In the race to win over the country’s ever-growing population of Netizens, Yahoo! has launched a localized version of its social networking platform. 



Speaking during a media conference in Jakarta on Thursday, Budi Putra, country editor for Yahoo! Indonesia, said the company’s new microblogging site, Yahoo! Mim, was expected to add to the current hype surrounding social networking because many Indonesians “apparently like to share information.” 



The country’s current obsession with online networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook, Budi added, is only going to get bigger. “It’s safe to say that social networking is not a seasonal trend,” he said. 



Launched last year in English, Spanish and Portuguese under the name Yahoo! Meme, the service had come under fire for its similarities to the popular Twitter and Tumblr Web sites. 



“So far, Yahoo! Mim has the easiest interface,” Budi said, adding that its blog allowed up to 2,000 characters and that videos from YouTube could easily be posted by copying and pasting the URL. 



He said that while it was similar to other services that used a “follow” system among users, Mim’s main feature was “repost,” which users could use to post other people’s blogged material to their own feeds, which would then be ranked by popularity each day. 



Peter Joblin, senior communications manager for Yahoo! Southeast Asia, said that Indonesia was No. 1 in terms of Internet users in the region. “We see an opportunity to engage with the local community through our social networking platform,” he said. 



He said Yahoo’s decision to choose Indonesian for the service was a key part the company’s plan to target the Asian market. 



The number of Web users across the country has steadily increased in recent years as access to the Internet has become more widespread. By the end of 2009, there were more than 14 million Facebook users in Indonesia, an increase of 1,500 percent in just one year, making the country one of the biggest markets for the Web site in the world. 



With the take-up of online media not showing any signs of slowing down, Budi said he hoped that more people would use the Internet as an easy and fun way to exchange information. 



“There is almost no difficulty at all in Yahoo! Mim,” he said. 

source:  http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/national/web-giant-yahoo-makes-new-pitch-for-indonesias-growing-internet-market/368435

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 03/25/2010 7:29 PM

The government has set a 2018 deadline for full implementation of digital TV broadcast, which is said to save specter of frequency by 50 percent in addition to far better quality of picture and sound than the existing analogue system.



Anang Ahmad Latif, head of television technology facilities sub-directorate at the Information Ministry, said Thursday both the government and TV operators were preparing regulations and infrastructure for the new era of TV broadcast.



“We have held a series of trials in several major cities like Jakarta and Bandung. This year we will move to Batam,” Anang told a gathering to familiarize digital broadcast in Yogyakarta.



He said most TV stations had been well prepared for the new system and some of them would go digital by the end of the year or early next year.

The long grace period given by the government will allow broadcasting companies to use up their investment in analogue TV industry, Anang was quoted by kompas.com.

Source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/25/digital-tv-broadcast-takes-effect-2018.html 

Hendarsyah Tarmizi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The theme of this year’s observance of World Telecommunications Day is empowering people to cross the digital divide.

The topic underlines the importance of access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to catapult small and medium-sized companies in developing countries into the heart of regional, national and global networks.

The concept, which is aimed at promoting the use of internet and e-commerce in the developing countries, is not new at all. The topic, in fact, was used as the theme of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Brunei late in 2000. The subject was also taken as the main topic when leaders of the G-8 industrialized nations met in Okinawa, Japan in the middle of the year.

Japan, as one of the major players in the world’s economy, pledged about US$15 billion to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor countries.

Japan’s representatives visited Indonesia following the summit meeting to discuss a number of programs which could benefit from the Japanese assistance. However, there was not much progress in the program. It is understandable if the program did not run smoothly. Indonesia and developed countries like Japan are not only ""divided"" in digital aspects but also in priorities in developing their ICTs.

The people in the United States or in Tokyo have a different interpretation about the digital divide with those in the developing world such as Indonesia.

Internet as the main backbone of the current information and communications technology has become a basic need for most of the people in developed nations, while in Indonesia, even in big cities, the Internet is still a luxury.

For Indonesia, crossing the ""telephone divide"" between developed and least developed areas might be the most appropriate theme in celebrating this year’s World Telecommunications Day.

