Ketika ku baca rapot-mu nak
Read this story. If I have 1 coin and you have 1 coin, then we exchange our coin, what will happen? Both of us still have only 1 coin. What if I give you mine? You have 2 coins but I don't have any. It is going to be a different story if each of us have 1 book (knowledge)? If we exchange the book, you will have 2 books and so will I. Got the point?
Dad, ajarin bikin puisi buat PR dong. Setengah kaget, saya sebagai seorang ayah yang kebetulan juga berprofesi pendidik, mencoba menggali lebih lanjut mengenai tugas putri saya yang masih duduk di kelas 4 SD. Ia diminta membuat satu bait puisi mengenai hutan. Tentunya komentar saya sebagai pengemar dan penulis puisi adalah "kok bikin puisi dibatasi?!" Ternyata pula tugas ini bagian dari sejumlah soal dalam buku latihan dengan tipe soal cloze test atau isian bebas.
I was born years ago today. Were I reborn today?
Welcome holiday seasons. Watch out for travel warnings. Though Osama doesn't hide in
The politicians are greedy in
More over,
I can argue about the above facts. However, it makes this writing dull. Have you been to
Secondly,
Here, the list continues.
Some municipalities are well governed. They have become an icon for other municipalities. There is this success story about once a village of sea pirates that became an exporting village. Gambus Laut is located in the remote area in, Asahan Regency in
Gambus Laut is not the only success story in
Unlike regular tourism, the research tourism is apparently a very large market. Regular tourists come for short visit of average a week. Researchers stay longer and spend more money. They bring knowledge as well. In return,
Tourism industry in
In 1998, journalists all over the world stayed in the hearts of the history in the making in which it was the most dangerous hotel in
Media workers and tourism industry shall work hand in hand to make this event bigger than Obama’s election and save Indonesian Tourism Industry.
All beautiful sceneries and cultures in
by Jaha Nababan of Public Management International Institute
Don't spend new education budget on computers
Jaha Nababan, Jakarta
It could be illegal if Indonesia does. The visit by Bill Gates and Craig R. Barrett to Indonesia a few months ago to offer Indonesia cheap processors and free software may invite Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) curiosity.
The Jakarta Post, May 16, 2008, noted behind the US$200 PC program was the goal to improve the PC-to-student ratio from 1:3,200 to 1:20. According to figures from the National Education Ministry website, there are approximately 53 million students from kindergarten through senior high school. It means the government must buy 2.65 million new computers at $200 a piece. This is the point where the KPK should start nosing around.
First, since the education budget for next year is Rp 244.4 trillion ($26.6 billion), the cost of buying the computers is very small compared to the proposed budget.
Second, Intel and Microsoft are not the only processor and operating software producers on earth. Accepting the offer may run contrary to Presidential Decree 80/2003 on the procurement of goods and services.
For cheap computers, there are currently many options starting as low as $100. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program sells a wireless laptop, called XO, to students in underdeveloped countries. It may look like a toy, but it was designed according to the needs of the user. It has a crank so children in areas with no electricity can still run it. Its basic functions allow children to read, write, calculate, browse the Internet, draw and even learn programming.
OLPC's XO is not the perfect cheap computer. The online science and technology magazine The Register noted some of its downsides. However, learning from OLPC's experience, the government should think strategically and consider asking vendors to design a computer to meet specified needs.
Should the government be cash-strapped, it can give incentives. The city of Manningham, Australia, offers a good case in point. City officials wanted to build and maintain a road for 20 years. It set out a wish list and calculated the cost, which turned out to be A$160 million over 20 years. It put out a tender for the project. The tender winner proposed a project for $140 million for 20 years, a $20 million saving.
The city will pay the tender winner monthly for 20 years plus some tax incentives should they achieve service targets. This is a win-win agreement. The city saves costs and pays less monthly while the company is guaranteed liquidity for 20 years. By handing over the operation to contractors, the city is steering not rowing. That is the role of government.
For 2.65 million new computers specially customized to meet Indonesian needs, many vendors, local and international, would be interested in the bid. Moreover, if production is located in Indonesia, it would help energize the IT industry here at home. Indonesia could create a niche market for the computing needs of underdeveloped countries. Indonesian software could go international with the penetration of this new breed of computers. In this scenario, Indonesia could become a giant in the internet and communication technology industry.
Industry giants like Microsoft and Intel are capable of helping Indonesia realize this dream. Intel is offering its Classmate laptop in stores for US$225. The Classmate runs Linux or Windows with classroom collaboration software. It is strong competition for OLPC's XO.
The second generation of Classmate PC is even better, with built-in webcam, wider screen and larger storage. According to the Post report, Intel is going to build the latest generation of cheap processors for these cheap computers for Indonesia. What Intel is going to give Indonesia for $200 remains a secret.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Both giants are betting on future market security. For Microsoft it means securing 53 million students as Windows users and for Intel, a 2.65 million new Classmate PCs deal could leave OLPC's XO or other competitors in the dust. It is vital the government take more initiative in shaping the offer.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to tell Gates and Barrett he really appreciated the offers. However, accepting the $530 million deal would be breaking the law. Moreover, in the name of free market competition, Indonesia must not join with one players to beat the others.
