The White Cauldron

The White Cauldron of South Bandung West Java

From Cilacap Central Java

Kebun Raya Batu Raden

Kebun Raya Batu Raden is a worth visiting tourism destination located in Banyumas District, Central Java. Since the first time it was officially launched for public visit, the location has been known as a mountainous tourism destination. Here you can see the wonderful scenery of the surrounding areas offering fresh air with approximately 18º - 25º Celsius in the average temperature. Taking a bird-eyes view from the peak of the location when the sun shines brightly, you can see the entire part of beautiful scenery of Purwokerto City, Nusakambangan Island, and some enchanted beaches in Cilacap coastal area. Batu Raden, 16,5 hectares in width of which 25 percent of the entire width, is opened for public investment (go public).

The name of Batu Raden itself stems from two Javanese words that are Batur (hill, land, friend, and assistant) and Raden (noble person). The combination of Batur and Raden then creates an interpretation that Batu Raden is a flat area possessing beautiful scenery.

Two folklores dealing with the origin of Batu Raden comes from Sheikh Maulana Maghribi and Kadipaten Kutaliman. According to Sheikh Maulana Maghribi, once Prince Rum from Turkey saw a mysterious light in the easternmost of Asia. Being eager to know what kind of light it was, he undertook an investigation to a place that now is known Batu Raden. In a short, after he reached the location, he found the source of the light that came from a Hindu hermit was leaning on a rose-apple tree.

Another story telling the origin of Batu Raden takes form in a romantic story involving Adipati Kutaliman, his consort, and his servant. There was a time that the consort fell in love with the servant. Knowing that relationship, both were alienated from royal family. No longer had they gone out from the royal family, the consort gave birth to a son in a riverbank located in the northern direction of Kutaliman District. The location where the consort gave birth now is known as Batu Raden.

Batu Raden is famous as a tourism destination where some other tourism destinations are available. You will discover some other interesting objects such as follows:

Botanical garden. Find multifarious flowers and other rare floras such as Havana flowers, Daun Dewa, Brimulia, Keladi Tikus, Antarium Lipstick, Paris Palm, and Widoro Laut. All these colourful flowers are available either for display or sold, hence you can buy them as souvenirs with reasonable prices.
Curug Gede. This site is located at Ketenger Village, approximately three kilometres from Batu Raden, where a beautiful waterfall exists there.

Pancuran Pitu. This site lies 2,5 km from Batu Raden – on the slope of Mount Slamet – and is a hot water spring - 60º - 70º Celsius in average.
Pancuran Telu. This site is officially launched on January 18th, 1987. The water from this site bears efficacy to heal some diseases that distinguishes the location from the others.
Wana Wisata. Lying two kilometres from Batu Raden, this location possesses enchanting green forest scenery and is the right place for camping.
Telaga Sunyi. A tranquil location wherein a pond with pure water is present there. This site is located about two kilometres eastern direction from Batu Raden.
Kaloka Widya Mandala Park. Invite your family here for the educational recreation. This location is a zoo where you can find various faunas inhabiting within. Moreover, here you can also visit a museum wherein numerous rare species bones are kept well.

Likewise, you may also experience cultural tourism like:

Grebeg Syura or Sedekah Bumi. This rite is commonly held on the ninth day of the first month of Islamic calendar. This rite is aimed at preventing bad deed and expelling evil spirits that may occur in this city.
Kenthongan (a bamboo tube).

Calung (a bamboo xylophone) and lengger. Calung is a musical instrument resembling a xylophone that is made of bamboo of which is played by striking on its body. Lengger is a traditional dance performed by two girls that is followed by musical tone from calung.
Banyumas traditional clothes. In Banyumas District, you can find two models of traditional clothes categorized based on the Banyumas people‘s social status, which are wong cilik (proletarian) and bangsawan (high class). Traditional clothes for proletarian take form in ancingan, bebed wala, pinjungan, iketan, and nempean, while high class‘s traditional clothes are usually called beskap – for male – and nyamping – for female.
Ebeg or Kuda Lumping. This one is the Javanese hobby-horse trance dance that is commonly performed by several male-dancers sitting astride on bamboo horses. This traditional dancer is usually followed by traditionally musical performance namely bendhe.
Sadranan. Visiting to a holy site, usually graveyard, then is preceded by kenduren – the Javanese ceremony for preventing the village from evil spirit.

You can find Batu Raden on the slope of Mount Slamet. This location is situated at an altitude of 640 meters. You can reach the location from the heart of Purwokerto City (14 km in distance), Banyumas District, Central Java Province. You can easily access the location by taking any public or private transport. It usually spends about 15 minutes, when the road is not crowded, from Purwokerto City.

You need to pay IDR 3.000/person. However, you have to pay additional entrance ticket for these conditions below :

- IDR 1.000 for those who take a motorcycle inside the location
- IDR 4.000 for those who take private or chartered cars, unless a minibus, inside the location
- IDR 5.500 for those who bring a minibus inside the location
- IDR 1.000 to visit a botanical garden inside the location
- IDR 1.000 to visit Curug Gede
- IDR 5.000 to visit Pancuran Pitu, Pancuran Telu, and Curug Gede
- IDR 2.500 to visit Kaloka Widya Mandala Park.


