LIME 3G vs. Claro 3G: And the winner is... Digicel?

Here in Jamaica a war in looming on the mobile Internet landscape. Claro had fired the first salvo when they launched their 3G network after purchasing MiPhone. Now LIME has entered the arena with their own offering.

I think, or rather hope, Digicel is quietly thanking LIME for their recent roll. Why? Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Since Claro has come on the scene, in my humble opinion, they haven't really given any compelling reason to move to their network save one, their 3G data services. Sure, Claro has great features and call plans, but unless you make a wholesale move with all your friends and business associates, you wont be realising any real benefits any time soon. However 3G is a personal benefit that you can reap rewards from the day you sign up.

Whether or not that was the intent, 3G serves as a bottom-up approach to grabbing market share. If you can get enough people unto your network solely for 3G, it's not far fetched to assume that a sizable chunk of those users may want to make a call or two, or simply not want to have multiple devices (whether mobile phone or dongle), when a single device can perform all their needed functions. Therefore 3G users are all potential converts to Claro's voice services.

Now along comes LIME who, while still the second largest mobile carrier in the island, really hasn't had any fanfare to speak of over the last few months (years?), but have now changed that with the launch of their own 3G data service. Claro is gunning for the incumbent, and 3G is how they could, or rather would, have done it. Now that LIME has rolled out 3G however, the landscape has changed, and it now gives Digicel the high ground.

As of this writing, LIME has, hands down, the better 3G offering; both in terms of price and speed. This coupled with the proliferation of 3G capable devices already on LIME's network (read Blackberry), not to mention the free 3G dongle that users receive if they sign up for a 2 year contract, LIME is well suited to become the 3G provider of choice if that's what you're looking for from a carrier. And this is the death knell for Claro. Their hail mary, should their call plans not win users over, would have been their 3G data services. If users that just want data now have more compelling reasons to sign up with LIME, this takes away Claro's only competitive edge.

LIME is doing Digicel the favor of ensuring Claro remains uncompetitive. LIME is the evil Digicel already knows and, for the most part, tamed. Claro is still the loose canon and an unknown variable, and this attack by LIME only serves Digicel's purposes.

You can and should expect a response from Digicel sometime in the near future, but rest assured that there's silent appreciation of the work LIME is doing in lieu of their own battle plan. Digicel wont be losing customers to Claro any time soon.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

While following the underlined blue text I kept finding while doing some reading on netbooks, I eventually came across this blog post written by Brandon LeBlanc a few days ago. The whole thing is the usual Microsoft self stroking about how great they are, but there were a couple gems which stood out to me, and one in particular which actually brought me to the post:

"Windows now account for a whopping 98% of all small notebook PCs sales at retail in the US." [Emphasis his]

Lets assume for the sake of argument that the number stated above is properly researched and correct. This might lead you to think that the netbook industry, which is still in wrapping plastic, has been a slam dunk for Microsoft. The truth however, is always hidden in the detail.

I'm a proud owner of an ASUS 1000HE. It's everything they advertised and then some. I got it on Amazon a few weeks ago and while doing my research I realised than Amazon and other e-tailers, gave me a myriad of options to customize my machine: I could get it in black, or in blue.
I didn't have a choice about the system specs or, and here's the kicker, the Operating System. If I wanted this machine I had to fork over the Windows Tax whether I was planning on using Windows or not.

Now I've read stories about how persons have taken the conservative approach to the Windows Tax, and have gone to great lengths to actually get their money back (Something about the EULA entitling you to return the product if you don't agree. I'm not sure, I haven't read it myself). It seems that whenever someone has been able to actually redeem their funds, it was a big enough deal for them to write about it and in some cases break out the camera and post a few snaps. Now being in Jamaica that was not really an option for me. Maybe it was, but the required time and effort certainly wouldn't have made it viable and I wasn't trying to take a principled stand. I simply downloaded my oh so sexy copy of Kubuntu 9.04, loaded it up, and went on my way.

Now imagine my chagrin when I come across the statistic quoted above and the realisation dawned on me that I, and many, MANY others that chose to use Linux instead of Windows on our netbooks, have been included in that number.

Linux has very steady footing in the netbook world. Microsoft would rather people not know that. They have, as they have always done, gone to great lengths to court OEMs and retailers into giving Windows as the only option on their netbooks, or at the very least, make it a 4 minute mile if you want to actually find a model that does not bare the Windows branding. They've even been successful in wooing ASUS; the company that broke ground in the netbook revolution. In fact at a recent news conference shared with a Microsoft exec., the chairman of ASUS apologised, though no one is sure why or to whom, because a company was displaying an ASUS netbook running Android at this year's Computex. An apology? How toady can one person be?

This whole thing bothers me a great deal, not only because I was unwittingly and now unwillingly included in Pro-Microsoft statistics, but because of the general misrepresentation achieved by using these numbers. I'm inclined to think LeBlanc is aware of this, chooses to be play ignorant, and write accordingly. It falls in line with how Microsoft has operated for many years. However if he truly isn't aware, I think that's an even bigger problem. Either way, the whole thing is inexcusable.

