Vietnam Information Technology Website

Adobe Wallaby Converts Flash into HTML 5, Bringing Flash to iPhone, iPad

2011-06-16T02:45:00.000-07:00

Flash may have its critics, particularly in certain smartphone and tablet markets, but Adobe (news, site) is making sure the platform doesn't just fizzle out. Adobe is evolving with the times, and is preparing for when the Web finally adopts the HTML 5 standard. The most recent addition to Adobe's collection of software is code-named Wallaby, which can help developers more easily transition from Flash to HTML 5.

Wallaby is essentially a Flash to HTML 5 converter. Adobe demonstrated the technology preview at the annual MAX event in October 2010, and received positive customer feedback. The software runs on top of Adobe AIR, and will convert Flash professional (FLA) files into HTML 5 format through a drag-and-drop action. Developers can then edit the .HTML output using an editor — such as Adobe's own Dreamweaver — or even by hand.

Adobe is confident that Wallaby will help developers reach out to a wider audience, as HTML 5 will enable a wider distribution of Flash artwork and animation, especially on mobile platforms.

The Dynamics Between Flash, Apple iOS Adobe has particularly pointed out how the technology preview can help developers reach out to platforms such as the Apple iOS. Recall that Apple's Steve Jobs criticized the Flash platform for being a proprietary product and because of security, reliability and performance concerns. Apple excluded Flash support in its iOS platform, citing preference for the HTML 5 standard. This limited Adobe's reach in the smartphone and tablet audience, considering the iPhone's a 27% market share in the smartphone market and the iPad's 90% share in the tablet market.

With Wallaby, developers can convert their Flash content into HTML 5, which is accessible to more devices — assuming, of course, a browser compliant with current HTML 5 specifications.

Full Flash to HTML 5 in the Works
Wallaby outputs HTML 5 content compatible with Webkit-based browsers, meaning Google Chrome, Safari and the iOS browser. However, the conversion does not fully support certain Flash features, such as 3D transforms, ActionScript, Blend Modes, Button Events, Components, certain filters, Inverse Kinematics, Scale 9 graphics, Sound, Strokes and embedded video. This being a technology preview, Adobe expects to support conversion of more Flash features as it develops Wallaby, and as the development team gets feedback from users.

Development on HTML 5 is ongoing, and the W3C expects the standard to take a few years before completion. Still, certain components of HTML 5 are making its way to modern web browsers, both on desktop and mobile platforms.

Will Wallaby help save Flash, after all? This will probably depend on how smoothly Wallaby will be able to convert Flash content into HTML 5. Wallaby is still limited, at its current preview and experimental incarnation. Adobe is hoping that feedback on Wallaby will help the company better understand the types of innovations needed in Adobe's long-term investments in the Flash and HTML 5 technologies.

Interested in Wallaby? You can download it from Adobe Labs.

http://html5community.com/topic/45-adobe-wallaby-converts-flash-into-html-5-bringing-flash-to-iphone-ipad/

Angry Birds Windows version released, no browser needed

2011-06-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Consumer electronics giant Roku has announced, the company is planning to bring three versions of the popular Angry Birds to its video-streaming set-top boxes this summer, a report said.

The announcement comes three weeks after a Angry Birds Chrome beta version of the game was launched in The Google’s Chrome Web Store.

The game has efficiently made its mark on Windows PCs as well. Rovio, the Helsinki based developer has launched two versions of the game which are both original and Rio (movie) based, where the characters in the game are kidnapped and taken to Rio de Janeiro, for the Windows platform at $4.95 each. A demo version is also available.

The game will run on any new Windows version and has also been made accessible for users with Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Rovio is already contemplating a third Windows edition called Angry Birds Online but has not provided any date of release. The company had also confirmed on twitter, the popularity of the original mobile version of the game, which reached 10 million downloads in about 10 days from the date of release across iOS and Android platforms, a PCWorld report said.

Cartoon Network Games Overview

2011-05-25T21:52:00.001-07:00

Cartoon Network is an incredibly popular television network focusing entirely on cartoons. At the network website, the company has created a section of online and downloadable games related to its programming.

Cartoon Network games are mostly online, browser based games. There are over 100 available, free to play at the time of this writing. The titles include games related to Batman, Teen Titans, Tom & Jerry, Scooby Doo, and many more. There are also some downloadable games, called Power Play games, that visitors can download and try for a period of time and then purchase for unlimited play.

Overall the Cartoon Network games site is fairly easy to use and entirely Flash based, giving visitors a very colorful and animated experience. Featured games are presented on the section index page and visitors can navigate through the game menu to see all the titles. Games load quickly in the browser and seem to be mostly ad-free except for a brief ad related cartoon programming while the game is loading.

Bottom Line:

Cartoon Network games won't appeal to every gamer but in no way is the site trying to do that. The games are targeted specifically to their viewing audience and supplement their TV programming well. Selection is good when considering the purpose of the site and its audience. The fact that most games are completely free will appeal to many.

Kongregate.com Online Games Reviews

2011-05-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

Online expensive gaming has truly been entering it's own lately. As Expensive technology is constantly on the increase tremendously, these browser based games are rapidly closing the space with traditional desktop gaming. We might be a couple of years out, but I'm able to already begin to see the gold in the finish from the rainbow.

Leading the forefront, Kongregate sticks out among its peers because the première expensive gaming community portal. For individuals individuals who haven't visited Kongregate by yet, think about it as being Xbox 360 Love browser based expensive games.

