European Parliament in Brusssel

On June 25 2008, we had a visit to EU Parliament in Brussel Belgium.

WiMAX versus 3G HSDPA, Holland case

WorldMax, a new internet connection provider in Netherland using WiMAX technology, is now providing Broadband Wireless connection to Amsterdam city. And may be for the whole Holland for the next few months.

On the other side, the existing 3G/HSDPA provider - Vodafone, T-Mobile, and KPN - already in the market providing the same service.

It is interesting to see which technology will win, WiMAX or 3G/HSDPA. For the current situation, 3G has advantages like coverage, handset support, and brand.

In Netherlands, Vodafone provides unlimited connection  using 3G handset only for 10 euro a month. Although it is only availabe for customers who already have a postpaid subscription, Vodafone gets a big share form this niche. Most of people who travel a lot prefer this service.

WorldMax also gives almost the same price. But there is no handset for WiMAX at this moment. So the target market for WorldMax is existing home internet connection. In Netherlands, almost all houses have their own internet connection. So WorldMax must use a brilliant marketing strategy to get a significant market share.

Do you think WorldMAx will make it ?

Les Blues .. you need to reform

EK.2008 or Euro 2008 was a really bad moment for France team. They were eliminated in the first round without winning any matches. It was very different with their performance in World Cup 2006.

It seems that France need to reform their team. New coach is a must. It it obvious that they have skilled player but they are less in tactics and team performance. Ribery, Malouda, Henry and Viera are among the great players. But they were unable to show their best performance during the game.

Toulalan is not a good choice for replacing Zinedine Zidane.

I think it would be better for France to use young talented player even though they are not popular rather than great names like Thuram and Makelele.

welcome spring

this is my first day to work after i got a weeks “unexpected holiday”. i am quite happy because all i have done in these last two weeks is acknowledged by my bos at scm-department ericsson NL.

i have to say that i am proud with that .. and i now have fresh ideas to be implemented in that project.

i am also happy today because the weather is gettin’ better and better … the average temeparature in the mid-day is about 17 degrees. it warm enough for Holland.

to find a perfect framework for my project

in these last few days, i have spent hours and hours on digging into detail about java web application.

but it seems that i got no real improvement in my mind.

i still found it very difficult to start the project. i have tried several framework such as STRUTS, JSF, JSP, and many other new frameworks.

but the problem is i still can not find the best framework i can use for my project.

i found STRUTS a little bit interesting but it just provide tool for view and control only.

it doesn’t go into detail about business logic. or may be i just can not find it.

if you guys and girls have any suggestion for my problem … please tell me ..

i will be very thankful for your comment or suggestions.

belajar bahasa toraja — part 1

To mangalli : Sipira te lada mi neneq ?
To maqbaluk : Si sangsaqbu sang katti … Pira ladibengkomu ?
To mangalli : Benna penduan katti.
To maqbaluk : Inde … Kurre sumangaq
To mangalli : Kurre sumangaq duka neneq.

Balla Tamalanrea makassar, nasibmu kini

Balla Tamalanrea, demikianlah nama gedung ini. Lokasinya tepat di samping pusat pemukiman orang Toraja di Makassar, BTP (Bumi Toraja Permai .. eh salah Bumi Tamalanrea Permai).

Saya kurang tahu pasti kapan gedung ini dibangun, tapi saat saya masuk SMA di Makassar tahun 1995, gedung ini sudah berdiri kokon.

Gedung ini biasanya digunakan untuk kegiatan-kegiatan besar Gereja Toraja, seperti Natal PPGT se Makassar, natal-natal kerukunan, dan juga waktu itu saya pernah menghadiri KPI (Kegiatan Penyegaran Iman) yang dipimpin oleh KAM Jusuf Roni.

Pada pertengahan 1990an sampai akhir 1990an, gedung ini masih tampak megah.

Namun sayang pada pertengahan 2007 lalu saya sempat ke gereja Tamalanrea yang berlokasi di belakang gedung ini. dan saya melihat ternyata gedung ini sudah tidak terpelihara. Mungkin karena sebagian besar aktivitas sudah dipindahkan ke gedung gereja baru yang tepat berada di belakang gedung ini.

Selain itu, didalam kompleks Balla Tamalanrea ini, juga sedang dibangun SMA Elim milik Yayasan Perguruan Kristen Toraja (cmiiw).

Saya tidak tahu siapa yang menjadi pengurus gedung ini. Tapi yang pasti sangat disayangkan bahwa gedung ini sepertinya tidak terawat dengan baik.  Saya sempat memotret bagian depan dari gedung ini yang tampak pada gambar dibawah ini :

Jika saja ada pihak yang mau mengelola gedung ini, sebenarnya bisa menjadi pusat kegiatan orang Toraja di Makassar, atau setidaknya tetap menjadi kebanggaan kita sebagai orang Toraja.

Wine in France

The French people usually very proud of the wine they have. I visited a vineyard in France on Dec 2007.

I went to the city of Chinon, where a lot of wine producer spread all over the area.

I visit one of the domain and I take a picture on its cave.

Knowledge @ Wharton

Kalo ada teman-teman yang berminat dengan management,marketing …

silahkan masuk ke : http://www.knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/

Disana ada banyak tulisan yang sangat bagus untuk membuka wawasan dibidang management, sales, marketing.

Juga dilengkapi dengan audio buat yang pengen dengerin sambil berjalan-jalan, misalnya.

Menelusuri jejak para pejuang kemerdekaan di Museum Bronbeek, Belanda

Ada suatu museum yang dikhususkan untuk menyimpan benda-benda dari militer Indonesia di Belanda.

Salah satu koleksi indah museum ini adalah meriam sultan aceh yang merupakan pemberian sultan turkey.

meriam ini dulunya, menurut guide di museum itu, adalah pemberian sultan turkey kepada sultan aceh.

pada saat peperangan dengan belanda, meriam ini jatuh ke tangan kompeni dan dibawa pulang ke belanda