Honor Among Thieves

For those that eat up tech gossip the way Hollywood sycophants eat up Perez Hilton, yesterday (June 6) you may have borne witness to, or gotten some after the fact transcription about, the very unexpected meltdown of one Leo Laporte on his program TWiT Live while hosting Michael Arrignton and The Gillmor Gang. The whole thing stems from a question Michael asked, followed by a couple of statements that many, including Leo, would interpret as an insinuation that Leo's integrity was for sale.

Now, while it seems that they have kissed and made up, for a few hours afterwards even Arrington was worried that his professional relationship with Leo was down the crap shoot.

My take on this whole thing is that Leo had every reason to react the way he did. I'm not here touting his years of experience and whether or not that puts him above scrutiny, because frankly no one should ever be raised to that level. However, it's one thing when Jon Newbie walks up and asks such a question or makes that insinuation. It's a completely different thing when Michael, a respected personality, does it.

There needs to be mutual respect in the industry, or at the very least amongst the (self crowned) industry and thought leaders. Michael should have known better than to, in essence, call Leo out in such a manner. It's not that Leo is above quesiton, it's that he should be above Arrington's question, and that's needed to avoid these kinds of uncomfortable situations where both parties are now feeling a little slighted and being forced to mend fences in public.

So I'm glad the whole thing is coming to an amicable end, but notwithstanding, the whole thing should never have come up, and Arrington should have known better.

Separation of roles

Many (pronounced "most") don't have a clear understanding, nor the willingness to learn what areas comprise the field of computing and what roles they play. So as a public service, I will try to break down and explain how each field contributes to the many end products in the area of tech.

First lets identify these roles. In my estimation they fall in one of the following four categories:

• Computer Science
• Computer Engineering
• Information Technology (Specialist)
• Information Systems Management (MIS)

These areas will overlap at the edges in some cases, but the roles can be clearly defined. There are also some niche roles interspersed within the ones identified, but they serve very specific purposes and can in almost all cases be viewed as an extension of one of the top four.

The relationship of the roles are also worth mentioning. Computer Science is perhaps the purest role in the discipline in that it doesn't depend on any lower level concept within its own discipline. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, Computer Science may lean heavily on another subject area (Language Sciences in the case of Natural Language Processing for example) however at its core it's really just math and logic. Once you start going up the totem pole, each new area depends on the one before it. One way to look at it is this: Computer Engineering is applied Computer Science, Information Technology is applied Engineering and Information Systems Management is applied IT. Each takes from the previous and incorporates it for its own purposes.

These areas are all separate but equal. Each playing a part in the development and delivery of the information based landscape we enjoy today.

Lets get a deeper understanding of what each of these areas in the discipline require and the purpose they serve.

Computer Science
The job of a computer scientist is to formulate, test and publish high level theories on computation. The areas of computation are wide and varied and persons will, as is the case with all other scientific fields, tend to focus on a particular area for most if not all of their professional life. The goal is to become an authority on the chosen topic and to contribute to the body of work that exists in hopes of furthering the discipline. This is the top (or bottom if you prefer) of the pile. The work done by computer scientists form the basis of all the technological advancements you see today. Be it the Internet, a PC, or your new iPhone 3G, it all started with a bunch of mathematical formulas scribbled on a black board. The group is manned by scientists and mathematicians.

Computer Engineering
The next stop along the computing assembly line is Computer Engineering. The job of an engineer is to take the convoluted math spewed by scientists and to create real world applications and technologies. In many cases the end products are still too high level for direct consumer usage (think computer processors or application frameworks), but they are tangible and usable items ripe for integration into larger systems. This is where you actually start to see, hear and touch the products that where once abstractly spelled out in a dimly lit room overrun with grad students looking for a recommendation. Computer programmers and electronic engineers will be found here.

Information Technology
An IT specialist has the responsibility of taking the disparate products being produced by engineers and building practical and useful solutions for real world problems. When someone refers to a "computer guy", this is who they really mean as they have by far the most visibility and wear varying hats. They provide the most practical application of technologies and deliver end user solutions. Network and system administrators sit in this group.

Information Systems Management
This is the category that brings oversight and management to the world of computing. It is perhaps the least technical of all requiring only a cursory understanding of deep technological concepts. What it lacks in technical requirements it makes up for by demanding an understanding of business processes and requirements. This group bridges the gap between between the IT specialists and engineers and the conventional corporate roles in a business. They are the indispensable go between that has a foot placed in each camp and can interpret and communicate needs in both directions.

The lay description above should give a basic understanding to those who were never really clear on who does what. If you need more insight, check the repository of all human knowledge, Wikipedia [I've picked an apt starting point].

The system isn't down, it's just broken

This post had a notable technology spin to it, but I'm not a fan of cross posting, so...

http://www.misguidedzen.com/?p=14

Let there be search. And it was par.