The divide in the use of telephones in the country is vast. On Java island, telephone penetration has reached many rural areas and villagers can at least use a public phone in nearby markets when they need to talk to their relatives in other parts of the country.

Outside of Java, the situation quite different. Many people have never used a telephone in their entire life, let alone owned one. In an emergency, most would have to travel very far to find a public telephone.

The number of fixed telephone lines in Indonesia is about 6.7 million lines. The ratio between the number of telephone lines with the country’s total population (density) is about three percent. It means that for every group of 100 people there are three telephones available. Compared to other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia lags far behind. In Malaysia, the density rate is about 30 percent and in Singapore it is about 58 percent, according to International Telecommunication Union (ITO).

The government had projected an increase in the number of telephone lines to 11 million lines by the year 2000 but the target could not be achieved following the suspension of several telecommunications projects following the onset of the economic crisis in 1997.

The government has engaged in a number of massive programs to boost the density of the fixed telephone lines in the country such as by inviting private companies to jointly develop telecommunications infrastructure under a joint operation scheme (KSO).

With such cooperation, private companies are allowed to build and operate new telephone lines under a revenue sharing scheme. The partnership, which was introduced in 1999, lasts for 15 years. It has been hailed as the most feasible approach to help cross the telephone divide in the country. Without the help of private investors, it will be difficult to meet the telephone installation target.

Five companies have joined the joint operation scheme. They include PT Pramindo Ikat Nusantara for the whole of Sumatra, PT AriaWest International for West Java, PT Mitra Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia for Central Java and Yogyakarta, PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi for all of Kalimantan and PT Bukaka SingTel International for all of eastern Indonesia, including Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

However, the financial crisis which jeopardized most of the country’s business activities, also affected the KSO operations. Many of them failed to meet the installation target, which was then revised downward to ensure the continuation of the partnership.

But Telkom was not really happy with the revision. This has partly incited conflicts with some of the KSO partners. The government’s decision to speed up the termination of the exclusive rights given to Telkom has also worsened their relations.

According to the new policy, the government will lift Telkom’s monopoly in local and domestic long distance call services in 2002 and 2003 respectively, ahead of the original schedules of 2010 and 2005 respectively.

While Indosat’s monopoly in the international telephone call service, which it shared with subsidiary PT Satelindo until 2004, will be nullified one year earlier in 2003.

With the new policy, many KSO operators see the joint operation scheme no longer relevant. This is why many operators have decided to pull out of the partnership.

According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, Telkom has agreed to buy out all the assets of the five KSO partners except that of PT Bukaka Singtel.

The buyout of the KSO operators’ assets obviously indicates the failure of Telkom’s network expansion program. It means that it should bear all the financial burden to carry out the development of new telephone lines in the future. The big question here ""Is this company capable of doing the job alone?"". The answer is, of course, no. Telkom should seek other investors or let other companies enter the market, which is quite possible when the new policy is fully implemented between 2002 and 2003.

Inviting strategic partners? This will also be difficult for Telkom. Any sales of Telkom’s shares to strategic investors will receive strong resistance from workers, who recently launched a nationwide protest against the sale of the company’s assets in Central Java to Indosat.

With such a gloomy picture, it will certainly be a long while before Indonesia can manage to bridge its telephone divide, let alone the digital divide, as the United Nations and the developed countries refer to it.

Source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/05/17/still-long-way-go-bridge-digital-divide.html 

Published on April 29, 2010

Indonesia is projected to represent one of the best Asian IT market growth prospects over our fiveyear forecast period. IT spending is forecast to increase to US$4.0bn in 2010, up from US$3.5bn last year. Some fundamental drivers, including low computer penetration and growing affordability, should ensure that the market remains firmly in positive growth territory. 

The Indonesian IT market should grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 15% over 2010-2014, following a slowdown in 2009 when demand was affected by the global economic crisis. Some manufacturing organisations deferred IT procurements, but there was continued spending in the financial sector, which had previously accounted for as much as 30% of total spending. By 2014, Indonesia’s hardware-dominated IT market is projected to reach a value of US$6.9bn. With information and communication technology (ICT) penetration of only around 20% and development restricted to richer areas such as Java, the market has much latent growth potential. However, the country’s uneven development and resultant digital divide are a major barrier to faster growth within this potentially huge IT market. 

