
bahkan dikabarkan kabur ke hutan belantara.

Menanggapi
pemberitaan tersebut, Ketua Umum DPC Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB)
Lumajang membeberkan alasan ia tak datang saat pemanggilan sebelumnya.
Menurut Ali, ia tidak menerima surat panggilan pertama dari KPK.
Sedangkan surat panggilan kedua diterima saat ia dirawat di rumah
sakit.

"Jadi saya punya alasan medis ada pembengkakan jantung
saya. Ada alasan medisnya. Kalau dipaksa malah saya nggak bisa memberi
keterangan. Ini lihat bukti-bukti foto saya selama saya dirawat," kata
Ali sambil menunjukkan foto rekam medis dan foto saat ia terbaring di
rumah sakit.

Dijelaskan Ali, sudah dua bulan terakhir ia
mengalami mual-mual. Pada 18 Februari, ia memeriksakan 
kesehatannya ke rumah sakit. Dua hari kemudian, baru lah Ali
diharuskan menjalani rawat inap. Ia menderita pembengkakan jantung,
hipertensi, sesak napas, dan mual-mual.

Menurut Ali, sampai
saat ini seharusnya masih dirawat. Ali mengaku memaksakan diri datang
ke KPK dan mencopot infus di tangannya. Ali mengaku mengabaikan
kesehatannya demi membuktikan bahwa dirinya tidak mangkir.


"Nggak apa-apa. Mati di sini juga nggak apa-apa. Kita buktikan
kita nih komit pada penegakan hukum," kata Ali.

Ali juga
membantah dijemput paksa KPK. Menurutnya, ia berangkat dari Surabaya,
Jawa Timur, hanya dijemput istirnya. Ali mengaku siap menjadi saksi di
persidangan. Pernyataan itu membantah keterangan Juru Bicara KPK Johan
Budi yang menyebut Ali bersedia hadit karena dijemput
paksa.

"Saya khawatir ini sidang saksi terakhir. Jadi sayang
kalau tidak diikuti untuk meluruskan pemberitaan yang ada,"
lanjutnya.

Ali akan bersaksi untuk terdakwa Kepala Bagian
Evaluasi dan Pelaporan Ditjen P2KT Kementerian Tenaga Kerja dan
Transmigrasi (Kemenakertrans), Dadong. Kesaksiannya dianggap penting
karena Ali diduga mengetaui keterlibatan Menakertrans Muhaimin
Iskandar dalam kasus tersebut.

Ali bersama Fauzi (mantan
anggota tim asistensi Menakertrans), Sindu Malik (mantan pegawai
Kementerian Keuangan), pengusaha Iskandar Pasojo (Acos), dan Dhani
Nawawi disebut-disebut terlibat  kasus suap PPID. Mereka diduga
mengatur lalu lintas uang komisi atau fee dari pengusaha Dharnawati ke
Kemenakertrans.(IKA)

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Court rules in favor of FTC; says agency owns decision on Google enforcement

A federal court Friday sided with the Federal Trade Commission ruling the agency’s decisions regarding enforcement of a privacy settlement with Google is not subject to judicial review, but the court left open the question of the search giant’s decision to change its privacy policies.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which asked the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., to compel the FTC to enforce a consent order against Google.

EPIC was seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The group said Google’s plan to change its privacy policy in Mach violates the consent order. Google’s policy changes are slated to go into effect Thursday.

The consent order is part of an October 2011 settlement in a privacy case between the FTC and Google where the search giant was found to have used deceptive privacy practices.

“We take our settlement orders very seriously, but only the FTC and not outside parties should be able to enforce them,” said Claudia Ferrell, a spokeswoman for the FTC. “We are pleased that the Court has rejected EPIC’s unwarranted attempt to interrupt the FTC’s careful consideration of the announced changes in Google’s privacy policies.”

Since the lawsuit was filed, Google has been saying EPIC is “wrong on the facts and the law.” The search giant’s only comment Friday was a repeat of its statement that the changes make its privacy policy easier to understand and are a benefit to end users.

EPIC’s executive director Marc Rotenberg said the research group plans to appeal the decision and ask a federal appeals court to rule “that courts can require federal agencies to enforce final orders.”

Rotenberg said Judge Amy Berman Jackson, however, left open questions. He quoted her saying, “EPIC has advanced serious concerns that may be legitimate.” He also said Jackson said “the Court has not reached the question of whether the new policies would violate the consent order or if they would be contrary to any other legal requirements.”

And Rotenberg quoted Jackson saying, “the FTC, which has advised the Court that the matter is under review, may ultimately decide to institute an enforcement action.”

Google created waves Jan. 24 when it announced it was consolidating it myriad of privacy policies into a single one and would look at users as one entity across all its service. The announcement touched off a privacy debate from Washington to the European Union and nearly everywhere in-between.