Having a couple of exceptions, current technical restrictions in expensive pressure designers to produce games that aren't meant to secure your attention for over a couple of hrs. Kongregate fixes this case with the addition of their very own progressing/status system. The games within Kongregate have specific accomplishments that you can to complete. Whenever you accomplish these accomplishments you get points, which enable you to get levels/status. This all of a sudden adds an MMO like dependence on the city. I've found myself constantly checking the number of points I've till a higher level, after which unleashing accomplishments till I achieve that much cla.

Additionally to unleashing accomplishments you may also unlock cards for Kongregates exclusive collectable card game Kongai. Kongregates description of Kongai:

Kongregate's lengthy-looked forward to collectible card game! Greg states, "Card-based tag-team, rock-paper scissors Street Fighter with 10 masterdom 5/5."

Like Miracle, Pokemon, Yui-Gi-Oh, yet others, Kongai offers addictive multiplayer fun for any age.

So that's enough concerning the costs. You'd like to learn concerning the games ... right?

Friv.com - A place where there's something for everyone

2011-05-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

Friv.com is an online-gaming website, the type that offers free games and shows to its visitors. At first, one might think that such a site can only only offer mediacore games, especcially when compared with the top, 5-star games that are lately being released. Obviously I'm not going to deny that, but then again, I don't think Friv was created to compete with these games but rather to offer its users the chance to pass some of their free time playing something that is not complicated, but fun all the same. Without a doubt, Friv has been a huge success as proved by their monthly '21 Million unique users'.

Upon entering the website, one immediately notices the host of different colours that make up the site. Due to some animations, the site has a live feeling to it, motivating you to remain and perhaps even try one of the amusing games. At one side there is a list with the Top 10 Games while on the other side there is the list of the Latest 10 Games to be realesed. The middle of the site is divided into the different categories of games (Sport, Multiplayer, Action & Adventure, Shoot-em Up, Puzzle, Learning) with each part listing the top games in each category.

Friv offers quite a large number of games for its users to play for free. Obviously I cannot describe each and every one, mainly because it would take me over a year to review every game and secondly because I haven't even played all the games yet....and that's saying something since I've known about this site for years. A good thing about this site is that good quality games are quite frequently added and so nobody can really say that he or she is bored of the site. Also the fact that there are multiplayer games means that you're bound to find something different when you play. Be it a funny opponent or an extremely hard challenge, the site is capable of keeping you interested for hours on end. (Though obviously, this is not true for everybody).
The following are my Top 3 games available free of charge at the site.

Tennis Titans - this is a really good tennis game where strange creatures play tennis against each other. The sound and graphics are impressive and can be quite addictive for the little game that it is.

Heli Attack 3 - this is an action adventure game where you play the role of a man who has to constantly shoot things either flying above him or else on the ground. The little soldier you command will have available to himself a host of weapons. The game never ends and so trying to top the High Scoring Charts is a constant challenge

Battle Pong - well everyone knows this game. One ball and two line opposite each other. The point of the game is to hit the ball to the wall behind the opponent's line. Simple yet fun. The graphics are nothing special and the sound is annoying (but you can turn this off) though remarkably I never tire of it.

Friv.com also says that it offers free shows, but to be honest I never really understood what they meant by this. Maybe by shows, they mean strange games like 'Forming your own Rock Band' and stuff like that, but I'm not really sure. So please excuse my ignorance in this aspect :)

A good thing about this site is that you don't have to have an overly powerful computer to run the games (although some of the latest ones do require at least a P4). I don't really know if the games work well with a dial-up connection because I've always had ADSL, but most probably, the performance would suffer greatly unless you decide to download the game to your computer. Unfortunately, this is not always possible....and when it is, it's normally at a (small) price. Some of the games also require some programs such as Active X or Shockwave to work, although this should not be a problem because anyone can easily download these quite quickly.

If you really end up liking the site and what it offers, you can also Join Friv.com. From what i've read, they will send you free games by e-mail. I have not made use of this offer, mianly not to clutter by precious mail-box by needless things. In the site, one can also find a Forum, though you must register to post messages. I didn't really like the Forum because it didn't seem really lively, but then again I don't visit it much....i've got better things to do in my life than discuss online games, hehe :)

Finally, it is said that online gaming will be the next big thing and I totally agree. This is an increasingly growing market and the fact that the games are constantly improving on all fronts means that we can expect some really impressive stuff in the near future.

Friv Online Games - Website of the day !!

2011-05-10T01:23:00.000-07:00

Friv is a collection of free flash games. The website is not intended as an educational game site for children. There is a kids game section.

Friv.com offers a large assortment of memory games. Many of the games include popular characters. These games are appropriate for even the youngest players. Playing memory games on the computer offers a three to four year old a rewarding experience. Plus, memory games improve a child's thinking skills.
Teaching Six, Seven and Eight Year Olds Math

Elementary school aged children will enjoy using the variety of math flash games to reinforce their math skills. Friv.com offers addition, subtraction and multiplication games with a colorful and playful background.

Friv.com offers a large selection of puzzle and problem solving games to help children develop solving skills. Some of the puzzle games include physics related material, like Ragdoll Cannon. Children have to aim the cannon just right for the doll to fall on letter. The ragdoll used in this game does look like a doll so the violence is kept to a minimum, but some parents may prefer not to use this game.