Indonesia must make use of this free market competition for its own benefit. Who would turn down such a deal? If both Gates and Barrett are serious about helping Indonesia, they can help this country become the new giant in ICT. In return, Indonesia would help them in producing cheap but powerful computing machines for underdeveloped countries.
The government needs to see this as an investment opportunity to build its ICT industry not just as an opportunity to get one-time price discounts from the giants.
The writer is an educational technologist. He can be reached at jaha@fulbrightweb.org
This article was published in the Jakarta Post, March 20, 2007.
Jaha Nababan, Contributor, Jakarta
Jaha Nababan and his family died in a sea accident. I never got a chance to write my own obituary.
I was Googling my own name on the Internet to see who was quoting the articles I wrote. To my surprise, I found a forum where someone complained about a 419 email scam he had received.
David Yegeni, the scammer, wrote that I had unclaimed payment for a housing development contract I carried out in South Africa because my whole family and I died at sea. The amount was a mouth-watering US$20 million. Yegeni, the scammer, offered to transfer the unclaimed payment to whoever was willing to pay him a small fee.
According to www.419eater.com, the 419 scheme refers to an advance-fee fraud, so known internationally after a section of the Nigerian penal code.
The schemes usually start with an individual or company receiving a letter or fax, or email in this case, from an alleged "official" representing a foreign government or agency. The correspondence offers to transfer millions of dollars in "over-invoiced contract" funds into the recipient's personal bank account. The sender will provide many fake documents to convince the recipients and encourage the recipient to travel overseas.
The goal is to get money from the recipient through advance fees for various taxes, attorney fees, transaction fees or bribes. Many have fallen victim to such fraud.
The scammers locate victims by using guest books on personal websites. Typing "guestbook" in a search engine will deliver millions of results. The scammers use an abundance of emails to target the victim. Responding to such email will only show the scammer that the email is active.
The people in at www.419eater.com, known as scambaiters, step into the scammers' game. Scambaiters try to scam the scammers and beat them at their own game -- with pranks.
Scambaiting is like a sport that involve scammers and scambaiters, who try to best the other by throwing convincing words and evidence. The scambaiter wins when they are able to get the scammer to do foolish things like send their own photographs or artwork. The scambaiter loses when the scammer finds out about the pranks.
In responding to scams, the scambaiters use funny names such as Shiver Metimber, Eric Shun, Acksi Dent and the like. With a little photo editing skills, scambaiters can provide documents such as airway bills, bank forms, booking forms and even newspaper clips to prove the pranks.
The scambaiters even have their own fake bank, Plunder and Flee Incorporated with a P.O. Box address, to convince the scammers.
There are many free services on the Internet that the scambaiters can use to trick the scammers, such as Internet fax services and Internet voice mail services. The scambaiters consider this a sport and the trophy is a picture of the scammer, not to mention useless international phone calls, fax and courier service charges made by the scammers as bonuses.
Many of the scammers hail from western and southern Africa. According to www.419eater.com, about 50-55 percent of Internet scams come from these areas.
Scambaiters also warn newbees of this new Internet sport, and that the scammers are very dangerous. Newbees are warned not to disclose any personal information nor be persuaded to travel to South Africa, a common destination in these scams. They also underline in a disclaimer that theirs is not a racist site.
The scammers work in syndication. They have the financial capacity to make expensive international calls and faxes, as well as send documents using courier services. In some cases they are willing to sent a few thousand dollars to convince the victim that the money they offer exists.
On my encounter with these scammers, I received emails using names from the Middle East, Asia and many more regions. Judging from the email header, many of these emails are routed back to the African region.
Some of the smarter scammers have figured out that African names will ignite instant suspicion. The names are probably fished out from Google or another search engine.
As mentioned in the introduction, the scammers also use the names they have fished to create a convincing story.
Should one want to enter this new Internet sport, please make sure that the scam email was sent from far away Mugu-land -- land of the scammer.
But www.419eater.com also mentions that many scam attempts are sent from England, Spain, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and many more.
If your name has been used as a sender in scam email, you can report this to your service provider by sending a copy of the scam email. Consequently, the service provider will likely terminate the account.
On the other hand, it is difficult to handle cases in which your name is used in a scam story, as in my case. The best thing you can do is ask the search engine where you got the hit to erase the entry.
As a preventive measure, running your name occasionally on a search engine can halt further damage to your credibility.
The writer is a Fulbright grantee and Kelly Elizabeth Stephens Scholar, who contributes articles on educational media and technology.
It's been quite a long time since i last wrote my poem. The last time was probably during my flight back home forgood from Boston in Jan 2005. Gee...