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

167 Roads in North Jakarta to Be Concreted

Starting June 2012, 167 roads in 42 slum RWs in North Jakarta will be repaired by North Jakarta Administration City Government. The cost of this project is Rp 50 billion. “Those roads consist of MHT roads and footpaths with width three meters and length 100-300 meters. They will be concreted, not asphalted,” explained Head of North Jakarta Housing and Government Building Sub-Department, Joko Dawud, Friday (2/24)

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JakCard to Be Applied for TransJakarta Bus

The e-ticketing system for TransJakarta bus is going to be applied
very soon. In the future, TransJakarta bus passengers will use JakCard
smartcard to get on the bus. As the JakCard smartcard publisher is DKI
Bank that will prepare the infrastructure of front end and back end
technology for e-ticketing system. This preparation is done together
with TransJakarta Public Service Board (BLU) as TransJakarta bus
service operator

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Maybank plans to further boost BII operations

Maybank plans to further boost BII operations
Raras Cahyafitri, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur | Fri, 02/24/2012 9:59 AM
A | A | A |

Tribunnews.comTribunnews.comMalayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) will expand the operations of Indonesian subsidiary PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII), in a bid to take advantage of solid economic growth in the country, the financial group’s president and chief executive officer Abdul Wahid Omar says.

Omar said that Indonesia’s high economic potential has made it possible for financial institutions, such as BII, to strengthen business in the country. He also expected that the Indonesian bank would become one of the main sources of revenues to Maybank in the future.

Omar said that the Malaysian bank expected to see growth of 15 percent this year, with BII to exceed that growth.

“Obviously, a big portion of that will be driven by growth from Indonesia. We expect BII to grow by more than 20 percent,” he said during a press conference about his company’s financial reports on Thursday.

The Indonesian government expects economic growth of 6.7 percent this year, which is far higher than the growth forecasts for Malaysia (3.5%) and Singapore (4%) — two countries that make up the bulk of Maybank’s business.

Maybank reported a net profit of RM 2.58 (US$854 million) for the six months ending Dec. 31, 2011, an increase of around 20 percent from the RM 2.15 billion recorded in the same period in 2010.

Last July, Maybank changed the end date of its financial year from June 30 to Dec. 31.

Maybank, the largest financial services group in Malaysia, saw its net interest income increase by 12.2 percent to RM 4.89 billion over the last six months of 2011, from RM 3.59 billion in the same period in 2010.

The company’s fee-based income stands at RM 2.93 billion, 32 percent higher than the RM 2.22 billion reported in the last six months of 2010.

Gross loans rose 16.2 percent to RM 282 billion in December 2011, from RM 261 billion recorded last June. It comes after loans rose 23.7 percent to RM 228.7 billion in the same period in 2010.

Maybank’s loan-to-deposit ratio currently stands at 87.5 percent, while the net impaired loan ratio is at 1.86 percent.

Maybank deputy president and group chief financial officer Khairussaleh Ramli said that BII contributed about 16 percent of the banking group’s consolidated revenues.

“The profit contribution now is only less than 5 percent. But again, given the high growth in Indonesia, the intention for growth is for Indonesia to contribute a much bigger (proportion),” said Khairussaleh, who was recently appointed as BII president director.

BII, which is 97.5 percent controlled by Maybank, reported a 45 percent increase in profits to Rp 669 billion ($77 million) in 2011, from Rp 461 billion in 2010.

The opening of more branches will be one of BII’s strategies to improve its performance this year.

Khairussaleh said that BII aims to open up to 50 branches this year.

“However, what is more important is to make sure branches that we have will be more efficient. At the moment we have about 360 branches,” he said.

According to figures provided during Thursday press briefing, during the financial period of July to December, Maybank added six new branches in Malaysia to reach a total of 392 branches.

Seven new branches were opened in Indonesia to reach a total of 346 branches. Five were opened in the Philippines to reach 50 branches in total, and one opened in Cambodia to reach 11 branches.

“In Malaysia, we are looking at places (that may get new branches). But, primarily, the expansion will be in Indonesia,” Khairussaleh said, declining to reveal how much the expansion would cost.

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Four die in extreme martial arts tests

Four die in extreme martial arts tests
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/22/2012 8:21 AM
A | A | A |

Four martial arts students have died while attempting to achieve invulnerability in extreme tests in separate incidents in Greater Jakarta, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Two men in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara died on Tuesday as a vehicle drove over their bodies. A third man remains in critical condition.

The trio, all assistant coaches at the Kera Sakti pencak silat martial arts school, were identified as Ebiridio Sarmento, 20; Elder Cruz, 21; and Abilio Fretes, 18.

The three performed their test at the Noelbaki bus terminal. Witnesses said they first took rat poison and survived.

When none of them fell sick, they proceeded to the next test.

“The three members later proceeded by laying down in the street while some motorcyclists drove over their bodies with their bikes a few times,” a fellow school member, Alberto Amaral, said on Tuesday.

“Nobody got injured,” he added.

The three then decided to allow a four-wheel vehicle carrying dozens of passengers to roll over their bodies.

Their request was granted. However, this time the results were gruesome.

“They screamed when the vehicles passed over their bodies. When the show was over, we found their bodies were crushed,” Alberto said.

Sarmento died at the scene, while Cruz died on the way to hospital.

Fretes is currently in critical condition at a hospital in Kupang.

Kupang Police criminal investigations chief Adj. Comr. Yohanes Kristian Tanau said they had named the school’s leaders, Egidius Sarmento and Antonio Tinto, as suspects.

Officers also took into evidence a car, two motorcycles and rat poison as evidence and were also questioning Brendo, the driver of the vehicle that passed over the men.

In a separate incident on Monday, two pencak silat enthusiasts from Cilincing, North Jakarta — brothers Slalindar Andri Wibowo, 24, and Dedi Supriyadi, 26 — died from severe burns after they were doused with acid in a test of their immunity against weapon attacks.