Other Types of Free Online Games

The kids section of the website offers a large variety of games. Some of the games mimic popular game console’s video games. Children can play free online games that include characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, and Pokemon.

Many of these games have an educational element but these are mainly for fun. To find these games, use the search function in the upper right hand corner of the screen, entering the name of the character that is desired.

Is Friv.com Safe for Children to Use; is there Violence?

Friv.com is not a children’s gaming site. There are multitudes of games on this website which depict violence, sometimes graphically. Therefore, close parental supervision is recommended. To find the educational games available it is recommended to use the search function. Using key words like “math”, “puzzles”, “physics” will load the age appropriate games for the elementary school aged child.

The games are bordered with ads by google. These advertisements will open on the existing screen causing children to navigate away from Friv.com easily. There are no advertisements while waiting for games to load.

Friv.com offers a wide selection of educational and age appropriate games but requires parental supervision because the website is not intended for use by children solely.

Vietnam can see opportunities from embedded software outsourcing

2011-04-06T20:00:00.001-07:00

Developing embedded systems and embedded software has become the national policy of many countries in the world. Experts believe that Vietnam has major potential for embedded software outsourcing.

Currently, most embedded software is integrated in communication products and consumer electronics. Besides, they are also used in automobile products and other means of transport, healthcare equipments, energy equipments, alarm equipments and measurement and monitoring products.

According to OESF (Open Embedded Software Foundation), the global embedded systems market along with embedded software is estimated to be worth 112.5 billion dollars.

Japan is now the biggest embedded software market in the world. Since Vietnam is Japan’s third largest partner in software outsourcing, Vietnamese enterprises have major opportunities to do embedded software outsourcing for Japan.

Android-based creations encouraged

Unlike computers which mostly run on operating systems like Windows or UNIX, embedded systems and embedded software have their own embedded operating systems. The current most popular operation systems used for embedded systems include Embedded Linux, VxWorks, Win CE, Lynyos, BSD, Green Hills, QNX and DOS. Recently, embedded systems and embedded software are being developed based on the Android operation system.

A report by Nielsen shows that using Google’s Android operation system is considered an emerging trend as the operating system now accounts for 30 percent of the market share.

On March 4 at Android Blast Off 2011, a workshop on developing embedded software held in HCM City, Tan Quang Sang, Head of OESF Lab in Vietnam said that in the last few years, Android has become a popular mobile foundation with the backing of Google.

Masataka Muira, Chair of OESF Japan, said that more and more embedded software have been used in making consumer products, including VoIP equipments, mobile phones, digital TV, cameras, GPS systems, music players or healthcare equipments. He said that Japanese technology firms are developing many products that utilize Android-based embedded software.

According to him, Android has great potentials to develop and it has been used for both mobile phones and other electronics manufacturers as an advanced foundation for embedded products.

“Vietnam should not be the outsider of the trend if it wants to develop embedded technology,” he said.

He went on to say that Japan now has high demands for outsourcing embedded software to other countries and many Japanese enterprises came to Vietnam to seek partners. Therefore, Vietnam needs to well prepare to seize the opportunity.

Vietnamese FPT Software (FSoft) has signed a record of cooperation with OESF on developing embedded software based on Android. This could be seen as an opportunity for FSoft to become more deeply involved with the embedded software market and commercialize its products.

Labor force is the key

It is clear that the demand for outsourcing embedded software is very high in the world. However, the number of companies such as FSoft remains very modest.

Experts have pointed out that the biggest problem for Vietnam to grab the opportunity lies in its labor force. As for normal software, a newly graduated engineer has to spend 3-6 months on training courses to fulfill the duties of his job, and he needs 6-12 months more to do embedded software.

According to Phi Anh Tuan, Deputy Chair of the HCM City Informatics Association, Vietnamese companies are now doing the outsourcing for foreign partners in accordance with contracts signed with their partners. Meanwhile, the state has not made any policies relating to the training of a labor force for embedded software. Meanwhile, embedded software has not been taught proficiently at universities and junior colleges.

Agreeing with Tuan, other experts also believe that Vietnam needs to invest in training a qualified labor force for embedded software and pay more attention to research and development (R&D).

Source: Thoi bao Vi Tinh Saigon

Vietnam lost 5900 billion dong in 2010 due to computer viruses

2011-03-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

An independent survey conducted by BKAV (Bach Khoa antivirus) in January 2011 shows that computer virus infections in 2010 were not considerably improved, and computer viruses still caused a big loss of 5900 billion dong to users.

The losses have been calculated based on the income of computer users and the duration when their work was interrupted due to the viruses. On average, every computer user in Vietnam lost 1,192,000 dong in 2010. With at least five million computers in regular use across the country, the total losses caused by computer viruses in 2010 might have reached 5900 billion dong.

The percentage of virus infected computers decreased slightly in 2010

In 2010, 93 percent of computers in Vietnam were infected with viruses at least once during the year. The figure showed an improvement in comparison with the previous years (97 percent), but the improvement was significant. More than 1/3 of the computers (36 percent) were infected with viruses at least one time a month.

USBs remain the most popular source of viruses. 96 percent of polled computer users said their USBs were infected with viruses at least one time last year.

2010 was the year when awareness of computer security issues was improved. 93 percent of polled people said that in order to effectively fight against viruses, they need to use copyrighted antivirus software. If they use illegal software, they will be vulnerable when troubles occur, because they cannot ask software producers to offer consultancy or give technical assistance.