Your visit to Batu Raden will be more exciting as there are supporting facilities that are intentionally provided by the location‘s management. Those supporting facilities are:

- Swimming pool (IDR 1.500 of entrance ticket)
- Body-sliding pool (IDR 1.500 of entrance ticket)
- Sulphurous bathing pool (IDR 15.000 of entrance ticket)
- Water cycling (IDR 1.500 of entrance ticket)
- VIP class Hot water pool (IDR 3.000 of entrance ticket – 15 minutes in maximu
- The first class Hot water (IDR 2.000 of entrance ticket – 15 minutes in maximum)
- Merry-go-around arena (IDR 1.500 of entrance ticket)


The areas surrounding Batu Raden offer various choices for you who want to stay more days there. You can find lodgements, small hotels, and inns around the location. In the east of the location, you can, likewise, easily find hotels and inns. However, the center for numerous hospitality services are located in the west of the location, where you can easily find tour and travel agents, restaurants, public buildings, spas, bungalows, souvenir shops, and many more.

History of Bandung City

Pajajaran Era

In 1488, the area now named Bandung was the capital of the Kingdom of Padjajaran. But from ancient archeological finds, we know the city was home to Australopithecus, Java Man. These people lived on the banks of the Cikapundung in north Bandung, and on the shores of the Great Lake of Bandung. Flint artifacts can still be found in the Upper Dago area and the Geological Museum has displays and fragments of skeletal remains and artifacts.

The Sundanese were a pastoral people farming the fertile regions of Bandung. They developed a lively oral tradition which includes the still practiced Wayang Golek puppet theatre, and many musical forms. "There is a city called Bandung, comprising 25 to 30 houses," wrote Juliaen de Silva in 1614.

Ducth Colonial Era

The achievements of European adventurers to try their luck in the fertile and prosperous Bandung area, led eventually to 1786 when a road was built connecting Jakarta, Bogor, Cianjur and Bandung. This flow was increased when in 1809 Louis Napoleon, the ruler of the Netherlands, ordered Governor General H.W. Daendels, to increase defences in Java against English. The vision was a chain of military defense units and a supply road between Batavia and Cirebon. But this coastal area was marsh and swamp, and it was easier to construct the road further south, across the Priangan highlands.

The Groote Postweg (Great Post Road) was built 11 miles north of the then capital of Bandung. With his usual terseness, Daendels ordered the capital to be relocated to the road. Bupati Wiranatakusumah II chose a site south of the road on the western bank of the Cikapundung, near a pair of holy wells, Sumur Bandung, supposedly protected by the ancient goddess Nyi Kentring Manik. On this site he built his dalem (palace) and the alun-alun (city square). Following traditional orientations, Mesjid Agung (The Grand Mosque) was placed on the western side, and the public market on the east. His residence and Pendopo (meeting place) was on the south facing the mystical mountain of Tangkuban Perahu. Thus was The Flower City born.

Around the middle of the l9th Century, South American cinchona (quinine), Assam tea, and coffee was introduced to the highlands. By the end of the century Priangan was registered as the most prosperous plantation area of the province. In 1880 the rail line connecting Jakarta and Bandung was completed, and promised a 2 1/2 hour trip from the blistering capital in Jakarta to Bandung.

With this life changed in Bandung, hotels, cafes, shops sprouted up to serve the planters who either came down from their highland plantations or up from the capital to frolic in Bandung. The Concordia Society was formed and with its large ballroom was the social magnet for weekend activities in the city. The Preanger Hotel and the Savoy Homann were the hotels of choice. The Braga became the promenade, lined with exclusive Europeans shops.

With the railroad, light industry flourished. Once raw plantation crops were sent directly to Jakarta for shipment to Europe, now primary processing could be done efficiently in Bandung. The Chinese who had never lived in Bandung in any number came to help run the facilities and vendor machines and services to the new industries. Chinatown dates from this period.

In the first years of the present century, Pax Neerlandica was proclaimed, resulting in the passing of military government to a civilian one. With this came the policy of decentralization to lighten the administrative burden of the central government. And so Bandung became a municipality in 1906.

This turn of events left a great impact on the city. City Hall was built at the north end of Braga to accommodate the new government, separate from the original native system. This was soon followed by a larger scale development when the military headquarters was moved from Batavia to Bandung around 1920. The chosen site was east of City Hall, and consisted of a residence for the Commander in Chief, offices, barracks and military housing.

By the early 20's the need for skilled professionals drove the establishment of the technical high school that was sponsored by the citizens of Bandung. At the same time the plan to move the capital of the Netherlands Indies from Batavia to Bandung was already mature, the city was to be extended to the north. The capital district was placed in the northeast, an area that had formerly been rice fields, and a grand avenue was planned to run for about 2.5 kilometers facing the fabled Tangkuban Perahu volcano with Gedung Sate at the south end, and a colossal monument at the other. on both sides of this grand boulevard buildings would house the various offices of the massive colonial government.