“[Andri and Dedi] learned to master a weapon-resistant skill. But when acid was poured on them, they were severely injured,” their sister, Lisa Faja Riana, said after viewing their bodies at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital morgue on Tuesday.

Lisa said her brothers and two friends, identified as Oman and Hendra, went to Serang, Banten, on Saturday evening to look for a master who could teach them immunity against weapons.

Banten is famous for a traditional performance called the debus in which a performer demonstrates his invulnerability to weapons and fire.

“Andri told his wife that he went to a prayer gathering to learn religion instead,” Lisa said as quoted by kompas.com.

Lisa said the family was informed about the incident on Sunday evening after one of the victims’ friends called to inform them that the brothers were dead and their bodies were in a hospital in Serang.

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Corruption? Please do Investigate, Fauzi Says

A civil servant (PNS) at Jakarta Tax Service Department, who was previously served at Directorate General of Taxation, initialed DW is determined as suspect for corruption act by Attorney General’s Office (Kejaksaan Agung). Before that, the Attorney General’s Office has searched the suspect’s house and seized several evidence items

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Levante ke 4 Besar, Malaga Pesta Gol

FOTO:AFP/Josep LagoBeritabola.com Barcelona - Malaga tampil
cemerlang kala menghadapi Real Zaragoza di kandang sendiri dengan
menang telak 5-1. Lalu Levante mengatasi Espanyol untuk masuk ke
posisi empat besar.

Dalam laga yang dihelat di La Rosaleda,
Minggu (26/2/2012) dinihari WIB, Zaragoza unggul lebih dulu di menit
23 lewat Carlos Aranda. Malaga akhirnya menyamakan kedudukan di menit
45 lewat tandukan Sebastian Fernandez.

Gol bunuh diri Paulo Da
Silva yang berusaha memotong bola crossing di menit 67 membawa Malaga
berbalik unggul 2-1. Martin Demichelis di menit 77 mencetak gol
setelah korner Joaquin disambut dengan kepala untuk menjebol gawang
Roberto Gago.

Di menit 79 giliran Isco yang mencetak gol lewat
umpan Rondon. Rondon akhirnya mencatakan namanya di papan skor dari
tembakan keras di menit 88 memaksimalkan umpan Nacho
Monreal.

Dengan raihan poin penuh ini Malaga merangsek ke
urutan lima klasemen dengan 34 poin dari 24 laga. Sementara itu
Zaragoza tetap terbenam di dasar klasemen dengan 15 poin.

Dua
laga lainnya antara Racing Santander versus Sporting Gijon serta Real
Betis kontra Getafe, semuanya berakhir dengan skor imbang
1-1.

Levante berhasil menapaki zona yang mereka sempat rasakan
di awal musim, yakni Liga Champions berkat kemenangan 2-1 atas tuan
rumah Espanyol. Dalam laga yang dihelat di Cornella-El Prata, Valdo
membawa tim tamu unggul di menit 24.

Kalu Uche menyamakan
kedudukan di menit 75 sebelum akhirnya free kick Ruben Suarez
memastikan poin penuh untuk Levante. Mereka kini ada di posisi ke-4
dengan 35 poin.

Posisi mereka rawan disalip Athletic Bilbao
jika memenangi laganya hari ini.

Foto: Levante menyungkurkan
Espanyol 2-1 (AFP/Josep Lago)
(dtc/mrp) Sumber: detiksport

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Jelang Vallecano vs Madrid - Higuain Ingin Madrid Terus Tancap Gas

FOTO:Getty ImagesBeritabola.com Madrid - Jarak yang melebar
dengan Barcelona tidak membuat penyerang Real Madrid Gonzalo Higuain
santai. Ia ingin timnya terus tancap gas sebelum gelar juara didapat.
Termasuk saat menghadapi Rayo Vallecano.

Madrid masih kokoh di
puncak klasemen dengan perolehan 61 poin atau unggul 10 poin dari
seteru abadinya, Barcelona. Dengan keunggulan yang besar ini, El Real
diyakini akan merengkuh titel La Liga di akhir musim.

Higuain
enggan memikirkan sesuatu yang belum pasti sehingga ia meminta Madrid
untuk tidak mengendurkan performanya di pertandingan-pertandingan
berikutnya sebelum gelar juara benar-benar didapat.

Madrid akan
berkunjung ke Estadio Teresa Rivero, Minggu (26/2/2012) malam WIB guna
menghadapi Vallecano. Tiga angka niscaya tak sulit diraih karena Los
Merengues punya rekor apik dari lawannya itu.

"Itu akan menjadi
sebuah pertandingan yang sulit melawan tim yang tengah berjuang tapi
memiliki para pemain hebat. Untuk sebuah klub promosi, posisi mereka
cukup bagus. Tapi kami akan tetap melakukan pekerjaan kami dengan baik
dan harus terus demikian," ucap Higuain kepada Sport.

"Kami
tidak bisa santai dan kami harus terus menekan lebih hebat daripada
sebelumnya sebelum benar-benar memenangi liga," lugas pesepakbola
Argentina itu.
(dtc/rin) Sumber: detiksport

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Latest federal 'shared services' strategy is actually SOA redux

Many people used to say that service oriented architecture was CORBA and object-oriented programming in a new bottle. Many feel cloud computing is SOA in a new bottle. Now, a former federal enterprise architect says the federal government’s newly hatched shared services initiative sounds an awful lot like SOA.