In 2010 when meeting troubles with computer viruses people’s actions were also quite different from that in 2008. 49 percent of computer users said they would ask antivirus software producers to give assistance when meeting troubles, while the figure was 34 percent only in 2008. As such, now people know how to protect themselves from viruses and know to use supporting services.

A good thing that BKAV’s report has pointed out is that computer users are now vigilant about links sent via emails or messenger clients. Only 10 percent of people would click on a strange link.

According to Nguyen Minh Duc, Network Security Division of BKAV, said that 67 percent of polled people said they would track down the origins of the links sent to them, and they would ignore the links sent to them by strangers. “This is the advisable treatment in these cases,” he said.

Computer users have good awareness, but don’t take actions

While passwords can open the “world” of a person, including a personal computer or email, 53 percent of people still do not undertake necessary measures to protect passwords.

“Computer users need to create strong passwords in order to avoid the risks of having passwords stolen. Strong passwords are the passwords which have at least nine characters with numbers, lower-case letters, block letters and symbols such as @#$%^&*. One must not provide passwords to anyone and should change passwords regularly,” Duc said.

A simple solution which people can use to protect their computers is to lock the computers when they do not use them. However, 63 percent of computer users said they never lock their computers before leaving desks, even though the action is simply done by pressing “Windows + L”.

Tuyet Ngan

EVN does not want to hold controlling stakes in EVN Telecom

2011-03-01T17:35:00.001-08:00

The plan to sell 49 percent of EVN Telecom’s stakes to the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technologies FPT has received a nod of approval from the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the head of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the holding group of EVN Telecom has said it does not want to hold controlling stakes in the telecom company, because it needs to gather strength on developing power projects.

Software giant FPT and its subsidiary FPT Telecom received the approval to buy 49 percent of stakes in EVN Telecom in January 2011. Under the equitization plan of EVN Telecom, a part of state-owned capital will be sold to the strategic partner FPT and to the enterprises’ staff.

With the approval, EVN will still hold controlling stakes in EVN Telecom, even though it will sell stakes to FPT.

Prior to that, in November 2010, the Prime Minister agreed in principle to the plan under which EVN Telecom chooses FPT and FPT Telecom as strategic shareholders when EVN Telecom goes equitized. After becoming the strategic partner at EVN Telecom, FPT and FPT Telecom will have to hold more than 50 percent of the chartered capital of the company in the whole of its operation duration.

"EVN Telecom needs to speed up the equitization as the firm is facing some financial problems," said a senior official of the company some days ago. "We are seeking investors - strategic partners with leadership in technology and the ability to rescue EVN Telecom with GSM technology".

With the sale of stakes to FPT and FPT Telecom, EVN Telecom has pioneered the tendency of mergers and acquisitions in the mobile service market. Buu Dien Vietnam has quoted its sources as saying that EVN had a meeting with the representatives from a big mobile network in Vietnam to discuss the “ownership transfer” of EVN Telecom, but no agreement was reached at the meeting.

At a recent meeting with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MOIC), Dao Van Hung, Chair of EVN’s Board of Members, said that EVN does not want to hold the controlling stakes in the telecom company.

“The government has instructed EVN to gather strength on developing power production and business. Therefore, EVN thinks that it needs to report this to MOIC,” Hung said.

Addressing the issue, MOIC Minister Le Doan Hop said that EVN needs to clearly define its strategy in EVN Telecom’s equitization. If EVN thinks that it is strong enough, it can hold the controlling stakes when equitizing EVN Telecom. But if EVN thinks that it is not strong enough, it should not hold the controlling stakes.

Hop said that EVN can learn from Viettel which purchased the mobile network Teleco in Haiti. As Viettel wants to hold the control over the network’s operation, it tried to hold controlling stakes.

Pham Hong Hai, Director of the Telecom Department of MOIC said that in the first quarter of 2011, MOIC will issue regulations stipulating for which kinds of telecom businesses the State needs to hold controlling stakes.

“These will be the telecom companies which play a specially important role in the national information infrastructure. I do not think that EVN Telecom will be listed among the group of enterprises,” Hai said.

EVN Telecom will negotiate the price directly with FPT and FPT Telecom. To date there is no further information about the prices of the stakes or about share sales.

Some months ago, the then General Director of FPT Nguyen Thanh Nam told the press that the purchase of EVN Telecom is a “gamble” for FPT, because the telecom market is very stiff. However, many people believe that the deal of purchasing EVN Telecom’s stakes will be reconsidered under “Truong Dinh Anh’s administration”. Truong Dinh Anh, the newly appointed General Director of FPT has been well known as a cautious person who always thoroughly considers investment efficiency, and he will give up the projects which cannot bring profit.

Tuyet Ngan

Mobile service providers running “niche market strategies”

2011-02-24T18:03:00.001-08:00

Experts warn that there are not many potential clients any more for mobile service providers to attract in 2011. With 15-17 million subscribers expected to be developed in 2011, the seven mobile phone networks will have to target niche markets.

The words “niche markets” seem unfamiliar to the majority of Vietnamese people. However, niche markets are becoming the focus of mobile service providers, especially when there is not much room left in the general market to exploit.

“Niche markets” are defined as market segments, where service providers focus on a small number of clients who have specific demands.