Along the east bank of the Cikapundung River amidst natural scenery was the campus of the Technische Hoogeschool, dormitories and staff housing. The old campus buildings and its original landscaping reflect the genius of its architect Henri Maclain Pont. The southwestern section was reserved for the municipal hospital and the Pasteur Institute, in the neighborhood of the old quinine factory. These developments were carefully planned down to the architectural and maintenance details. These years shortly before World War II were the golden ones in Bandung and those alluded to today as Bandung Tempoe Doeloe.

Post-Independence Era

After Indonesian independence, Bandung was named as the provincial capital of West Java (Jawa Barat). Bandung was the site of the Bandung Conference which met April 18-April 24, 1955 with the aim of promoting economic and cultural cooperation among the African and Asian countries, and to counter the threat of colonialism or neocolonialism by the United States, the Soviet Union, or other imperialistic nations.

The Legend of Sangkuriang

 The legend of Bandung begins here...
(According to the story of Sundanese Folk)

From passion, desire, love, and angry of Sangkuriang, The Eruption of Mountain Tangkuban Parahu, until now become a city...

Here is the short story...

There is a kingdom in Priangan Land. Live a happy family, a father in form of dog (his name is Tumang), a mother (her name is Dayang Sumbi), and a child call Sangkuriang. Tumang is demigod possessing magic powers.

One day, Dayang Sumbi asked her son to go hunting in the nearest jungle and she wanted some deer liver or venison. So Sangkuriang went hunting with his lovely dog, Tumang, to please his mother. After hunting all day with empty-handed, Sangkuriang began desperate and worried. Think shortly, Sangkuriang took his arrow and shot his dog. Then he took the dog liver or flesh and carried home.

He gave dog liver or flesh to his mother. Soon Dayang Sumbi fine out that Sangkuriang lied to her. She knew Sangkuriang had killed Tumang. So, She angry and hit Sangkuriang head. Sangkuriang got wounded and scar. Sangkuriang cast away from their home.

Years go bye, Sangkuriang had travel many places and on one day, he arrived at a village which is used to be his home. He met a beautiful woman whom actually his mother and felt in love with her.

Their love grew naturally and one day, when they were discussing their wedding plans, Dayang Sumbi suddenly realised that the profile of Sangkuriang's head matched that of her only son's who had left twenty years earlier. How could she marry her own son? But she did not wish to dissapointed him by canceling the wedding. So, although she agreed to marry Sangkuriang, she would do so only on the condition that he provide her with a lake and a boat with which they could sail on the dawn of their wedding day.

Sangkuriang accepted this condition and built a lake by damming the Citarum river. With a dawn just moment away and the boat almost complete, Dayang Sumbi realised that Sangkuriang would fulfill the condition she had set. With a wave of her supernatural shawl, she lit up the eastern horizon with flashes of light. Deceived by false dawn, the cock crowed and farmers rose for the new day.

With his work not yet complete, SangkuriaNg realised that his endeavor were lost. With all his anger, he kicked the boat that he himself had built. The boat fell over and, in so doing become the mountain TANGKUBAN PARAHU (in Sundanese, TANGKUBAN means upturned or upside down, and PARAHU means boat). With the dam torn asunder, the water drained from the lake becoming a wide plain and nowadays became a city called BANDUNG (from the word BENDUNG, which means Dam). 

Meltdown 101: Package sizes at the grocery store

Your eyes are not deceiving you in the grocery store. Yes, your bag of Doritos just got bigger. No, the price didn't change.

Last year, food packages shrank as food makers, dealing with record high ingredient costs, struggled to maintain their profits. But the weakened economy has caused a slump in demand for ingredients like corn and oil, pushing those prices back down. With lower ingredient costs - and higher consumer demand for more value - some brands like Frito-Lay are shifting back to bigger packages, without raising prices.

Think of your food packages like an economic barometer: Times are tough, so costs are low and packages are bigger. When times are good, costs are high and packages, to compensate, get smaller.

Tough times also mean consumers have less money to spend, so they want those bigger packages. Experts say this is a promotional tool that helps branded food companies steer shoppers back to their products and away from less expensive, store-brand alternatives.

Here are some questions and answers about the changing size of food packages.

Q: What's getting bigger?

A: So far, the most evident size boosting is in the chip aisle, where Frito-Lay dominates. The company has boosted some package sizes for brands like Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos and Fritos by 20 percent, reversing cuts made to bag sizes last year. Bags on shelves feature a thick white stripe announcing this - the one on Tostitos says: "Hey! There's 20 percent more free fun to share in here!"

Certain Doritos flavors have gone from 12 ounces back to 14.5 ounces, while Fritos bags are now 17.5 ounces, up from 14.5 ounces, and Cheetos are 10.25 ounces, up from 8.5 ounces. Tostitos are now 15.625 ounces, from 13 ounces. The pricing was unchanged, ranging from $2.89 to $3.99.

The company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc., wants to return value to consumers, spokesman Chris Kuechenmeister said. He said Frito-Lay was unsure if these changes, originally taken about six months ago, would be permanent.

Elsewhere in the chip aisle, The Snack Factory increased the size of some of its pretzel crisps line by 25 percent, to 7.5 ounces from 6 ounces, earlier this summer. The promotion should last through the summer, said marketing director Milt Weinstock.