Brad Niemann, former EPA Data Architect. Photo: Semantic Community

Samo-samo... yesterday it was SOA, today it's shared services: Brand Niemann, former EPA Data Architect. Photo: Semantic Community

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Could an 8-inch iPad be in the works?

The other day I wrote about some of the rumors around the iPad 3, and even a possible iPad mini. At the time I stated that Apple might be playing around with building a 7″ iPad. Well, more reports are surfacing that Apple is actually testing a screen size of around 8 inches.

The above goes with what we’ve come to expect from Apple. To get into a category the company has to do something different. The fact that there are already 7″ tablets out there means that Apple would just be playing catch-up. But, if the company suddenly comes out with an 8″ one, it’s an innovator again.

As for the iPad 3, Matt Miller put together a quick round up of the rumors for the iPad 3, which include a Retina Display, Quad-core Apple A6 processor, 4G LTE radio for Verizon and AT&T, and better front and rear cameras. As usual, Matt says it’s not enough for him to upgrade, but we know he’ll stand in line for it as soon as he can. :-)

I think that the 8″ iPad could definitely come to be. The main reason being that if Apple comes out with a Retina Display iPad, it can easily bring a “cheaper” 8″ iPad to market that uses the traditional display. That way the company can release a cheaper iPad, while holding the $499 starting point for the iPad intact. That said, I doubt we’ll see Apple going to the $199 price point, but perhaps people will be able to pick up an iPad 8″ for $250 or $300?

According to all of the rumors, we’ll find out March 7th or definitely the first week in March.

I prefer my Kindle Fire and love the 7″ form factor, so I’m not sure that an iPad sporting 8″ is going to be that much of a differentiator.

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Alleged Bangladeshi hackers "leak" information about Indian Navy officers

As I sit in my labs trying to finish some of my pending drafts, my friend @BlogsDNA tipped me about a hack. According to information uploaded on PasteBin, hackers from Bangladesh got hold of personal information about some Indian Naval officers. In bold claims, the Paste Bin dump calls this a demo for the Indian government. My first reaction was, “Oh crap!” Then I decided to search.

It turns out this information was already public. Moreover, the details leaked are of retired naval officers in Mumbai. The Indian Navy has charters across the country for those who have been part of the Indian navy; Mumbai has its own charter. A non-profit organization called LifeGoesOn has a document on its website that contains member information of the Indian Navy Foundation’s Mumbai Charter. A direct link to the Microsoft Word document can be found on Bing (and I’m sure even on Google).

I did not cross check the entire list dumped on PasteBin but from whatever I’ve searched, the information uploaded by the alleged Bangladeshi hackers is in the Word document. This is no hack unless pranksters who know how to use Google are hackers, though the document being available for download raises concerns.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

'Kepindahan Alonso ke Juventus Mustahil'

FOTO:Getty ImagesBeritabola.com Madrid - Xabi Alonso
dikabarkan diminati oleh raksasa Italia, Juventus. Akan tetapi, rumor
itu dibantah oleh agen dari Alonso karena kliennya masih bahagia di
Real Madrid.

Juventus disebut-sebut akan mencoba mendekati
Alonso di bursa musim panas nanti. Sejak masih berkostum Liverpool,
pemain internasional Spanyol itu sudah diincar Bianconerri namun gagal
memboyongnya karena Alonso memilih Madrid.

Diwartakan Sky
Sports, agen Alonso, Inaki Ibanez mengatakan tidak mungkin bagi
kliennya untuk hengkang dari Santiago Bernabeu.

Menurut dia,
Alonso bahkan mungkin aja akan mempertimbangkan untuk mengakhiri
kariernya bersama Madrid. "Saya pikir sebuah kepindahan ke Juventus
untuk Xabi adalah hal yang mustahil," ucap Ibanez kepada
calciomercato.com.

"Ini bukan masalah uang, sekarang si pemain
memiliki masa yang hebat di Real dan saya tidak melihat ada
kemungkinan dia pindah ke Turin ataupun ke klub
lainnya.

"Kontrak Alonso masih dua setengah tahun lagi kemudian
kita lihat saja. Mengakhiri karier di Real Madrid? Mungkin, meskipun
di sepakbola Anda tidak pernah tahu."

"Juventus punya
kesempatan untuk membeli Xabi Alonso dua setengah tahun lalu (ketika
dia masih di Liverpool) tapi tidak terjalin kesepakatan. Saya pikir
itu seperti kereta api yang telah lewat dan tidak mungkin bisa dikejar
lagi," demikian Ibanez.
(dtc/rin) Sumber: detiksport

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Goodbye Kodak, Hello FujiFilm

I originally wrote this as a guest post on Vinnie Mirchandani’s blog, called New Florence. New Renaissance, which discusses innovation and technology. You can also see a gallery of other photos.

————–

After 131 years great American photographic icon, Eastman Kodak, filed for bankruptcy. Some might say that Kodak never made a successful transition from traditional film to digital cameras, but that’s not exactly correct, because American inventor, Steven Sasson, created the first digital camera for Kodak. I think the Economist put it more accurately, explaining that Kodak had become a “complacent monopolist,” enjoying its profitable film franchise and not keeping up with changing market trends. While Kodak invested in marketing, Japanese competitor FujiFilm created even better films, diversified through acquisition, and changed its business model to attack digital photography directly and with strength.