On Valentines’ Day February 14, S-Fone launched a promotion for couples on mobile phones Combo Tinh Yeu (love) and Combo Hanh Phuc (happiness). both models can use two simcards at the same times and cost less than 700,000 dong. Besides, S-Fone also allows clients to make free calls to one registered S-Fone subscribers for six months.

The promotion began on February 10, 2011 and is scheduled to end on February 23.

Telecom experts have commented that the move is a part of S-Fone’s plan to focus on developing niche markets in 2011. In this case, the main clients are couples,

Developing niche market in 2011was to be expected, as the general market has become saturated. The number of mobile subscribers has reached about 150 million, nearly double the whole population.

In fact, S-Fone is not the pioneer in developing niche markets. Prior to that, VinaPhone and MobiFone, the two of the “big three”, and Vietnamobile have invested in niche markets.

In mid November 2010, MobiFone launched a promotion campaign for “little clients,” aged between five and nine, and senior clients. It seems that MobiFone is the first to offer a special program for children With just 790,000 dong, the children aged 5-9 will get a preferential network access kit Mobikid with pre-paid simcards and many other preferences for the next months.

The clients can choose between two kinds of mobile phones, either the one reserved for old people (S202) or children (Mobikid) and a pre-paid simcard with 590,000 dong. The clients will be given 16,500 dong a month (the sum of money will be added into the clients’ accounts) for the next 20 months. The subscribers can register four other MobiFone numbers in order to make calls at low charges of 640 dong per minute.

With Mobikid, in the first six months, clients can send 18 free inner-network messages a month. With the service package reserved for elderly people, they can increase the number of days of after activating simcards by 60 days. The call charges applied to the two service packages are 1480 dong per minute for the calls to other networks, and 1280 dong per minute for calls within the same network

Representative of the service provider said that elderly people and children have caught the provider’s attention because the demand from them is increasing.

MobiFone is offering the packages aimed at other groups of clients, such as M-Business M-Friendsand M-Home for family members.

Meanwhile, in an effort to attract young clients, teenagers or students, MobiFone has launched Q-Student and Q-Teen service packages and VinaPhone Talk Teen and Talk Student.

When talking about the business strategies for 2011, mobile service providers have announced that they will not focus on increasing the number of subscribers in 2011, but will pay attention to develop services and increase profit.

The fees have decreased to very low levels as the service providers have been slashing fees in order to attract more users.

C. V

MobiFone to hasten equitisation process

2011-02-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of Information and Communications has called on Viet Nam Mobile Telecom Services Company (MobiFone) to speed up its equitisation.

Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop told Vneconomy on Wednesday that the mandatory equitisation would improve the competitiveness of the telecoms industry and attract more foreign investment, thereby boosting the country's economy.

He said additional investment in the sector would boost technological advances and improve IT management.

The minister said equitising MobiFone was also part of the Government's core plan for 2011.

Hop said further meetings would be held this year to discuss MobiFone's equitisation.

Mobifone refused to comment when approached by Viet Nam News yesterday.

A report on Mobifone's business results in 2010, said the company's revenue reached VND36 trillion (US$1.7 billion), 35 per cent of the Post and Telecommunications Corporation of Viet Nam (VNPT)'s total revenue of VND5.8 trillion ($276 million) in pre-tax profit.

Mobifone was scheduled to equitise by the end of 2007 and hold its first initial public offering. It has now missed its equitisation deadline twice.

Source: VNS

Exchange rate adjustment doesn’t make high-tech more expensive

2011-02-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

Distributors believe that the decision to devaluate the dong by 9.3 percent will not have a big influence on the prices of high-tech products in the first six months of 2011.

Exchange rate adjustment applauded

Ho Quoc Hue, Marketing Director of CMC Distribution, said that the exchange rate adjustment should be seen as good news for high-tech distributors. raising the interbank exchange rate to 20,693 dong per dollar has narrowed the gap with the black market. With the exchange rate adjustment, traders hope that the dollar’s value will be stable for a long term so theycan estimate their expenses and set up their business plans.

Sharing the same view, Huynh Nhan Quy, Market Research Director of Vien Thong (Telecom) A Company, said that the exchange rate adjustment is an indispensable move to narrow the gap between the official market and the black market. In fact, the dollar price has been high for a several months. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate was set at a level which was 10 percent lower than the actual rate, thus causing big difficulties to enterprises’ operation.

Unlike import companies, which complain that the more expensive dollar would make imports more expensive, Bach Khoa Computer’s General Director Tran Viet Quan believes that the exchange rate adjustment would not cause any difficulties to his company. Only a few products, mostly components, would see the prices increase. In fact, the prices of information technology products have increased twice in the past four months.

The exchange rate adjustment has been applauded by high-tech product importers, because they will be able to buy dollars more easily

Previously, high-tech product distributors could not buy dollars at the prices quoted by commercial banks, as they did not have enough dollars to satisfy the demand. Therefore, the distributors still had to buy dollars on the black marketrice levels.

High-tech products’ prices won’t increase immediately

Hue from CMC Distribution said that the Vietnam dong prices quoted by distributors at this moment have been set based on the black marketprice which is always higher than the official exchange rate. Therefore, the move to raise the official exchange rate to the level closer to the black market’s exchange rate, in the immediate time, will not have a big influence on the pricing of information technology products. He added that the prices would be stable at least in the first six months of the year.

Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Tran Anh Company, has also affirmed that to date, the prices of the products available at Tran Anh’s chain have not increased.

Huynh Nhan Quy from Vien Thong A also said that in principle, import products should become more expensive because of the weaker local currency, and the prices of laptop and mobile phones should increase. However, businessmen still have to consider other factors (the supply and demand, the stocks and suppliers’ distribution policies) to decide whether to raise prices.

“To date, we have not received any information from suppliers about the sale price adjustment. Therefore, the retail prices at Vien Thong A’s chain remain unchanged,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vo Thi Hoang Quan, Director of FPT Distribution said people would be more hesitant about purchasing information technology products.

C. V

International agency to buy Vietnamese gamma scanners

2011-02-15T18:20:00.001-08:00

LAM DONG — The International Atomic Energy Agency has placed orders for six gamma computed tomography (CT) scanning equipment from the Centre for Applications of Nuclear Technology in Industry in Da Lat.

Nguyen Huu Quang, the director of the centre, said the Vienna, Austria-based IAEA placed the order after evaluating similar equipment made in South Korea, Malaysia, and Viet Nam.

The centre did the research, wrote the software, and manufactured the scanners using 100 per cent Vietnamese components, he added.

They use gamma rays to define the structure of objects and have application in detecting erosion and blockages in pipelines and determining the age of trees among others.

The Vietnamese scanners cost US$8,300 each.

The centre is run by the Viet Nam Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology.

Vietnam seeks to promote better management of land, forests

2011-02-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

Vietnam is looking to launch in September an international initiative on sustainable management of land and forests, a senior official says.

The green economy initiative, which focuses on forest management, will be introduced in collaboration with the Netherlands, Deputy Head of Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations, Bui The Giang, was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying.

He said the initiative aims to boost dialogue and cooperation among policy makers, facilitate the development of small and medium-sized forest enterprises, and improve living conditions in rural areas.

Giang was attending the UN Forum on Forests in New York, an intergovernmental meeting dealing with forest-related issues that concluded on Friday.

He said the UN has just kicked off a year-long celebration to raise awareness of the value of forests around the world.

The UN on Wednesday declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to promote conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests, which at least 1.6 billion people depend on for their livelihoods and subsistence needs.

Source: Thanh Nien

Largest mobile networks to not focus on increasing subscribers

2011-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

The three largest mobile networks in Vietnam - Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone – said that the telecom market has become saturated. This year they will not concentrate on attracting new subscribers but develop services and increase the profit.

Viettel aims to have seven million new subscribers in 2011. According to this firm, the telecom market still has around 16 million potential subscribers and it expects to attract half of them.

However, it seems to be a difficult target so Viettel also sets the second target to raise its turnover and profit: developing new services.

An expert said that in the past the mobile network operators would reduce their prices to attract customers. However, telecom charges can’t be cut down any further this year because many input expenses have increased in 2010, including salary, accommodation, equipment, etc. As a result, the growth of the number of new subscribers will be lower.

VinaPhone and MobiFone aim to attract five million new subscribers this year and they will also focus on developing new services and improving their quality to raise their income and profit.

By the end of January 2011, Vietnam had over 157.6 million mobile subscribers, nearly double the number of the country’s population. However, less than 50 percent of them are active.

Viettel wins mobile network contract in Peru

2011-02-11T18:16:00.001-08:00

Vietnamese telecom giant Viettel has won a contract to become the fourth mobile network operator in Peru, news website VnExpress reported Monday.

The report said Viettel was selected over other bidders from Russia, Chile and Brazil as the Vietnamese firm pledged to provide free internet access to 4,025 schools in Peru, much more than the equirement of 1,350 schools.

Viettel plans to invest about $400 million in developing its network in Peru over ten years.

The new contract has made Peru the fifth foreign market which Viettel has invested in, after Cambodia, Laos, Haiti and Mozambique.

Peru, with a population of 30 million, previously had three mobile operators owned by Mexico's America Movil SAB, Spain's Telefonica and US-based NII Holdings Inc.

Int'l company forecasts 12 pct growth for Vietnam's IT

2011-02-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Business Monitor International (BMI) forecasts that the Vietnamese information technology (IT) market is to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent over the 2011-2015 period.

In the freshly-issued "Vietnam Information Technology Report Q1 2011", the BMI, a leading, independent provider of proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts, projected that the addressable domestic market for IT products and services is to reach US$3.3 billion by 2015.

According to the BMI, factors such as growing PC penetration, economic growth, a range of government ICT initiatives and ambitious plans to grow Vietnam's IT industry will help to underpin market progress.

The report wrote: "An ambitious government IT plan for 2010-2020 should shape many segments of the Vietnamese IT market, while Vietnam 's improving information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure will also drive growth.

Vietnam 's gradual integration into global trade networks such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has helped to bring down prices and increase opportunities for importers."

It added that in November 2010, the government pledged to invest $8.5 billion over the next ten years in the ICT sector.

Meanwhile, the government's campaign to attract more foreign IT companies to invest in Vietnam received a boost with the announcement by American multinational company Hewlett-Packard (HP) that it would set up a wholly-owned firm in Vietnam in early 2011.

The government hopes to attract $5 billion of foreign investment into the IT industry by 2015.