The company raised prices but did not shrink packages when ingredient costs got high, he said. Now that costs have moderated, the company wanted to give customers more for their money and entice new sales.

Offering more for the same price is one way to boost sales since consumers are so focused on saving money right now, said Christopher Shanahan, a research analyst with Frost & Sullivan. Food companies can play up their value to consumers by offering larger-sized packages, which cost less on a per-ounce basis, he said.

Experts say offering larger sizes - along with other methods, like coupons or buy-one-get-one-free promotions - can convince shoppers who are trying to save money to stick with name brands.

Q: What's been happening with food packages and pricing in recent years?

A: Packages had been shrinking and prices had been rising - all in response to soaring ingredient costs. Food companies had higher expenses for key commodities used in production - like corn that goes into chips and fuel used to transport goods from place to place. So they raised prices and shrunk products - everything from cereal to ice cream to canned tuna.

Q: Why are companies making products bigger again?

A: Two reasons: Because they can, and because consumers want it.

Prices for ingredients have moderated from record highs last year. So it costs these companies less to make your food, and they can afford to give you more product for the same price.

It doesn't cost too much extra for them since these products are produced in mass quantities. And it's considered a good investment, since it boosts the amount they're selling and can increase their market share - two things investors like.

Consumers are also asking for it as they look to save money.

Offering more for the same price is one way brands can promote themselves as they compete with store-brand alternatives, which cost less and are gaining sales in some categories at the expense of branded products.

Increasing package sizes also keeps pricing and sales volume steady so revenue doesn't suffer, as can happen from other promotions - like coupons.

Q: Why not just cut the prices? I'd rather save money than get more chips.

A: It's not that simple, pricing experts say. Once prices are lowered, it becomes very difficult to raise them, since consumers may react negatively to that.

Instead, companies can give people more for the same amount of money, making for a per-ounce price cut, but leaving prices unchanged. That means food makers protect their pricing for the future, so they can react when commodity prices go back up - something experts agree will happen as the economy recovers.

In other words: When good times return, don't be surprised if that bag of chips gets smaller again.

View Bridge Road Bandung To Jakarta

Panoramas of Road Bandung to Jakarta.

Bing Maps for Enterprise Newsletter

Do you feel out of the loop when it comes to Bing Maps? Wanna be cool like the rest of the kids who have the 411 on Bing Maps? Sign up for the Bing Maps for Enterprise Newsletter - a monthly subscriber based email for customers, prospects, partners, developers and influencers. Just go to the news page on Microsoft.com/Maps and click the “Sign Up to receive Bing Maps news” link. It will prompt you to login with your Live ID, submit out a short form (mostly pulled from your Live ID) and just like that you’ll get Bing Maps for Enterprise information delivered directly to your inbox. 

Also, if you haven’t already, feel free to spend some extra time on the .com site. It’s updated frequently with new content, case studies, events, news and all kinds of informative stuff. Be in the know.

 

CP

Help Save The Environment – Build Your Own Solar Panel

If you are one of those people who want to make a difference in helping the planet, then you would be interested to learn how to build your own solar panel. As more people become concerned about the rising cost of oil and electricity, various environmental campaigns are developed and this includes alternative sources of energy. You too can contribute your own share of effort to help conserve energy and save the planet.

A solar panel is a device that can convert solar energy to electricity. It is an effective alternative energy source. It requires a stream of a variety of wavelengths of light, such as sunlight, in addition to low temperatures. It is also referred to as an eco-friendly source of energy. To date, more and more people are considering its potential and importance.

However, the concern of most people is that a basic solar panel system can be very costly. What everyone should be aware of is that there is a cheaper and more practical way of having a solar panel for your homes.

You should be aware that you can build your own solar panel. It is expensive to make use of highly refined silicon which is required to construct highly efficient solar energy equipment. Processed silicon is costly and its production is a difficult process. However, it is not the only element that is capable of exhibiting photoelectric effect.

Still, the element silicon is not the only one that can exhibit photoelectric effect. Other elements like cuprous oxide are likewise photovoltaic. Although they are not as efficient in producing electricity flow, they are mostly available in numerous hardware stores. Given this fact, if you want to supply more energy required in other solar equipments, it is feasible to come up with a solar panel the really works.

There is no need for you to spend a huge amount of money in building your own solar panel. You only need to buy several materials which are available in most hardware stores such as a square foot of copper flashing that cost around $5.00. Other materials that you need are electric shears to be used in customizing the sheet, plywood, glass, solar cells, wire, silicon, solder, sandpaper and UV protector.

When building a solar panel, you will learn other things such as how to design and build PV panels, customize panel output, solder cell connections, and wire a photovoltaic panel. In addition to that, you will learn how to work with broken cells, test and rate PV cells and even encapsulate solar cells and repair their damages. For instructions, you can search the net where you will find numerous easy steps plus other important pointers. 

You may also want to visit my blog site to discover new things that can help you build your own solar panel.