Photo credit: "Pipe Dream Swirls" by Michael Krigsman

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Copa del Rey - Jika Ditolak di Bernabeu, Barca Siap Cari Tempat Lain

FOTO:(Getty Images/Jasper Juinen)Beritabola.com Barcelona - Josep Guardiola
tak ingin tempat penyelenggaraan final Copa del Rey membuat siapapun
merasa tidak nyaman. Karena itu ia ingin memainkan laga final di
tempat di mana mereka diterima.

Barcelona akan menghadapi
Athletic Bilbao di partai final Copa del Rey pada 25 Mei mendatang.
Stadion tempat laga puncak itu akan digelar hingga kini belum
diputuskan.

Karena pertandingan final Copa del Rey selalu
digelar satu leg di tempat netral, maka Santiago Bernabeu diusulkan
untuk menjadi stadion di mana partai puncak itu dihelat. Namun wacana
itu mendapat penolakan dari fans El Real.

"Saya ingin bermain
di manapun kami diterima dan saya tak ingin bermain di mana mereka
tidak menghargai kompetisi seperti Copa del Rey," sahut Guardiola di
situs resmi Barca.

"Jika mereka tidak menginginkan kami, kami
tidak akan ke sana. Jelas kami tidak akan bermain di mana kami tidak
diterima."

Penolakan dari Madrid itu kemudian memunculkan
kandidat lain. Stadion Mestalla milik Valencia diusulkan menjadi
alternatif tempat penyelenggaraan laga final itu.

"Pada
akhirnya tak ada masalah, kami berterima kasih pada Valencia yang mau
menerima kami. Kami tidak ingin membuat siapapun tak nyaman," tutup
pelatih berusia 41 tahun itu.
(dtc/din) Sumber: detiksport

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Guardiola: Madrid Masih Jauh

FOTO:AFP/Josep LagoBeritabola.com Barcelona - Kemenangan
telak atas Valencia memuaskan entrenador Barcelona, Pep Guardiola.
Meski demikian, Guardiola menyesalkan jarak timnya dan Real Madrid
yang masih begitu jauh.

Barca tampil superior kala menjamu
Valencia di Camp Nou, Senin (20/2/2012) dinihari WIB. Diwarnai empat
gol Lionel Messi, Los Cules menang meyakinkan dengan skor
5-1.

"Kami begitu beruntung bisa hidup di saat para pemain ini
bermain. Tim ini memuliakan olahraga," ungkap Guardiola di situs resmi
klub.

Berkat kemenangan ini, Barca mengembalikan jarak dengan
Madrid menjadi 10 poin. Jarak sejauh inilah yang sedikit disesalkan
oleh Guardiola.

"Sayang sekali kami begitu jauh. Saya sangat
percaya bahwa permainan kami tidak merepresentasikan ketertinggalan 10
poin," ujarnya.

"Tapi, kondisinya begitu. Kami harus
menjalaninya. Jaraknya memang demikian. Mari kita lihat apakah kami
bisa memenuhi tugas kami," sambung pria 41 tahun ini.

Meski
demikian, Guardiola meminta timnya untuk tak menyerah hingga musim
benar-benar berakhir.

"Kami harus bersaing dengan baik. Kalau
tidak, musim ini akan terasa sangat panjang untuk kami. Kami harus
mencoba dan melakukan yang terbaik yang bisa kami lakukan,"
pintanya.
(dtc/mfi) Sumber: detiksport

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Relics of shipwreck found in Medan

Relics of shipwreck found in Medan
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Fri, 02/24/2012 10:37 AM
A | A | A |

After almost a month of exploration, French archeologist Daniel Perret from Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO) discovered a fragment from an ancient shipwreck and gold relics at the Kota Cina (Chinatown) site in Marelan district, Medan, North Sumatra.

The ancient relics, estimated to date back to between the 11th and 14th centuries, were discovered by Perret at the end of a series of studies at the site on Thursday.

Perret said the fragments were similar to discoveries made last year. He added that his team’s research this month was the second it had done at the Kota Cina site.

“This year’s discovery was the same as last year’s, thus strengthening the fact that the Kota Cina site was a merchant port on the eastern coast of Sumatra that once served as a trading network between the 11th and 14th centuries for traders from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India,” Perret said after wrapping up his research at the Kota Cina site on Thursday.

Perret added that various findings unearthed over the last two years could not be used to uncover the historical mystery of Kota Cina. He expressed hope that he could return to conduct research at Kota Cina so as to uncover its mystery.

“I hope to be back next year to do research at Kota Cina again for the third time. But, I fear it can no longer be done due to the many plots of land for housing which would restrict exploration,” said Perret, who was accompanied by a number of researchers from the Medan State University.

Medan State University Social Sciences and Historical Studies Center head Ichwan Azhari, who is also involved in the research at Kota Cina, said there were thousands of vital findings of artifacts from between the 11th and 14th centuries which they were able to collect during their research from Feb. 6-23. He added that the relics were found after excavating three plots of land, each measuring 4-by-5 meters.

