BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) made an announcement this Thursday that it has started Internet filtering on its smartphones in Indonesia. The Indonesian government had issued a deadline for RIM to begin blocking porn websites. RIM complied with it. This is the first time that such a move has been made in any country.

“RIM is now in the process of implementing an Internet content-filtering solution that addresses our carrier partners’ regulatory obligations in Indonesia” RIM said.

In response, Indonesian Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring—who has been at the forefront of the government’s efforts to clamp down on pornography—said on his Twitter account; “Thank God RIM has complied with Indonesian regulations. Pornography has been blocked. Please go ahead with business as usual in compliance with the law.”

In Pakistan since May 2010, BlackBerry users continue to face difficulties in web browsing and connectivity due to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) instructions to telecom companies which called for blocking access to blasphemous content following the now-lifted ban on Facebook.

After successful content restriction in Indonesia few questions arise:

1. Why can’t the same be done for Pakistan? What stops them?
   
2. When RIM can block porn, why can’t they block selected blasphemous content for Pakistan?
3. Is it because of lack of efforts from PTA and Pakistani mobile operators OR RIM intentionally does not wish to do so?

Also to note here is that RIM also has been under pressure in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to provide access to data on its secure networks. The company averted a ban on key BlackBerry services in both after the countries said regulatory requirements had been satisfied. The encryption is central to the company’s appeal to corporate customers, which say that secure communications are necessary. Across border, in India, the government has sought access to data on RIM’s secure networks, fearing that encryption makes them convenient for terrorists and RIM is in ongoing and positive talks with them.

We will close here and look forward to your opinion/comments on the matter.

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Among many of its problems, Research in Motion, maker of Blackberry phones, has been trying to find ways to work with India and Middle East governments. As reported in newspaper, a top executive of Research in Motion said Indian security agencies are making “rather astonishing” demands for increased powers to monitor email and other data traffic, raising serious privacy issues that threaten to harm the country’s reputation with foreign investors.

Robert Crow, vice president of industry and government relations for RIM, said India’s Home Ministry, which oversees domestic security, wants the ability to intercept in real time any communication on any Indian network—including BlackBerry’s highly secure corporate-email service—and get it in readable, plain-text format.

In response to that, Indian official Mr. Sibal said the government will address all “security issues” related to interception of data on secure networks. “The draft amendment of licenses to take care of security issues has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 24 for their comments and will be finalized soon after,” he said.

India is making major changes to how it manages telecom operators and security is one of the things it wants to manage tightly. India wants to monitor RIM’s corporate email and messenger services, fearing that the heavy encryption of BlackBerry phones makes it convenient for terrorists to use them without being monitored. However India says that its not after RIM only – its asking other companies for the same thing.

Mr. Sibal said RIM offered a solution in February to monitor its messenger services and that the telecom department is examining the proposal. The department has also given clearance to some companies to offer third-generation telecom services in certain areas, where they have given an undertaking to allow government agencies to monitor data on their networks.

Reliance Communications Ltd., Tata Teleservices Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. have given such undertakings, he added.

The expansive universe cultivated by Facebook demonstrates the changing trend in networking and social behavior exhibited by the internet populace. Left behind are the days when one would find pen pals in corners of the world; we now find friends through a web medium that not only gives a brief intro, but also provides some assurance in terms of common contacts.

If one is to review the history of Facebook, a common story with the release of the motion picture “The Social Network”, the interesting factor found common is the initial thinking that led to the planting of the roots for this giant. It was exclusivity; a club that only a few could get into, while everyone wanted to be in it. In fact, even Orkut employed a similar technique in its heyday, requiring an invitation from members to join.

However, opening up the club proved to be the best thing for Facebook, propelling it into the heights of the internet world, and of course, making a billionaire out of its founder.