Industry Developments

In 2009, a ministerial decree directed that local government offices across Indonesia must adopt opensource software (OSS) by 2011. The mayor of Surabaya revealed in July 2009 that his city had launched a pilot project for OSS applications. According to the mayor, all Surabaya municipal offices were now using the software and civil servants had been given relevant training. The local government hoped that the municipality could save 20-25% of its budget. 

E-government is expected to emerge as an area of growing opportunity for IT vendors over the next couple of years. Currently, several ministries at both federal and province level are planning to implement projects. In 2008, a number of projects were launched, including an e-procurement system by the State Ministry for State Enterprise, which covered 25 state-owned enterprises, including oil and gas company Pertamina and electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara. 

The government is also rolling out new e-learning initiatives, which could see education’s share of local IT spending rise from its estimated level of around 4%. The current ratio of PCs to students in public schools is around 1:3,200 and the government wants to increase this to 1:20. As there are 53mn students in Indonesia’s schools system, this would require at least 2.5mn computers. 

Competitive Landscape

PC market leader Acer continued to expand its presence in 2009 across both consumer and business segments of the Indonesian PC market with more product releases. However, HP has pledged to strike back and has set a target of reclaiming top spot in the Indonesian market from Acer at some point in H110. HP, estimating the market share gap between itself and Acer at around 10%, said it was optimistic that it could be leading Indonesia’s PC market early in 2010 as its products achieved greater penetration. In 2010, the focus of leading PC vendors such as HP, Acer and Lenovo is expected to be increasingly on lighter and slimmer notebooks that offer consumers more features than netbooks. In November 2009, Acer launched its Ferrari One model, which has an 11.6-inch screen and a dual processor, while HP’s new HP Envy line has a 13.1-inch screen as well as a dual processor. Both are lighter than a mainstream notebook but have more processing power than most netbooks. 

IT service vendors have reported a growing demand in the telecoms, manufacturing and banking sectors. Oracle has an agreement with local IT solutions provider PT Sigma Cipta Caraka to provide outsourcing services. Meanwhile, e-government is also being eyed by IT service vendors as a potential growth area. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said that it had targeted the government as a future growth driver in the Indonesian market. Currently, TCS’s 15 local clients are principally from sectors such as banking and financial services, telecoms and media. 

Hardware

we forecast 2010 Indonesian computer hardware spending of around US$2.8bn, up from US$2.5bn last year. Growth decelerated in 2009 but is forecast to return to double digits this year, with the market rising to a value of nearly US$4.7bn by 2014. Spending in 2009 surpassed initial expectations, due largely to notebook sales, which surged with the popularity of netbooks; notebook sales grew faster than desktops in H109. 

Hardware accounts for more than 70% of Indonesian IT spending. The real PC volume sales driver in 2009 was small form factor netbooks, which achieved triple-digit shipments growth and sold upwards of 400,000 units. The low prices and additional mobility were the main factors behind their success. Netbooks are popular as basic connectivity devices, and with internet penetration still below 10%, there is plenty of room for further growth. 

Software

Indonesia’s software sales are projected at US$475mn in 2010, up from an estimated US$410mn in 2009. In 2010, sales of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system has the potential to have an impact, although much will depend on consumer and business confidence. There should also be a boost from systems upgrades delayed from 2009. One market inhibitor is the continuing software piracy problem which, by the local government’s own figures, loses Indonesian software companies alone more than US$100mn a year. 

Over the forecast period, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software continues to be of most interest to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as currently only around 20% of Indonesian SMEs are estimated to make use of IT. 

IT Services

Indonesia’s IT services market is expected to be worth US$683mn in 2010, recording double-digit growth from US$601mn in 2009, based on our estimates. Currently, IT services account for only 17% of Indonesia’s hardware-centric IT market sales. Hardware deployment services remain the largest Indonesian IT services category, with approximately a 20% share. 

In 2009, the banking sector continued to provide opportunities for IT vendors, despite the fallout from the global financial crisis. Banks continued with transformation strategies driven by factors such as new technologies and services as well as regulatory compliance. However, most opportunities are currently in fundamental service areas such as system integration, support systems, training, professional services, outsourcing and internet services. 