Sound Oil Updates On Citarum PSC Seismic Operations In Indonesia

Sound Oil plc (Sound Oil) said the partnership is currently conducting a 1,250 kilometers (km) seismic survey on the block which is intended to fulfill the 750km (years 1-3) and 500km (year 4) seismic commitments on the Citarum production sharing contract (PSC) area, located in West Java, Indonesia. The first phase of the survey comprising 850km in the eastern areas of the block is anticipated to be completed in the third quarter of 2009.


Currently, the survey contractor has suspended operations until May 31, 2009 at no incremental cost to the partnership, pending upgrade of equipment. The interpreted seismic results will be used to determine drilling locations for the remaining three exploration commitment wells on the PSC.


Sound Oil is a 20% partner (through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mitra Energia Citarum Limited) in the Citarum PSC, located in West Java, Indonesia. The PSC is operated by Pan Orient Energy Citarum Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Pan Orient Energy Holdings Limited).

PGE Plans To Invest $3b to Lift Generation Capacity

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energi, a unit of state energy company PT Pertamina, on Friday revealed plans to spend $3 billion by 2014 to generate an additional 1,070 megawatts of geothermal-fired power from 15 domestic concessions. 

Abadi Poenomo, PGE’s president director, said the spending would bring geothermal generation to 1,342 MW under the second fast-track power-generation project, including 272 MW now generated from three locations, including Kamojang, West Java, and Lahendong, North Sulawesi. 

The World Bank will provide $500 million as partial funding, Abadi said, with the rest expected to come from Pertamina. The Japan International Cooperation Agency, however, has expressed interest in funding some projects, but no decisions have been made. 

Some 72 percent of PGE’s revenue comes from the Kamojang geothermal plant. 

Revenue from steam generation, which is tied to crude oil prices, has dropped, Abidi said. 

Revenue hit Rp 1.4 trillion ($141 million) last year and is projected to fall to Rp 1 trillion in 2009. Although 2008 pretax earnings hit Rp 700 billion, they are expected to fall to Rp 500 billion this year. 

Zainal Ilmie Bachrun, general manager of Kamojang PGE, said the Kamojang plant’s capacity would be upgraded from 200 MW to 270 MW. Proven reserves have the potential to produce 300 MW. 

“The power generated by Kamojang is equal to 9,000 barrels of oil per day,” Zainal said. “Kamojang has 36 active production wells and eight injection wells.” 

Indonesia has the potential to generate more than 27,000 MW from geothermal sources. The country plans to ultimately bring 4,733 MW of geothermal energy online. 

Geothermal development has been stagnant for more than a decade due to low prices. Abadi said a reasonable price for geothermal-generated electricity would be above 9 cents per kilowatt hour, although some companies are asking for more than 11 cents. 

PGE sells electricity and steam to its sister company, state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

Adaptive Backoff Exponent

Goal :

1. Propose and efficient management of BEs based on the decision criterion

2. Present a brief study of the CSMA-CA mechanism used in IEEE 802.15.4, with emphasis on the improper BE distribution which result in frequent packet collisions and a loss in systems performance.
3. propose algorithm called the Adaptive Backoff Exponent (ABE) which reduce the probability of devices choosing identical number of backoff periods


NOTE :

1. The BE determines the number of backoff periods the device shall wait before accessing the channel
2. The power consumption requirements make CSMA-CA use fewer Bes which increase the probability of devices choosing identical Bes and as a result wait for the same number of backoff periodes in same cases
3. this inefficiency degrades system performance at congestion scenarios by bringing in more collisions
4. CSMA-CA is implemented in units of time called ‘backoff period’ where one backoff period is equal to aUnitBackoffPeriod (=20 Symbols).
5. A study of the system performance at collision scenarios reveals an exponential increase in the number of packet drops, for higher datarate operation. The drop in system performance can be attributed to the numerous poor link quality packets. Link quality is an attribute to characterize the quality of each incoming packet. This measurement is implemented as a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) estimation in most cases. Often, poor link quality is a direct consequence of the hidden node problem
6. because of the power consumption constrains the BE of devices is never allowed to vary out the range 3-5. As a result, devices often choose identical number of backoff periods and detect an idle channel. Thus, the devices on choosing an identical backoff periods transmit data/MAC-command packets without being aware that another node has also detected an idle channel. This result in frequent confrontations among nodes which result in collisions, packet drops and as a consequence retransmission
7. in CSMA-CA, each device shall maintain three variables for each transmission attempt : NB, CW and BE
8. the higher the value of BE, the longer the device will spend trying to access the channel in some cases. The longer wait adds up to the power consumption of the device. Therefore a lower BE range will ensure the devices will never spend too much time waiting for channel access. This makes two or more devices using the same number of backoff periods. As a result they detect an idle channel simultaneously and proceed with their transmissions which results in frequent collisions
9. the choice of the correct value of backoff periods if out of scope of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. It could possibly be determined by the application developer
10. Beacon Modification : ABE algorithm utilizes additional space withn the beacon payload to convey the coordinator’s decision on the macMinBE adjustment. Hence additional space is required to indicate the number of incmenting/decrementing nodes and their respective node addresses