Instead of emailing your friends and family and attaching pictures, you could simply share your life and even your daily routine with your world; all through one portal. As the popularity has climbed, more developers have taken to this one platform to share their wares, from games to markets. And this has meant that the time spent by an average user of the site has also increased dramatically, in some cases, alarmingly.

This is one of the reasons why many workplaces have restricted worker access to social networking sites from the office, with information security and confidentiality also playing vital roles.

The various researches done so far have shown diverging results on what would be the best solution for a more open and productive workplace. In fact, a recent Gartner report showed a decline in the use of email communication corresponding with an increase in social network mediums as primary contact platforms. The hypothesis by the report states that social platforms could become the solitary modes in the next 5 years for all forms of communication; email, notes, messages, photos, etc.

Taking into account the global trend, enterprises have to make decisions on how to utilize the social platform; incorporate or segregate. Some organizations have welcomed Facebook openly, relying on the strong member base to promote and market their brands and environment. Others have kept the gates closed.

This is an arena that has become the new battleground for software houses, with Yammer and Salesforce applying the early breaks to introduce enterprise-specific social portals.

The model utilized by these enterprise options is similar to Facebook’s historic model; allowing people of one domain network to connect. In such cases, an enterprise deploys a social platform for all its employees to utilize for all communication, at the office and beyond the doors of the workplace. For a large organization, this is one of the best and low-cost ways to have its people get to know each other, especially in light of the segmentation and segregation that most large entities employ for efficient working processes. Additionally, with Admin control remaining in the hands of the company, the chances of mischief can be minimized.

Convofy

Scrybe, an Adobe Systems Inc. & LMK Resources funded Tech company, (with roots in Pakistan) has become the new member of the social networking arena, launching Convofy.

Being the proud creators of a popular calendaring and personal productivity suite, the new product aims to revolutionize the social networking experience for enterprises. Key features that its founder Faizan Buzdar has been quick to highlight include:

Features:

• Microblogging & Status Updates - See your team’s updates in real-time and never miss what your co-workers are sharing. Your team comments on the posts you share, and you see all conversations in real-time. You can talk with your co-workers, not at them.
• Sharing Files & Images with Unlimited Storage – Upload and share images or documents with your co-workers or groups without a worry about storage limits. Quickly get your point across using annotations and context.
• Sharing Blogs, Articles, Web Links – Create a knowledgebase for your team simply by sharing links and capturing conversations on the signals within those articles. Sharing links is literally as easy as drag and drop.
• Sharing To-Dos & Milestones – Share to-do lists and milestones with your co-workers. Multiple people can interact with a task list, in real-time, so everyone in your team is on top of what is going on.
• Presence and Company Chat - Know who is online at your workplace and available for chat. You can start a private chat with one person or you can start a chat within a post so all relevant teammates know what’s going on.
• Motivational Analytics – The size of the presence bubble tells how actively your co-workers are contributing in to the system. Each post shows who you are most likely to chat with. Your contacts and groups are organized based on your interaction with them.
• Employee Profiles – Find relevant information about co-workers and discover domain experts across your organization.
• Mobile App – Convofy’s mobile web app is available for any modern device including the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc. Stay connected with what is going on at work, even when you are not there.
• Private and Secure – Your security is Convofy’s top priority. Work in a private and secure environment in the cloud.
• Groups – Create private groups for teams, projects and topics and invite relevant coworkers.
• Unlimited Storage – Share away with unlimited storage on Convofy.
• Unlimited Users – Your entire company can join your private network. Only a work email address is needed.
• Administrative Tools – Claim the data in your company network. Manage and moderate content with advanced administrative tools.
• Guest Users – Work with people outside your network, such as clients and contractors by inviting them to groups.
• Security Controls – Convofy is safe and secure. Customize password and usage policies. Restrict usage to an IP ranges, or restrict guest domains.
• Network Wide Keyword Search – Search the entire network for keywords in one click.
• Priority Support – Access to our enhanced support option for any queries from your company.