Ichwan explained that a number of relics which they were able to collect from the site included fragments from an ancient ship, ceramics, old coins, beads, glass and gold. He said his center could not yet explain the findings, their origins and from which era they came from, the people’s race and motives as they must be further analyzed.

“The research will include carbon dating tests at a lab abroad to determine the exact age of the relics,”
Ichwan said.

Medan Mayor Rahudman Harahap, who witnessed the findings at the Kota Cina site, said he planned to initiate a program to acquire land around the exploration site and turn it into the Kota Cina archeological park which would be used for research, education and tourism.

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The informal sector and women’s poverty

The informal sector and women’s poverty
Razali Ritonga, Jakarta | Fri, 02/17/2012 10:54 AM
A | A | A |

The labor protests over minimum wage demands that recently occurred in some parts of Indonesia should have been anticipated by the government.

The demonstrations revealed that the minimum wage was far from sufficient to ensure workers’ survival. Even in Jakarta, the minimum wage for 2012 remains below the income of people living in poverty, especially for workers who support a family of five or more.

The minimum wage in Jakarta for 2012 is set at Rp 1,529,150 (US$170) per month, or an average of Rp 305,830 per each household member. So, if only the breadwinner of a family of five works, all family members would be categorized as poor given the government’s poverty line benchmark of Rp 355,480 set in 2011.

The minimum spending to separate the poor from the non-poor for 2012 has not been calculated yet, but the figure is expected to increase from the 2011 mark.

The severity of poverty among formal workers is only part of the sad story of the labor sector in Indonesia. In fact, workers in the informal sector, whose number is double the formal sector workforce, endure even worse conditions.

The majority of workers employed in the informal sector are women. They mostly work as housemaids or helpers in family businesses.

Workers in the informal sector receive wages that are usually determined by employers or agreed upon by the employers and workers. Unfortunately, the wage amount is usually far below the minimum wage set by the provinces. In many cases the wage is eventually determined by additional factors, such as food and shelter shared with the owners.

Up to now, workers in the informal sector have never been involved in talks on minimum wages, partly because they don’t have unions. As we know, the minimum wage is decided by employers, labor unions and the government.

Low wages among women working in the informal sector can put this country at risk as a huge number of people cannot afford to meet their basic needs — especially food and shelter.

It is not surprising that the quality of life for so many women in this country is considered poor, as evident in the high maternal mortality rate, which stands at 228 per 100,000 live births.

It is believed that the poor quality of life among women contributes significantly to Indonesia’s low ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender Development Index (GDI).

In 2008, for example, the value of Indonesia’s GDI was 66.38, while its HDI was 71.76 (Statistics Indonesia, 2009). From those figures, it is clear that the quality of life for women is below that of the quality of life for men.

Based on the United Nations Development Program HDI report issued in 2011, Indonesia ranks 124 among 187 countries surveyed across the world.

Indonesia’s HDI ranking is lower than its ASEAN neighbors of Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The low quality of life for women could result in serious problems for the country’s future generations. The child of a poor mother will generally be more vulnerable to diseases and other health problems due to poverty.

In fact, Indonesia has a high neonatum mortality rate (under one month), infant mortality (aged under one year), and child mortality (under five years of age).

Demography and Health Surveys conducted in 2007 reported that Indonesia’s neonatum mortality rate was 19 per 1,000 live births, the infant mortality rate was 34 and the child mortality rate was 44.

The high child mortality rates are presumed to have something to do with women workers, especially those in the informal sector.

In addition to their low income, women workers often do not have enough time to visit health centers during their pregnancy.

This phenomenon should inspire the government to establish better policies to improve wages for workers in the informal sector — particularly female workers.

There are two alternative policies that could help the government deal with such problems. First, the government could include the informal sector in the minimum wage policy.

Second, the government could promote the informal sector as part of the formal sector. For this second option, the government should ease regulations to set up formal businesses.

The writer is director of population and labor force statistics at the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The opinions expressed are his own.

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Did Google trick Apple's Safari into tracking users?

Update: see Google’s explanation below.

Search giant Google has been accused by the Wall Street Journal of bypassing the browser’s security settings by allowing a site to set tracking cookies.

Safari for Mac and PC, as well as Safari in-built into iOS devices, are thought to be affected. The browser was subject to tests by the Journal which show that Google used code in its advertisements to bypass Safari’s security, which by default blocks such tracking activity.

The aim of the code was to allow users who had signed into Google+ in Safari to access the ‘+1′ button within ads, provided by Google’s DoubleClick network.

“Don’t be evil,” the company said. While this may not classify as evil per se, it has already gained the attention of the online privacy advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), reiterating the need for ‘Do Not Track’ rules on the Web.

Safari’s security would normally prevent ads from dropping a tracking cookie in such a case because it blocks cookies coming from advertising networks. But the code Google is accused of using  ’tricked’ the browser into thinking the code was submitting a web form to Google; form cookies are not blocked, as it allows the browser to see whether the form was in fact sent.

The exploit isn’t new. It was first discovered in 2010 by Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer and confirmed web developer and researcher Anant Garg.

But Google, while the biggest name on the list of the accused, was not the only one to do it. The Journal says that other advertising networks do similar things, such as the Media Innovation Group, Gannet’s PointRoll, and Vibrant.