ABE Algorithm :
1. The minimum backoff Exponent (macMinBE) shall be variable
2. All devices that contributing more to the network traffic are slapped with higher macMinBE, and devices which contribute less to the network congestion will use lower minimum backoff exponents. Therefore devices with longer macMinBE are likely to wait longer than devices with lower macMinBE
3. the coordinator keep track of each node’s contribution to the network traffic during of the analyzing cycle to decide the macMinBE
4. the devices are now allowed to use a higher backoff exponent (aMaxBE = 7). At the beginning of the transmission the devices shall start off with a macMinBE of 3. However as time progress and the node in question contributes unevenly to the network traffic, its macMinBE can be either decremented or incremented. Hence on the next transmisson it shall use the new macMinBE
5. the algorithm is implemented in three different phases : (a). The analyzing phase (at coordinator), (b) the decision phase (at coordinator), (c), the implementation phase (at end nodes)

 
Three Important Principles of ABE :
1. The idea is providing a higher range of backoff exponents to the devices, to reduce the probability of devices choosing the same number of backoff periods to sense the channel.
2. The backoff exponent shall be variable, hence devices are not likely to start off with the same backoff exponent when they wish to start a data transmission.
3. The way the minimum backoff exponent (macMinBE) is maintained.

Performance Analysis :
1) Simulation : Network throughput, End-to-End Delay, Delivery Ratio, Energy Consumption vs Traffic load (pkts/sec)

Orangutans can counter dangerous tree vibrations by moving in an irregular rhythm

A team of scientists has found that the orangutan can counter dangerous tree vibrations by its ability to move with an irregular rhythm.


According to Professor Robin Crompton, from the University of Liverpool’s School of Biomedical Sciences, there is a problem in the movement of animals through the canopy of tropical forests, where there are highly flexible branches.

“Most animals, such as the chimpanzee, respond to these challenges by flexing their limbs to bring their body closer to the branch. Orangutans, however, are the largest arboreal mammal and so they are likely to face more severe difficulties due to weight,” he said.

“If they move in a regular fashion, like their smaller relatives, we get a ‘wobbly bridge’ situation, whereby the movement of the branches increases,” he added.

“Orangutans have developed a unique way of coping with these problems; they move in an irregular way which includes upright walking, four-limbed suspension from branches and tree-swaying, whereby they move branches backwards and forwards, with increasing magnitude, until they are able to cross large gaps between trees,” according to Dr Susannah Thorpe, from the University of Birmingham’s School of Biosciences.

The team studied orangutans in Sumatra, where the animal is predicted to be the first great ape to become extinct.

This new research could further shed light into the way orangutans use their habitat, which could support new conservation programmes.

“If the destruction of forest land does not slow down, the Sumatran orangutan could be extinct within the next decade,” Dr Thorpe said.

“Now that we know more about how they move through the trees and the unique way that they adapt to challenges in their environment we can better understand their needs.

This could help with reintroducing rescued animals to the forests and efforts to conserve their environment,” she added.

Managing your business reputation

The Prita Mulyasari case has touched a raw nerve among Indonesian netizens. A mother of two very young children, Prita sent an email highly critical of her healthcare provider's services to a circle of friends, which then spread to others. The hospital, citing defamation, eventually filed charges leading to the email author's incarceration for nearly a month. After massive public uproar and criticisms from various government agencies, Prita was finally released but remains under city arrest. 

What can be learned from this ongoing case? News and gossip, both accurate and erroneous, can spread through the Internet like wildfire. How people write to friends via email may be vastly different than if they write a letter to the editor. And the Internet can be a hotbed for support to those who have been deemed to be "wronged". 

Just take a look at the Facebook groups that sprung up for Prita's defense. Over 30,000 supporters in one group alone - 30,000 intelligent, opinionated, wired and angry people. In short, any business' potential customers. 

It should be remembered that Indonesia has one of the most independent media within the region and its readers are getting used to such freedoms. The ability to voice opinions is becoming ingrained, both online and off, and is vital for the development of the nation. No one wants to go back to the days of repression. Any perception of taking away such freedoms will be met with fierce resistance. 

So what can businesses do if they are at the receiving end of a negative communications campaign online? 

Engage with the conversation. Learn the issues, find out from your side the exact details of the case and respond as appropriate. As some companies have media monitoring for print media, it is becoming equally important to have an online monitoring component to learn what the Internet is saying about their business. It would be easier to douse a small flame than allow it to fester and become a full-fledged three-alarm fire because your side remained quiet. 

Be transparent. Like any business that depends on customers, resolve the issue. If mistakes were made, rectifying the situation would be in order. If the writer is in the wrong, posting the business' side of the situation would allow the online readership to judge for themselves who is in the wrong and who is being unreasonable (make no mistake, netizens don't like to be fooled and used) 

Use the same medium. There are many ways to communicate on the Internet such as using email, message boards, social networks or blog posts. Engaging them on these mediums allows future users, who may bump into this case, to also find your side of the story, quickly resolving any potential repeat flare-ups. It can also be indexed by search engines and be close on hand when people are searching your business online. 