E-Readiness

Low telephone line density, high charges and low PC penetration are all significant obstacles to higher internet penetration. However, the picture is not all bad, as there are signs of faster growth in user numbers and recent surveys have shown that, among a very small elite, there is fast adoption – by regional standards – of broadband and a willingness to pay for video conferencing, security and other additional features. The government is encouraging fixed wireless deployments, including WiMAX, to bring the internet to more remote areas. 

The government is also rolling out an internet-based National Education Network, which involves 1,000 network points in five clusters nationwide, designed to facilitate the use of the internet in schools. Despite some advances in e-education, constraints remain due to poor infrastructure and lack of public awareness in a country where only 20mn people own fixed-line telephones.

Indonesia Information Technology Report Q2 2010: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=0F169I61Y284827&prk=d82f2a2d1f7475f2b7a84d2a92124775

Source:http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=137482 

An impressive and imposing entranceway seems to stand guard as you approach the Antonio Blanco Museum located on a hill known as Campuan, in Ubud, Bali. Passing under this archway, the entrance road rises up steeply and there is a real sense of approaching something special but also a little reclusive.

Welcoming: The museum’s mansion house looms large on Campuan Hill. JP/Simon Gower

It is said the King of Ubud gave the artist Antonio Blanco this land to build his home and which today stands as something of a monument to this renowned artist.

This land in Ubud is also said to sit at the confluence of two sacred rivers and so in a variety of ways is seen as an auspicious and special place.

It soon becomes clear that this is a place of restfulness and beauty: Gardens are beautifully kept, lawns are clipped and manicured, and statues are adorned with umbrellas and flowers.

The grounds of the museum immediately reflect this space is respected and worshipped. Signs over the entrance door into the grounds state that “Through these portals pass the most beautiful people in Bali”.

Antonio Blanco was an artist of Spanish parentage born in Manila, The Philippines, in 1911. It is evident from the museum that the artist enjoyed a varied and truly international life. After his high school education in Manila, he went on to study art in New York and developed skills and a liking for figurative and portrait art.

While this sentiment was to prevail throughout his artistic life, his arrival in Bali in 1952 proved central to the rest of his life. He married a Balinese woman famed for her Balinese dancing, Ni Ronji. Her portraits kept in the museum add a very personal touch to the museum, almost making the visitor feel like being at home.

Perhaps first and foremost it is the home of Antonio Blanco. His spirit seems to linger throughout the mansion at the center of the place.

The mansion is large and ornate; perhaps a little too ornate and even gaudy for many a modern person’s tastes, but it is important as it acts as a gallery space for so many of Blanco’s paintings.

These are displayed in often highly decorated frames, some of which were also designed by the artist.

But it is in the artist’s studio to the side of the mansion that visitors get a real sense of the artist’s work.

Antonio Blanco passed away in 1999 but his spirit seems to linger on in his small but intimate studio, where numerous frames and paintings either line the walls or rest, stacked up against the walls. One feels like someone needs to finish the pieces or take up the brushes and use the paints left in the center of the room.

Today, visitors to the museum are invited to sit as the artist would have and have their photograph taken posing with artist’s palette and brush in hand. Although this sounds almost terribly touristy, it is done in a fun way and the attendants are warm and welcoming.

 This is, perhaps, one of the nicest aspects of this museum; although the mansion house is grandiose and imposing — practically demanding attention — there is still something of an intimacy and warmth about the place as a whole.

Antonio Blanco’s son Mario also became an artist, very much in his father’s tradition, and so his studio resides right next to that of his renowned father’s.

Antonio Blanco was one of many foreign artists to come to Bali and feel at home. His memory is, though, kept alive more powerfully than most with this museum that combines studios and a large mansion house.

The artist may have passed away more than a decade ago now and, to some extent, the times that he represents have passed; perhaps they were more stylish and genteel times. But this museum seems to look back on them with a fondness and warmth that is both simultaneously interesting to the mind and calming to the spirit.

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/05/06/a-quirky-museum-a-welcoming-home.html