Google’s DoubleClick adverts containing the privacy-circumventing code were found on major websites, including AOL.com, Match.com, TMZ.com and YellowPages.com, fellow sister site CNET reports. The Journal’s outside advisor found that 22 of the top 100 websites had Google’s Safari-busting tracking code, and that 23 different sites install the same code on Safari’s iOS browser.

The cookies were set to expire after 12 to 24 hours, but Safari can add even more cookies to a users’ browser once the first cookie as been left.

After Google was caught with its hand in the cookie jar, it said that “the Journal mischaracterizes what happened and why,” after it disabled the code. ”We used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled. It’s important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information,” the company said.

Apple, however, was quoted as saying that it is “working to put a stop” to the circumvention of its privacy settings and security features.

Microsoft has weighed in, taking a cheap shot at its closest rival, by saying that “this type of tracking by Google is not new”. The Internet Explorer blog continued: “The novelty here is that Google apparently circumvented the privacy protections built into Apple’s Safari browser in a deliberate, and ultimately, successful fashion.”

This is the second controversy in as many weeks. Google recently announced a change to its privacy policy that would consolidate all its policies into one giant, super policy. But this led to calls from the European data protection authorities because it would grant Google the explicit right to “combine personal information” across its products and services. ZDNet’s Larry Dignan said: “Google will know more about you than your wife does.”

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a lawsuit last week against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to force the regulator into preventing Google from making the privacy policy changes.

Update: Rachel Whetstone, senior vice-president for communications and public policy at Google, expanded on the Journal’s findings:

“Unlike other major browsers, Apple’s Safari browser blocks third-party cookies by default. However, Safari enables many web features for its users that rely on third parties and third-party cookies, such as “Like” buttons. Last year, we began using this functionality to enable features for signed-in Google users on Safari who had opted to see personalized ads and other content — such as the ability to “+1” things that interest them.

To enable these features, we created a temporary communication link between Safari browsers and Google’s servers, so that we could ascertain whether Safari users were also signed into Google, and had opted for this type of personalization. But we designed this so that the information passing between the user’s Safari browser and Google’s servers was anonymous — effectively creating a barrier between their personal information and the web content they browse.

However, the Safari browser contained functionality that then enabled other Google advertising cookies to be set on the browser. We didn’t anticipate that this would happen, and we have now started removing these advertising cookies from Safari browsers.  It’s important to stress that, just as on other browsers, these advertising cookies do not collect personal information.”

Image source: ZDNet.

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Jelang Arsenal vs Tottenham - The Gunners (Masih) Bermodal Ketajaman Van Persie

FOTO:Getty Images/Paul GilhamBeritabola.com London - Arsenal dalam
posisi sulit jelang pertemuannya dengan Tottenham Hotspur akhir pekan
ini. Tapi bermodalkan ketajaman serta rekor bagus Robin van Persie,
The Gunners punya peluang besar menang.

Klub asal London Utara
itu dalam dua pertendingan terakhirnya baru saja mendapat hasil
mengecewakan saat kalah 0-4 dari AC Milan di leg pertama babak 16
besar Liga Champions, serta tersingkir dari Piala FA setelah kalah 0-2
dari Sunderland.

Hasil-hasil ini makin menyudutkan posisi
Arsene Wenger tentunya sebagai manajer dan tentunya Arsenal terancam
tanpa gelar lagi untuk tujuh tahun berturut-turut.

Sementara
itu Spurs boleh dibilang tengah dalam kondisi mental terbaik karena
mereka berada di posisi ketiga dan unggul 10 poin dari Arsenal yang
duduk di urutan ke-4.

The Lilywhites pun menang 2-1 di
pertemuan pertama dan itu jadi modal bagus melakoni duel di Emirates
Stadium, Minggu (26/2/2012) malam WIB.

Berikut data dan fakta
terkait duel kedua tim yang dilansir Eurosport

-Rafael van der
Vaart mencetak empat gol dari tiga pertemuan terakhir dengan
Arsenal.

-Sejak Harry Redknapp menangani Tottenham, Spurs
menang tiga kali, seri tiga kali dan kalah dua kali dari delapan
pertemuan terakhir di seluruh kompetisi.

-Tottenham hanya
sekali membuat clean sheet dari 32 pertemuan terakhir dengan Arsenal
di seluruh kompetisi.

-Dari tiga kali berkunjung ke Emirates
selama ditangani Redknapp, Spurs selalu tertinggal dua gol dengan
hasil akhir satu kemenangan, satu seri dan satu
kekalahan.

-Spurs hanya kalah sekali dari tujuh pertemuan
terakhir dengan Arsenal di liga (W3 D3 L1) dan menang tiga kali dari
empat pertemuan terakhir (W3 D1 L0).

-Robin van Persie mencetak
empat gol dari lima laga terakhir kontra Tottenham di Premier
League.

-Gareth Bale mencetak tiga gol ke gawang Arsenal, klub
paling dibanyak dibobolnya di Liga Inggris selain
Wigan.

-Arsenal paling sedikit mendapat poin saat bertemu
dengan tim lain di peringkat tujuh besar musim ini (4
poin)

-Kemenangan Spurs musim lalu atas Arsenal di Emirates
mengakhiri rekor 17 kali laga tandang ke Arsenal tanpa
kemenangan.