Treat others as you wish to be treated. The golden rule of Isadore Sharp, founder and CEO of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Hotel Chain. Courts of law should be the absolute last venue (according to this public relations consultant) and only after deciding the merits of the case (Is it winnable? Is it worth the publicity?). Once in court, it all becomes public record: the cause of conflict, escalation and the attempt for mediation (if any). 

Have all attempts been made for mediation? Is the writer really unreasonable? Is going to court something shareholders or future investors would support? 

For online issues, with both sides of the arguments in the open, logic usually prevails. Attempts for mediation in good faith are always appreciated as many Indonesians still believe in resolving things secara kekeluargaan (within the family). But if you believe your brand continues to be under assault, then by all means defend it, not just in the courts, but also in the realm of public opinion, to explain your side of the story. 

Once all the facts are in, people can easily decide for themselves who to believe and support. In this era of the Internet, transparency trumps all else as now everyone can easily search for the truth. And you don't want to anger the Internet gods, for they are not infallible yet can be swift and brutal to your brand.

Making Electricity

The usual method of making electricity is to pass a magnetic field through a series of conductors in a machine known as a generator, similar to a very large electric motor. The rotating part of the generator carries coils of wires to create a magnetic field, and as this magnetic field rotates and cuts through the stationary coils of wire, electricity is created.

The energy needed to turn the generators can be provided from a number of sources. Some renewable sources of electricity are hydro, methane, geothermal and wind. Electricity is also generated by burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas. 

Hydro power stations 

Geothermal generation 

Bioenergy generation 

Co-generation 

Wind generation 

  

The electricity generated by each of these methods is then stepped up to a higher voltage to make transmission throughout the country more efficient and is then stepped down to a lower, safer, voltage for home use. 
 2008 Annual Results

Suramadu Longest Bridge In Indonesia

National Suramadu bridge. The longest bridge in Indonesia with a length of 5438 km.

Construction was started on August 20, 2003. In July 2004, a girder collapsed, killing one worker and injuring nine others. Work on the bridge halted at the end of 2004 due to lack of funds, but was restarted in November 2005. The main span of the bridge was connected on March 31, 2009, and the bridge was opened to the public in June 10, 2009. Within a week of the opening, it was discovered that nuts and bolts as well as maintenance lamps had been stolen and that there was evidence of vandalism of cables supporting the main span.

The cable-stayed portion has three spans with lengths 192 m, 434 m and 192 m. The bridge has two lanes in each direction plus an emergency lane and a dedicated lane for motorcycles. The first toll bridge in Indonesia, fares have been initially set at Rp. 30,000 for four-wheeled vehicles and 3,000 for two-wheelers.

The bridge was built by a consortium of Indonesian companies PT Adhi Karya and PT Waskita Karya working with China Road and Bridge Corp. and China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd. The total cost of the project, including connecting roads, has been estimated at 4.5 trillion rupiah (US$445 million).

Bsse Transceiver Stations

Base Transceiver Station (BTS), sometimes called base station or cell site, is the name for the antenna and radio equipment necessary to provide wireless telephone services in areas. Specifically, base transceiver stations handle the traffic and signalling between mobile phones and the larger Network Switching Subsystem.


Base Transceiver Station

On the 25th the CEO of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. (Telkom), Arwin Rasyid, said that the construction and supply of one thousand BTS’s, at a cost of one trillion rupiah, was being tendered out and that three Asian telecommunications companies, ZTE, Huawei Technologies, and Samsung, had shown an interest.

This is the second time that Telkom has announced the tendering of the BTS, the first tender having been cancelled, and Rasyid says that the winner will have to satisfy Telkom on price (80%), and non price issues (20%), the latter of which include the matters of product quality, degree of local content in components, and the use of local staff to maintain the systems.

The installation of the Base Transceiver Stations is expected to begin by sometime next year in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi, Banten, and a number of areas in West Java. Once installed they will enable Telkom Flexi users to migrate from the use of the 1900 megahertz frequency band to 800 Mhz.

Wimax Vs WiFi

WiMax (802.16e) is a newer standard of wireless networking designed to provide the last mile of high speed internet access to the end user. Some people would call Wimax WiFi on steroids but this would be to broad of an assessment. Wifi was and still will be used in LAN environments for the foreseeable future. WiMax was designed to provide (MAN) Metropolitan Area Access, to homes and businesses. 

WiMax base stations will have the ability to provide approximately 60 businesses with T1 access and hundreds of homes with DSL/Cable speed access…in theory. Engineers are stating that WiMax has the capability of reaching 30 Miles but real world testing has shown 4-8 mile working radius. 

WiMax (MAN) deployments are similar to a WiFi network. First the ISP would have their T3 or higher access. The ISP would then use line of sight antennas (Bridges) to connect to towers that would distribute the non line of sight signal to (MAN) residential/business clients. 

WiMax line of sight antennas operate at a higher Frequency up to 66mhz. Distribution antennas do not have to be in the line of sight with their clients. Non – line of sight towers operate on a range similar to WiFi . WiMax can operate right next to cell phone towers with no interference.

WiMax networks are similar to Wifi in deployment. The Wimax Base station/Tower will beam a signal to a WiMax Receiver. Similar to a WiFi access point sending a signal to a laptop. As far as I can tell laptops will be shipping with Wimax receivers in 2006.



