PC & IT 02 (Nov 08 - Mar 10)

[blid2def]

Yes and no problems for me.

[iam802]

If you have nothing better to do, give this a try " Wolfram Alpha"

It is supposed to do maths computations of various topics and come out with answers.

Eg. A comparison of RIMM, AAPL, and PALM

http://www17.wolframalpha.com/input/?i= ... PL%2C+PALM

Of course, we know that when it comes to the market, never rely on such computations alone.

Not sure, if given enough data...can it tell me when is the next trend....(before my charts does)

[winston]

It's Good to Know: The Twitter Drop-Off

Whenever microblogging/social networking tool Twitter is in the news (a lot, lately), millions jump on the Twitter bandwagon. But many of those new users don't stick around. A recent study by Nielsen Research showed that 60 percent of fledgling Twitterers are gone within a month.

Unless Twitter figures out how to increase user loyalty, Nielsen believes the site's growth prospects are limited. Social networking titans MySpace and Facebook had double Twitter's retention rate when they were at the same stage in their development.

(Source: Nielsen and Consumerist)

[winston]

It's Fun to Know: About the Internet

A huge amount of information - 78 exabytes (that's 78 with 18 zeros after it) - was sent over the Internet last year, according to University of Minnesota researchers.

An exabyte is a unit of computer memory or data storage capacity. One exabyte is equal to a billion gigabytes.

(Source: Discover Magazine)

[winston]

Is Hotmail down ? I've been trying to get into my account since 7pm without success ..

[blid2def]

You know hor - these kinds of services are very rarely down. Yes, they do happen now and then (e.g. recent Google outage) but most likely than not... it's your side problem... Hehe... no problems accessing from my side.

[winston]

Thanks G. Just managed to go in

[winston]

It's Good to Know: About Software Piracy

A new study from research firm IDC and the Business Software Alliance found that 41 percent of software on PCs worldwide was pirated last year (representing a loss of $53 billion for software manufacturers), up from 38 percent in 2007. The researchers blame lax copyright enforcement in developing countries for most of it, coupled with the fact that many people in those countries are unable to afford the genuine versions. The United States has the lowest software piracy rate in the world - 20 percent.

(Source: Download Squad and Business Software Alliance)

[iam802]

It's Good to Know: About Software Piracy

A new study from research firm IDC and the Business Software Alliance found that 41 percent of software on PCs worldwide was pirated last year (representing a loss of $53 billion for software manufacturers), up from 38 percent in 2007. The researchers blame lax copyright enforcement in developing countries for most of it, coupled with the fact that many people in those countries are unable to afford the genuine versions. The United States has the lowest software piracy rate in the world - 20 percent.

(Source: Download Squad and Business Software Alliance)

I am not a fan of IDC's data and BSA's statements

So, here's something to read and have a more balanced view

....


But of more concern is the methodology IDC uses. Roughly speaking the firm takes an estimate of the amount of computers shipped to individual companies, takes a further estimate of what software should be on those machines, and compares that, not to exact software sales, but to interviews with software vendors.

This research method has been questioned by many people, including such august organisations as The Economist magazine in its article BSA or BS?.

"The association's figures rely on sample data that may not be representative , assumptions about the average amount of software on PCs and, for some countries, guesses rather than hard data," the article reads.

"Moreover, the figures are presented in an exaggerated way by the BSA and IDC, a research firm that conducts the study. They dubiously presume that each piece of software pirated equals a direct loss of revenue to software firms."

....

Full article here
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/comment/22 ... ot-reality

[iam802]

And just to add on, Economist ran an article "Dodgy software piracy data" in 2005

http://www.economist.com/business/displ ... id=3993427