Seminar 2 Review

Now that the 2nd Seminar for MB362 is over, I can gladly say that it was as interesting and informative as the first one.

"The Impact of Fixed Mobile Convergence Technology on Market Entry". This was the case given to the class for the case analysis for this week. It was a case study done by the Professor himself, covering a brief history of the telecommunication industry in Singapore and the market situation that existed when StarHub was about to enter Singapore's market. It was interesting to read what all factors actually influenced StarHub's strategy when it was planning to enter the market. The case focused on the impact of the introduction of FMC (Fixed and Mobile Convergence) services on the market and the companies that did business in the market at that time.

We also covered the technology behind the Internet and the World Wide Web. I already had some idea about the history of the Internet and how it came to be available to the public from another course, but it was the first time I got to know about E-mail and Usenet.

We then moved onto the development and implementation of the hypertext language and to its evolution into HTML, XML and finally xHTML today. It is amazing to see how the idea of Mr. Vannevar Bush about a 'futuristic' device called Memex. He described the device as a mechanical desk linked to an extensive archive of information which will be able to automatically follow references from any given page to the specific page referenced and display it. This was way back in 1945. It is believed that this idea inspired the invention of the hypertext system.

Next we discussed briefly why it was important to improve upon the protocols (TCP/IP) that controlled the data over the internet. The protocol should be able to transfer data more efficiently so as to provide a smooth channel between the web applications and the access technologies like Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network), Wireless, DSL etc. We went on to discuss the IP (Internet Protocol) v4 and v6, its capabilities and advantages over the previous versions.

I had virtually no knowledge about the protocols used in wireless services before this seminar. During the seminar, we got to know a little bit about the 802.11 protocols and the speeds the new protocols will be able to achieve. We also researched online a bit about IEEE and how it sets the standards for these protocols.

We also got to try our hands on coding HTML for a while. I was glad to find out that I still remembered a lot from the time when I had learnt HTML back in school. I am looking forward to do some coding and refresh my memory.

During the later half of the class, we also looked at 3 blogs which featured my blog as well. I hope to keep improving it and at the same time learn more and more about the topics discussed in the subject.

Just to make this post a little more interesting I dug up some interesting information.

Media accreditation for bloggers in US

It seems Bloggers, for the first time, have obtained media accreditation to attend and report on a trial in the US Federal Court. They will be able to transmit the trial proceedings via an internet video feed. It seems this is the first time bloggers have been awarded press accreditation to such a trial.

The Venice Project - Free internet television!

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype, recently unveiled "Joost", a test version of an online television service that will be free to users. Talk about disruptive technology! It is expected to deliver a "near-TV" quality service. I am really curious to know how are they going to advertise this service on cable TV! Some say it will have to compete with video sharing sites like the popular YouTube. If Joost's quality is as good as it claims, I dont think there will be any reason for anybody to visit YouTube.

Fake or the real deal?

Seems the gadget site, Gizmodo.com got a tip about a smartphone by Google! Yes, you read it right. The people at Gizmodo along with many readers are skeptical about the the accuracy about this piece of information. I am not so sure either. But it sure makes you wonder what is going to happen if this phone is launched. I am sure Steve Jobs would be hoping this is a fake.

Here is a picture from the site. The phone is supposedly called "Google Switch"...

Source: Gizmodo

I hope you liked reading this post as much as I liked writing it. Later.