Malaysia Explorer

By Edwin Yapp

Plug into the latest on the Internet, mobile and multimedia

Macs: No longer last bastion of invulnerability

Thursday, October 22 2009 10:53 AM

Last week, a friend of mine pointed me to an online promotion for some software for the MacBook that I own. It was a suite of 12 security-related programs designed specifically to protect the Mac OS.

I duly went to the site to check out the promotion as I was shopping around for some security software to protect..... Read more ť

Tags: Security, Graham Cluley, social engineering, Malware, Apple Inc., Apple Macintosh, Apple Mac OS, Software, operating system, Web

Do you really need an iPhone?

Thursday, October 01 2009 10:58 AM

It was a slow last week, largely due to the Hari Raya holidays here. So with a few public holidays in hand, I decided to spend the week relaxing and catching up with friends and family over long lunches and dinners.

In between those lunches and dinners, I also spent a significant amount of time playing with my new toy,..... Read more ť

Tags: 3G, Multimedia, Malaysia, Apple Safari, multimedia messaging, Apple Inc., Smart Phone, Apple iPhone, phone, marketing

Following through novel initiatives is key

Wednesday, September 09 2009 02:53 PM

Ramadan, or the Muslim fasting month, is usually a busy time for journalists as invites begin to pour in for Buka Puasa or breaking fasts feasts in the evenings. Over the years, companies not only organized these dinners just for feasting purposes, but also as an incentive to get journalists to cover events.

As an eager rookie reporter back then, I..... Read more ť

Tags: Information And Communication Technology, Portal, Small And Medium Enterprise, Showcase, Malaysia, B2B, MDeC, sales, payment, CEO

Is censorship the answer?

Friday, August 21 2009 02:40 PM

Mention the "c" word in Malaysia these days and all hell breaks loose. Censorship is indeed a highly charged word today, given that the country has gone through another iteration of what appears to be an attempt to censor the Internet.

Two weeks ago, news reports emerged that Malaysia was at the Read more ť

Tags: Censorship, Cybersecurity, Malaysia, child pornography, conspiracy theory, identity theft, Net, Internet, Government, hacking

Internet security is everyone's business

Sunday, August 09 2009 09:41 PM

About a month ago, a friend of mine revealed that his bank account had been compromised and that an unknown person or persons had conducted a foreign telegraphic transfer to wire a significant amount of cash he had deposited in one of the country's leading banks into a foreign account.

My heart went out to him as he had no inkling..... Read more ť

Tags: Cybersecurity, Security, Malware, Internet User, SSL, Internet Security, Internet, researcher, bank, computer

Bahasa or English? One step forward, two steps back?

Wednesday, July 22 2009 04:56 PM

A couple of weeks ago, the Malaysian government ignited a controversy when it reversed a five-year-old government policy that sought to teach Science and Math in the English language at primary and secondary schools, and reverted back to teaching the two subjects in the national language, Bahasa Malaysia.

While this may not be strictly a posting on the technology scene..... Read more ť

Tags: Policy, Language, Student, Subject, Malaysia, blog posting, English, Science, Math, ETeMS

The blog that refused to be written

Thursday, July 09 2009 05:23 PM

Yes, I finally did it. I've joined the ranks of millions who have started blogging since the phenomenon hit the Internet as far back as 1999. Friends have always assumed that since my chosen profession involved writing, I would naturally, well, blog. But that wasn't the case.

For many years since becoming a journalist in 2001, I've shied away from..... Read more ť

Tags: Wi-Fi, Malaysia, Blogging, Internet, Apple iPhone, journalist, blog, Facebook, Web 2.0, Web

E-media contest for Asean

Monday, February 02 2009 10:39 PM

SEACEM, ChangeFusion and Freevoice are now accepting applications for "ASEAN E-Media Startups Competition".

The goal is to identify talented e-media startups in Asean that bring independent news and views with financial sustainability in order to enhance freedom of expression, openness and political and economic liberty in the region.

The finalists will be invited to the capacity-building workshop to sharpen their business..... Read more ť

Tags: Sustainability, Podcasting, financial sustainability, online application, video podcasting, ethics, equity, scalability, financial, video

Cyber court is not the solution

Tuesday, January 20 2009 11:28 PM

Malaysia is mulling the creation of a cyber court to deal with the problem of bloggers who post content that may be deemed seditious.

Prosecuting bloggers is not the solution. If they start arresting and convicting bloggers who post "undesirable" content, pretty soon those who want to do so will simply go anonymous. What can the cyber court..... Read more ť

Tags: Blogger, Malaysia, Internet

Can news be sold iTunes style?

Friday, January 16 2009 07:23 PM

David Carr of the NYT provided an interesting suggestion, that perhaps news can be sold the way music is sold--to an iPod-like device.

Rich Gordon of Poynter begs to differ and highlights one very important point: Unlike music, news stories don't get replayed.

Says Gordon: "Even if you imagine a future in which the Kindle (or some..... Read more ť

Tags: News, Traffic, Apple iTunes, Music, Apple iPod, radio, Business Model Possibility, online advertising, industry, e-business

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About the blogger

Edwin Yapp

An engineer by training, Edwin first cut his teeth as a cellular radio frequency optimization engineer in one of Malaysia's largest telcos. After more than five years, he hung up his radio engineering boots to try his hand at technology reporting at The Star, Malaysia's leading English daily, where he won several awards for Best Online Technology reporting. He left to start his own editorial consultancy and is now a freelance journalist for several publications, including ZDNet Asia. A self-confessed gadget geek, Edwin hopes his blog contributions will stir up deeper discussions within the Malaysian technology scene.