User experience seems to be the vital aspect considered during the design of Convofy, and the only way to get the complete feel for it would be to try it out. The viral impact of the product has already had several competitors sign up to review the platform, while also enticing large enterprises to join and give their workforce a vital connection tool.

Just like all of us would like our mobiles to be the all-in-one device, Convofy aims to do the same with the office environment. Still early days to predict the success factor, but things are appearing green at the moment.

Take a look for yourself and share the experience: http://www.convofy.com

Have a look at following preview video:

We usually don’t cover global tech stories, but this is huge, so we thought our readers might get interested in reading this.

Well, the headline might look crazy to you, but the fact is that Paul Ceglia, initial partner of Mark Zuckerberg (the founder and CEO of facebook), is claiming to have 50 percent financial rights over Facebook, based on his initial investment of USD 1,000 – that he made back in 2003.

This way, Paul Ceglia is potentially the luckiest investor in the history of tech world. He, may get as many shares in Facebook as Zuckerbeg has – based on his 1,000 dollars investment that he made in facebook in early days.

Paul says that he has the copy of contract with at least one dozen emails, which facebook says are fake, to prove that his initial investment is legit and he is rightful owner of facebook shares (exactly equal to Zuckerberg’s) valuing around 10 billion dollars.

It all started back in 2003 when Zuckerberg shared his idea of year book (later called as facebook) with Paul and asked him for fund injection, which Paul agreed and paid 1,000 dollars to Zuckerberg against 50 percent stakes in the project.

After several months of this initial investment by Paul, Zuckerberg was able to launch facebook in early 2004, which turned out to be a successful project (though the access to website was limited to Harvard University students only).

Later on, in summer 2004, Zuckerberg seemingly lied to Paul and said that project didn’t go through well and he’s thinking of taking the website off-air. He offered Paul the the refund of his investment, which Paul claims Zuckerberg never made.

Currently the case is in court, and may turn out to be one of the biggest tech stories of history.

And just don’t consider it another ordinary lawsuit, as the tech analysts are taking this incident very seriously, plus a fact that the law firm behind Paul Ceglia, DLA Piper, is a major international law firm that primarily represents technology companies. It is said that DLA Piper takes only those cases which it believes have some value and credibility in them.

Just to add here, in past, facebook had to pay 65 million dollars to Winklevoss brothers (who were without any document proof) in a settlement case when both the brothers had accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea of launching facebook.

You can read complete emails (between Zuckerberg and Paul) and more details on Business Insider and a webcast discussion on TechCrunch.

PTCL has signed an agreement with Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, which will enable Bahauddin Zakariya University students, staff, faculty and university administration to avail PTCL’s EVO services at discounted prices.

According to the agreement, Bahauddin Zakariya University students / officials can get EVO devices at 50 percent discount rate, i.e. Rs. 2,000 instead of regular Rs. 4,000 first up charges.

Similarly, monthly EVO charges will be deducted at Rs. 1,250 instead of regular Rs. 2,000 charges per month.

PTCL EVO has signed similar agreement with various other organizations, including universities, medical colleges and government institutions.

Students of other national universities can also push their administration to sign similar agreement with PTCL, so that such discounts are made available for them as well.

Via PTCL Workers

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Qubee has introduced prepay wireless broadband, on pay-as-you-go model that will let customers to control their Internet spend.

There are four different packages with validity of 3, 7, 15 or 30 days. All packages come with limited data volume. Check details below:

Qubee Prepaid Internet packages

How to use:

You need to have Qubee Shuttle, to start using these packages. Once you have the shuttle, or Qubee USB Dongle, you can recharge your account with scratch cards and start surfing the internet.