It's still going through some development and cleaning up but for the most part, there is now a central search engine for websites of the Government of Jamaica. It's very vanilla and I don't think much will change in the short term but for a first incarnation I wont complain. It functions. It does standard keyword match searches and while I think that this really is a paradigm straight from the 80's , as of this writing we really have nothing better that's anything more than a good theory.

This site forms the base of the overall Web Presence strategy being developed by the government. In essence, they're lining up all the blocks then building up the skyscraper. The other pillar currently on the ground is the GoJ Web Portal, which right now is just a hierarchy link page but will soon be transformed into a service centric portal, and the use of the domain to provide value added services to GoJ employees (GoJ email, for example, to persons in organizations that do not have the internal capacity, competence, budget or time to deploy enterprise level mail).

In the end, this revamped approach and renewed vision of web presence is a promising sign that the Government of Jamaica has finally matured to the concept and opportunities availed by the internet and is finally moving to leverage this tool to empower themselves and the citizens of Jamaica.

Creating a Facebook App

I wrote the following in response to a question on Yahoo Answers, however I wasn't able to post it due to technical difficulties, so rather than waste my 4 minutes I'll put it here in hopes that it will be googled and help someone else one day.

Q: I want to make a facebook (and now bebo) App...Help?
I have enjoyed facebook apps for a while and as of a few days ago they came on bebo....both of which I have...
I want to make my own app....how can I....and any ideas?

A: First things first, you've got to have an idea. Fortunately (or unfortunately) 99% of the applications on Facebook are mild distractions that serve no real function, so if you want to get into that space, you app doesn't have to be ground breaking. However being in the other 1%, which will take thought, planning and well written code, will most likely give your app longevity long after the viral effect has run its course.

To do a Facebook app, you will most likely need a server that will host it. Facebook will not host your application, they will only give you access to the Facebook platform though an API (authenticate users, get a user's friends, etc.), and then list your app in their directory.

Depending on the development platform available on your hosting server, your programming language of choice, and available APIs (official or third party), you will have to decide on what language your Facebook app will be. The vast majority of the apps are currently done in PHP. Knowing this, it's probably a good idea to stick with that language unless you have a salient objection as this will enable you to get great support on the development forums.

Once you have your idea, your server, and have decided on a development platform, you're next step is to add the Developer application to your list of installed apps. You must have this installed in order to access the needed developer resources. After adding the application you will request an API Key. This is what will allow you to make calls to the Facebook API and leverage the platform. It is also mandatory that your application make use of the Facebook platform in order to be listed in their application directory.

Next you can download their example code that will give you the basics on developing a facebook application, which could be broken down as:

-Check if the user is logged in: If not, send user to log in page
-Check if user has the application installed: If not, send user to add application page
-Load default application page (In Facebook this is called your Canvas page)

You can take that skeletal code and start mapping your idea against to your application.

You will have to become familiar with some new concepts to create a Facebook application that fully utilizes the platform.

1) FBML
2) FBJS
3) FQL
4) The Facebook API

FBML is the Facebook Markup Language. It's a special markup language, just like XHTML, with some additional tags which basically saves you a lot of work in completing common tasks, for example, selecting a friend or friends from a list.

FBJS is the Facebook flavour of Javascript. It has a subset of the functionality of actual Javascript with the limitations imposed to protect users of your application. (please keep in mind though that your application can extend outside of the Facebook world where you will not have limitations of Javascript use and afterwards you can forward your users to the original Facebook Canvas page.

FQL (presumably Facebook Query Language) allows you to query Facebook for data in the same way you would query a relational database with SQL. You can check out the resources below for more information.

The Facebook API is the heart of any Facebook app as this is what really allows you to hook into the platform. Check out the resources below for more information of the capabilities of the API.

What I have outlined is a very high level synopsis of what it takes to have a Facebook app. You will have to (or at least you should) do some additional reading in order to fully appreciate the intricacies involved, but once you've done it once, you could churn out a new app every few hours.

Happy coding.


Resources: http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Main_Page
http://forum.developers.facebook.com/

AutoSMS for Facebook

Despite the prevalence of AutoSMS related posts, I assure you that this is not a developer's blog.

This serves to introduce AutoSMS for Facebook. This applet will allow your friends to send messages to your cellphone directly from your profile, and you'll be able to send messages to one or all of them from the central application page.

Current features include:

• Full integration with your current AutoSMS account.
• This will give you access to the message management features of AutoSMS from the original control panel.

• Privacy controls
• Manage which friends are allowed to send you messages. Blocked friends will be non the wiser.

• Single Message Multiple Recipients
• Type it once, send it to everyone. AutoSMS for Facebook gives you the ability to broadcast a message to your entire friends list.

• Convenient invite for your Facebook friends
• The more of your friends have AutoSMS, the more useful it becomes to you. Tell them that this is the best thing since sliced harddough bread.
  

This is a very early release and new features will be added in time. Give it a spin and see what you think.