According to the BMI, the Vietnamese PC market will be more competitive with multinational brands dominating the market, with HP the top-selling PC brand in 2009, ahead of Acer, and other multinational PC vendors including Dell, Toshiba and Asus having enjoyed strong recent growth in the booming market.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has around 10,000 firms currently licensed to provide IT services, but only one-third are actually operating. The Ministry of Communication and Informations is currently developing a draft decree on policies to help the IT industry grow.

Source: VNA

Virtual network operators hesitant to market services

2011-02-09T17:35:00.001-08:00

Two mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) have yet to begin providing services on the market despite receiving licences to operate back in 2009.

Both VTC Telecom and Dong Duong Telecom planned to provide 3G services to mobile subscribers by hiring the networks of existing providers.

VTC Digicom earlier announced it would begin providing services in June 2010 under a co-operative agreement with Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN). VTC planned to hire the network of EVN Telecom to install over 5,000 3G-based transceiver stations (BTS) around the country, but the plan remained on the table.

Dong Duong Telecom was licensed in August of 2009 to supply services beginning in the first quarter of 2010, but the services were still pending.

Both companies have blamed the delays on difficulties in developing customer bases and marketing strategies to compete with other providers with existing telecommunications infrastructure. Some wondered whether major mobile service providers like Viettel, MobiFone and Vinaphone were even interested in sharing infrastructure facilities.

VTC Digicom director Nguyen Hoang Phong told Viet Nam News by phone: "VTC is exploring market segments and considering carefully the most suitable time to bring these services to the market."

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, even a major telecom like military-run Viettel has signed up only 1.5 million 3G subscribers.

Source: VNS

Green light for software park

2011-02-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hanel Limited Company has received an investment licence to build a software park in Ha Noi, worth a total of US$35 million.

The park will occupy 312,000sq.m in Phuc Loi Ward of Long Bien District and will be divided into zones for produce, electrical retail, IT training, a five-star hotel and a green park.

Nguyen Quoc Binh, Hanel's General Director, said the area would be the first technology park to meet international standards in Viet Nam.

It would be an advantageous environment for software enterprises to strongly invest in Viet Nam, Binh added.

Construction of the park will commence in the first quarter of this year and it is expected to be put into operation at the start of 2014. — VNS

Enterprises need state capital for IT development

2011-02-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Enterprises were told that the implementation of the information technology (IT) and communication development should be their priority.

This is one of the requirements set in the draft plan for rapid transformation of Vietnam into an IT and communication power in the 2011-2015.

According to the plan, five key enterprises, including the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group VNPT, Viettel, VTC, FPT and CMC will have to, considering their conditions, implement concrete projects as parts of the plan. The objectives are to raise the investment in IT and communication to increase the proportion of its turnover in the total turnover of all industries; the expansion of the international market share; and the improvement the research capability.

Meanwhile, the five key enterprises say that they need detailed support mechanisms to successfully implement the above plan.

Nguyen Trung Chinh, General Director of CMC Company, says that CMC will prepare to act as the general contractor of Intranet services and national email service under normal mode or as PPP (public private partnership). Chinh affirms that if CMC is assigned the task, the services will be provided at 2000 points after the first 12 months of implementation, while the number of points would increase to 5000 after two years later.

Besides, Chinh also says that CMC can also undertake the project on providing one million low cost computers, the project on population database or the project on building key laboratories.

Nevertheless, Chinh says that CMC needs support to help it become a strong enterprise which can compete with regionally and internationally. The support that Chinh has mentioned is the capital support mechanism.

“The State needs to introduce policies to provide a strong support to IT and communication enterprises which undertake research and development activities, such as tax exemption, infrastructure support, and placing orders with enterprises,” Chinh says.

Sharing the same view, an executive of VNPT says that VNPT plans to spend 63 trillion dong to implement 12 projects. However, VNPT also needs a certain volume of “reciprocal capital” from the state budget,

For example, manufacturing smart terminal equipments, according to VNPT, will need some 10 billion dong. VNPT says it will spend 50 percent of the sum, while the state budget should cover the other 50 percent. Besides, VNPT has also suggested the 50-50 percent capital contribution for building test labs.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Truong Tung, President of FPT University, says FPT is ready to make the dream of turning Vietnam into an IT power become reality.

FPT University will produce at least 20 percent of the high quality workforce for the IT and communication sector. “However, we need preferential policies and support, especially in terms of financial,” Tung says.

The plan to transform Vietnam into an IT and communication power was approved by the Prime Minister on September 22, 2010. The main goals of the plan are to develop a qualified labor force for IT and communication; to make the IT sector, especially software industry, digital content and services the key sector with a high contribution to GDP growth and export.

During implementation period until 2020, the goal is for IT and communication to contribute 8-10 percent of the GDP. 80 percent of the IT major graduates will capable in terms of their professional and foreign language skills to join the international labor market.

It is expected that the total number of workers in the IT sector would reach one million.

Source: Dau tu

Fake software prompts virus alert

2011-01-28T01:04:00.000-08:00

Computer viruses will continue to thrive in Viet Nam this year as internet-users ignore the consequences of installing fake software online, the Bach Khoa Anti-virus centre said in their "2010 Virus Review".

The review warned of about 60 million computers in Viet Nam that are infected with nearly 60,000 different viruses.

The persistent W32.Conficker and Metamorphic viruses were still on the top of the list of usual suspects.

2010 was a boom year for fake anti-virus software with 2.2 million downloads from websites offering the free anti-virus ware, 8.5 times higher than the year before.