Note:

• You need to have Qubee Shuttle to start using up-mentioned packages
• For first timers, there’s a one time activation cost of Rs. 1000 and a refundable security deposit of Rs. 1000, which you can refund by returning the device.
• The first load of Rs. 500 is mandatory after which you’re free to load as little or as much needed.
• These packages are capped by Volume or the Validity. Your package will expire if either of these caps are reached.
• The remaining balance from your previous card will be carried forward on your
  next recharge.
• Qubee Scratch Cards are available at all Qubee Stores.
• You can’t pay for postpaid packages, or old packages through these scratch cards.
• Old package holders can convert to prepaid packages, call helpline for details.

Official Press Release on this:

“Youngsters & Students will benefit the most from the facility of hi-speed internet at very reasonable costs which will suitably fit in their budgets as Qubee introduces True Prepay Broadband first-time ever in Pakistan”, this was stated by the chief marketing officer of Qubee Mr. Hashim Sheikh while launching Qubee’s Prepay Broadband service.

He said that Qubee maintains its domination in introducing innovations one after another as it is leading all its contemporaries from the front after inducting the 1^st real Prepay Broadband service in its portfolio.

While highlighting the exclusive features of Qubee Prepay Broadband, Hashim Sheikh said the prepay package is primarily focused towards people with limited cash flows, who want to be in total control of their spending.

Qubee Prepay Broadband is providing the consumers with an exclusive advantage of balance carry over, which allows users to carry forward existing balance of their accounts that might be present upon card expiry. For example if a user is unable to use the entire stored value of their card and the scratch card expires, then the remaining value will be carried forward once the user recharges his/her account with the next card. In this way, not a single penny of the consumer will be wasted and he/she will get the full reward of his/her money-spent.

Qubee Prepay Broadband ends the trend of making long-term contracts between consumers & the service provider as the customers will only pay for what they use.

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PTCL is working on a project, after which, it will be able offer broadband internet of 50 Mpbs, said a statement issued by the company.

An industry first, Pakistan’s PTCL will be using VDSL2 Bonding technology to provide existing digital subscriber line (DSL) customers with speeds up to 50 Mbps.

The project leverages Alcatel-Lucent’s VDSL2 Bonding expertise and should be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2011.

VDSL2 Bonding takes two copper-based VDSL2 lines per subscriber and aggregates them – almost doubling the bandwidths available to existing customers, or expanding high-speed broadband access to areas that are underserved today. Using VDSL2 Bonding, service providers can extend the life of their existing copper infrastructure – supporting the delivery of bandwidth-intensive services such as triple-play voice, data and IPTV.

According to a recent study from market research firm IHS iSuppli, simultaneous access to applications such as peer-to-peer file sharing, online gaming, streaming audio, VoIP and IPTV will soon require bandwidths between 50 and 100Mbps. This fits exactly with VDSL2’s capabilities, especially when combined with innovations such as Bonding and Vectoring.

Commenting on this achievement President and CEO PTCL Walid Irshaid has stated

“PTCL is the first service provider worldwide to deploy a commercial VDSL2 Bonding solution that aims at doubling the bandwidths provided to its existing customers. We are thus setting the trend in international telecoms, and are taking the broadband experience in Pakistan to the next level.

Alcatel-Lucent’s VDSL2 Bonding technology and comprehensive services and network integration expertise is helping us to keep pace with the increasing bandwidth requirements of our customers, while capitalizing on the existing copper infrastructure. This will enable us to quickly deliver high-quality, high-speed and high-availability business and residential services – even in areas where it was not possible before.”

Alcatel-Lucent is providing PTCL with its Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) IP access platform – which is the first platform to commercially support VDSL2 Bonding. Alcatel-Lucent will also supply Bonding-ready customer premises equipment (CPE). Alcatel-Lucent serves as the project’s master network integrator, and is providing a range of professional services – including project management, installation and commissioning, integration and technical support.

“We understand that service providers need the right tools to bridge the gap until fiber deployments have become ubiquitous. VDSL2 Bonding is an ideal approach: service providers like PTCL can almost double the speeds supported by their DSL infrastructure or expand their network’s reach. This makes it a fast and cost-effective approach to bridging the digital divide,” said Aadil Rauf CEO Alcatel-Lucent Pakistan Ltd.