QOS (Quality of Service) is an major issue with WiMax because of the number of people accessing a tower at once. Some would think that a tower could be easily overloaded with a lot of people accessing it at once. Built into the WiMax standard is an algorithm that when the tower/base station is nearing capacity then it automatically will transfer the user to another WiMax tower or cell. Unlike a Wifi clients who have to kind of fight to stay associated with a given access point; WiMax will only have to perform this hand shake at the MAC level the first time they access the network.

WiMax is designed for building a network infrastructure when the environment or distance is not favorable to a wired network. Also, WiMax is a cheaper and quicker alternative than having to lay wire. Third world countries will greatly benefit from deploying WiMax networks. WiMax can handle virtually all the same protocols Wifi can including VOIP. African countries are now going to start deploying WiMax networks instead of cell phone networks. Disaster zones can also utilize WiMax giving them the ability to distribute crisis information quickly and cheaply.

Militaries are already using wireless technology to connect remote sites. Logistics will be simplified with the ease of tracking with RF technologies. WiMax can also handle Webcams and streaming video which would give commanders eyes on target capability. Just imagine if planes were able to drop preconfigured self deploying WiMax antennas in strategic areas giving troops real time battlefield intel. Armed with wireless cameras, drones and a GPS one soldier would truly be an Army of One.

As WiMax is deployed in more areas theory and real life capabilities of WiMax will come to light. The differences between WiMax and Wifi are simple. Think of a WiMax network as an ISP with out wires, with the signal providing your internet access to your business/ home. Wifi will be used within in your LAN for the near future.

Storm: Great expectations unmet

One of the problems caused by the Internet is that consumers and IT journalists usually know about the arrival of a new product long before it becomes available on the local market.

"Bloggers, too, are always several steps ahead in their information gathering," my dear friend Budiputra recently told me, and how right he was.

On the Internet we can read about a product being launched in its home country. If the product has great reviews, we may hold our purchase plan and wait until it becomes available. But, on the other hand, if it is overpromoted, it may backfire because our expectations are too great.

When the BlackBerry Curve 8900, aka BlackBerry Javelin, and the Pearl Flip 8220 were launched in Jakarta, we were aware that the touch screen-based BlackBerry Storm was already available in the United States.

The good news is that the Javelin seems to have been well-received by consumers here. It should be, as it is a great product. The not-so-good news is that we had great expectations for the Storm.

The Storm has a lot of potential, of course. First, it is the first touch-based smartphone that incorporates Research in Motion's (RIM) award-winning SurePress technology. To activate a button on the screen, you place your finger on it and then you press the entire screen panel down. It is very much like the multi-touch glass touchpad on the Unibody MacBook, on which we have to press down to register a click. As I mentioned in one of my past reviews, RIM received a prestigious award from GSM Association during the Mobile Congress in Barcelona earlier this year.

Courtesy of BlackBerry Asia Pacific, I had a couple of days to play around with a Storm around one month ago. The SurePress technology surely impressed me, but whether it is the right technology for an e-mail-centric smartphone is a different question.

The BlackBerrys have of course evolved over the years to include dozens of features and applications. Today, if you have a BlackBerry, you can download applications for news and weather, music and video, social networking and sharing, travel, maps and navigation, and even games.

However, when people buy a BlackBerry, they have two possible reasons. First, people want it as a status symbol, and that is the reason they even go as far as to buy a "black market" BlackBerry in places such as Roxy Mas, Jakarta. Second, people need it because they are heavy email users, and they find the BlackBerry to be the best device to support their business activities. These people usually obtain their BlackBerry and the email service from the operators and their appointed distributors - the way it should actually work.

So, emailing has remained the driving force behind all the BlackBerrys. Now, to create email or to respond to email quickly, nothing beats the real QWERTY keypad like the one found on the other BlackBerrys, on the Nokia Communicator Series, on a growing number of Nokia E-Series, on Palm smartphones, etc.

During my brief test, it became clear that the SurePress approach required some learning. It was not as quick to master as a hardware keypad. I guess, no matter how much time I spend learning to use a touch screen to enter my text I will never be able to do it faster than with a real keypad.

Besides, as is the case with any touch screen-based smartphone, we need to look at the screen to ensure that we are aiming our fingertip at the right virtual button.

I never approve of drivers who enter text while driving, but sometimes we have to send email while doing something else that does not involving putting someone's life at risk.

We may have to SMS someone while reading an email message on our netbook, for example.

One question I asked the RIM executive was why there was no Wi-Fi on the Storm. The answer I got was that the Storm already supports HSDPA and that RIM is more interested in offering more choice to customers.

Wi-Fi is available on the Bold and the other new models.

On the flipside, however, the Storm is a sturdily built smartphone. A little bit on the heavy and bulky side, it also features a sharp display with the four BlackBerry signature buttons still there.

Frankly, my experience with the Storm in handling real-world email did not meet my great expectations. Rumor has it that RIM is now working on a really hot BlackBerry Storm 2, even 3. Let us wait and see how it will meet our raising expectations. In the meantime, I think BlackBerry Bold is still the best BlackBerry of all.