-Hanya David Silva (12) yang mampu memberi assist
lebih banyak dari Emmanuel Adebayor (10) di Liga Inggris musim
ini.
(dtc/mrp) Sumber: detiksport

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Amazon reduces S3 prices, because $0.11 is too much to charge

I have often written about how innovative Amazon is as a company. It’s probably the online company I respect the most, from its amazingly valuable (to my family, anyway) Prime service to its works-on-all-devices Kindle format.

I haven’t really talked much about one area where Amazon innovates, its S3 online storage service. S3 is a service that essentially virtualizes storage and then makes it accessible through an API. As a result, S3 is a cloud storage “device” that can (and has been) baked into many applications as an alternative to storing things locally.

The thing is, S3 is also quite inexpensive. Certainly, as you scale up into the holy-cowabyte level, it gets costly, but for many of us, the amount Amazon charges us for this service is astonishingly low.

For example, one of the servers I back up (it’s got a couple of gigabytes or so) cost me all of $0.11 last month. Seriously. Here’s the payment notice.

It’s astonishing. Now, I’m always a little concerned that I’ll configure something incorrectly, or read something and not quite interpret it right, and one day I’ll get a monster bill, but that hasn’t happened yet — and I actually pretty much doubt it will.

Note to literalists (you know who you are!): The title of this post is meant to be sarcastic. I don’t believe $0.11 is too much to charge. I think it’s an amazingly good deal for what I get.

One reason I feel pretty secure that I’m safe with my 11-cent bill from Amazon is that the company today announced a 12% to 13.5% reduction in prices, depending on your usage pattern.

Seriously. Reduction. Here’s the chart.

Now, ask yourself this: when was the last time your power company or your cable company wrote you a note and let you know they were reducing prices because they were innovating and driving down prices? Yeah, I know. Crazy, eh?

So there you go. If you’re using a ton of S3 space, your bill’s going down next month. Even if you’re not using a ton of space, your bill is probably going down. Can’t beat that with a stick.

See also:

    So, are you using S3? What are you using it for and how much are you paying? TalkBack below.

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    Pekojan Mosque, Witness of Indonesia-Arab Friendship

    Most of the people passing along Jl. Pekojan Raya, Tambora, West
    Jakarta, probably do not realize about the presence of an old mosque
    with high historical values located at the left side of the road. The
    mosque is not only known as a place where Islamic teachings spread
    from colonial era until now, but also as witness of historical
    friendship between Indonesia and Middle East nations, particularly
    Arabians. No wonder if Pekojan area, where the mosque located, is
    called as Arab Village

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    150 Students Participated in Cleaning KBT Bridges

    As many as 150 students from various schools in East Jakarta were
    participating in cleaning East Flood Canal (KBT) bridges, namely
    Bambuduri Bridge and Sawahbarat Bridge, as well as two electricity
    towers in Pondokbambu Urban Village, Durensawit Sub-District, East
    Jakarta. Those students cleaned the bridges using sandpapers and
    broomsticks. Afterward, they painted the bridges with yellow paint as
    well as drew graffiti on it

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    LP Kerobokan Rusuh Lagi

    Metrotvnews.com, Denpasar: Setelah mampu
    dikendalikan, Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Kerobokan, Denpasar, Bali kembali
    dilanda kerusuhan pada Rabu (22/2) malam sekitar pukul 23.30
    WIB.

    Akibat kerusuhan itu, ratusan aparat kepolisian berjaga di
    sekeliling LP untuk memperkecil kemungkinan kaburnya para
    narapidana.

    Kerusuhan ditandai dengan lemparan bom molotov.
    Beberapa bom molotov sempat pula keluar hingga halaman
    LP.

    Kerusuhan terjadi sejak Selasa (21/2) malam. Kerusuhan itu
    diperkirakan karena kapasitas berlebih LP Kerobokan, selain ada kabar
    terjadi perbedaan perlakukan yang dikeluhkan para penguni LP, selain
    keributan akibat persoalan piutang pada Minggu (19/2)
    lalu.

    Namun, sekitar pukul 00.10, Kamis (23/2) dinihari,
    situasi berangsur normal.(MI/DNI)

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    Wamendag Temukan Makanan Berformalin Saat Sidak

    Metrotvnews.com, Surabaya: Wakil Menteri Perdagangan
    Bayu Krinamurthi, Rabu (22/2) siang, menggelar inspeksi mendadak di
    sejumlah tempat di Surabaya, Jawa Timur. Bayu menemukan makanan
    berformalin dan sejumlah barang yang tidak memenuhi Standard Nasional
    Indonesia (SNI).

    Sidak dimulai pukul 10.00 WIB. Lokasi pertama
    yang dituju Pasar  Genteng, Surabaya. Di lokasi ini ditemukan
    sejumlah makanan yang mengandung formalin. Antara lain manisan impor
    dari China, mie, tahu dan krupuk yang menggunakan pewarna tekstil.
    Seluruh bahan makanan itu dites di mobil test cepat milik Badan
    POM.

    Dari Pasar Genteng, Bayu melanjutkan sidak ke kawasan
    pergudangan Romo Kalisari, Surabaya. Di tempat ini ditemukan baja
    tulangan beton tanpa sertifikat SNI. Direktur CV Surabaya Steel
    sebagai distributor baja tanpa sertifikat SNI menerangkan bahwa baja
    yang ada telah disertai sertifikat SNI dari pabrik. (Ffrancelino/DOR)

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