“This commercial VDSL2 Bonding project with PTCL marks the beginning of VDSL2 Bonding deployments outside of the US – where the technology is typically used to expand the reach of the copper network.”

Alcatel-Lucent is the driving force behind the world’s most advanced VDSL2 roll-outs, with customers such as Belgacom, STC, Swisscom and Telekom Austria. Our VDSL2 solution has also been deployed by competitive operators, including M-net (Germany) and South Yorkshire Digital Region (UK).

wi-tribe has introduced enterprise packages with higher data limits during business hours (9 AM to 60 PM). These enterprise packages are aimed at business and high end users with rich data upload/download need.

You can choose between two packages of 1.5 Mbps and 1 Mpbs speed with 100 GB and 50 GB data limits respectively.

Introduction of enterprise packages from wi-tribe shows that the company realizes the high bandwidth needs of the consumer/businesses. wi-tribe already offers endless package (30 GB Limit) for the consumers.

Tariff:

How to get wi-tribe connection:

Visit your nearest wi-tribe outlet or call 111-187-423

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Knowing the fact that Government of Pakistan is trying hard to introduce 3G in the country, we thought it would be a good idea to compare 3G Mobile Broadband with hardwired high speed Internet service or what you call it DSL.

So, with the assumption that you have a choice between some sort of a hardwired Internet service, DSL or cable, and mobile broadband, either 3G or 4G (after it is introduced), and also that you don’t want to take on the expense of having both, lets’ make a brief comparison of the two types of Internet connections and examine their pros and cons.

DSL offers these advantages:

• If your computer and modem are powered on, you’re always connected. Yes, connections can be lost occasionally, but cable and DSL are very nearly bulletproof and constantly improving.
• Download speeds are fast. Fixed line Internet connections are approaching and exceeding 10 MB in some instances, but even basic connections will give you 1-2 MB per second.
• Costs would be lower than the 3G or 4G connections.
• DSL and cable connections may come packaged with telephone and television services. You receive the proverbial “quantity discount” along with the convenience of needing to pay only one bill.
• The amount of data you can access is essentially unlimited, at least for now.

The disadvantages of DSL and cable fixed line broadband are:

• It is impossible for providers of fixed line broadband to test every operating system, brand of computer and the variations of configurations for different combinations of hardware and software. This means that sometimes it is very frustrating for someone, even someone with better than average computer skills, to establish and maintain their Internet connection. Likewise, it is sometimes problematic for even the most skilled tech support people to diagnose every possible problem.
• The locations where the Internet can be accessed are limited to computers physically connected to the modem or within that modem’s wireless range.

3G and 4G Internet connections offer some benefits:

• They make it easy for someone who is often in different locations to carry their Internet access with them. The USB modem’s weigh only ounces and can easily fit in the pocket, purse or briefcase.
• They are easier to set up than fixed line. All the configuration information is automatically installed when the USB modem is plugged in and activated.
• The need for land line telephone and cable TV service could potentially be entirely eliminated.

Disadvantages of 3G and 4G

The disadvantages of mobile broadband connections are currently considerable, but technology of this type can change so rapidly that there is every reason to expect that these will soon be gone.

• 3G or 4G is going to be more expensive than fixed line broadband.
• Demand currently exceeds the supply, worldwide. Providers may finding their networks and bandwidths stretched so thin that unlimited data plans would be hard to get.
• Given, the limited data plan, it is somewhat difficult to accurately estimate your usage consistently, and exceeding your data limit can quickly get costly.

Ultimately, the decision between fixed line and mobile broadband internet connections is up to the individual. However, the key factor will remain the price for 3G or 4G.

There is currently no one-size-fits-all solution, and what suits your requirements today could change tomorrow, and changes in technology will constantly offer new options and change the game again.

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