The review said a new virus type poses as a file in the user's documents using an icon. This virus type infected 1.4 million computers last year.

Viruses that destroy data had appeared twice in 2010. Though they didn't cause serious damage they could be a bigger threat in future.

Virus attacks on networks caused public alarm as important websites were targeted.

BKAV experts have also discovered hacker groups that used viruses to steal information from Vietnamese organisations' networks.

Source: VNS

What to expect in the telecom market in 2011?

2011-01-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

Experts believe that 2011 will be the right time for telecom service providers to apply new policies that aim for sustainable development instead of network expansion. Meanwhile, policy makers will apply necessary measures to tightly control the telecom market.

Mobile service providers urged to apply new customer-care policies

Since the beginning of 2011, mobile service providers have continuously launched big promotion campaigns in order to attract more clients. From January 25 to January 28, 2011, VinaPhone will launch the “four golden days” program applied to both post-paid and pre-paid subscribers. Under the program, the clients, who activate new phone cards on these days, will be rewarded bonuses equal to the cards’ value. VinaPhone’s promotion campaign is being carried out after a similar 4-day promotional campaign by MobiFone, another service provider. Prior to that, VinaPhone also offered “golden days” two times.

Mobile service providers said that they continuously carry out promotion programs in an effort to ease burdens on their clients. On the days just before Tet, the prices of all kinds of goods are increasing sharply, while mobile phone charges tend to decrease.

A noteworthy fact is that the promotion campaigns all aim to “take care” of pre-paid subscribers. It is clear that pre-paid subscribers always get more preferences than post-paid subscribers. Explaining this, mobile service providers said that more than 90 percent of their subscribers are pre-paid subscribers, therefore, they need to offer more promotions to these clients.

Nevertheless, experts say that the current situation will change in 2011. Both the Ministry of Information and Communication and enterprises have drawn up the plan to build up specific policies to address post-paid subscribers this year, because it is post-paid subscribers who bring the largest profits to enterprises.

Besides, experts also believe that mobile service providers should not try to attract more subscribers by lowering charges any more. They need to persuade clients by offering high quality services.

There are about 150 million mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam.

Government suggests tightened control over pre-paid subscribers

InDispatch No 169 released by the Government’s Office several days ago, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan requested relevant ministries to quickly apply necessary measures to tighten control over pre-paid subscribers.

The Deputy Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Public Security to urgently develop the electronic database of identity cards, and cooperate with the Ministry of Information and Communication and telecom firms to discuss the solution to exploit the database for pre-paid subscriber management.

In fact, the project on pre-paid subscriber control under which telecom companies have build up their systems on subscriber management was undertaken two years ago, One hundred percent of pre-paid subscribers have to register personal information with the companies. However, there are still doubts about the accuracy of the information.

Ministry promulgated new policy on international calling charges

Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Le Nam Thang has said that in January 2011, the ministry will release a legal document on international calling charges, a move that aims to ensure the business efficiency of telecom companies.

Thang said that the legal document will stipulate that the international calling charges must be defined based on production costs. Currently, as telecom companies are fiercely competing with each other, they have to lower calling charges, which threatens the sustainable development of telecom enterprises.

For example, VTI, the leading international telecom service provider in Vietnam has also said that the high output of international calls does not mean high profits, because the charges are too low.

C. V

Fake software prompts virus alert

2011-01-25T17:38:00.001-08:00

Computer viruses will continue to thrive in Vietnam this year as internet-users ignore the consequences of installing fake software online, the Bach Khoa Anti-virus centre said in their "2010 Virus Review".

The review said there was a significant increase in fake anti-virus programmes; viruses that targeted databases; hacking into company networks; and mobile phone viruses last year with more to come in 2011.

The review warned of about 60 million computers in Vietnam that are infected with nearly 60,000 different viruses.

The persistent W32.Conficker and Metamorphic viruses were still on the top of the list of usual suspects.

2010 was a boom year for fake anti-virus software with 2.2 million downloads from websites offering the free anti-virus ware, 8.5 times higher than the year before.

The review said a new virus type poses as a file in the user's documents using an icon. This virus type infected 1.4 million computers last year.

Viruses that destroy data had appeared twice in 2010. Though they didn't cause serious damage they could be a bigger threat in future.

Virus attacks on networks caused public alarm as important websites were targeted.

BKAV experts have also discovered hacker groups that used viruses to steal information from Vietnamese organisations' networks.

VietNamNet/VNA

VNPT losing out to rival Viettel

2011-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

Viettel has surpassed VNPT on pre-tax profit in 2010 for the first time. Viettel reportedly earned pre-tax profits of VND15.5 trillion ($775 million) last year, while VNPT Group mustered VND11.2 trillion ($560 million).

VNPT Group's revenue was estimated at VND101 trillion ($5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 27 per cent against last year's figure. Its rival, Viettel earned revenue of VND91 trillion ($4.55 billion) in 2010, a year-on-year increase of 52 per cent against 2009.

The gap between of VNPT Group and Viettel staff's productivity is growing. VNPT Group staff's productivity was estimated at VND1.1 billion ($563,000) in 2010, while Viettel's was nearly VND4 billion ($2 million).

VNPT Group had 15 million registered users in 2010 as new telephone subscribers signed in 2010 was equal to 78 per cent of 2009's number. Meanwhile Viettel signed up 46.3 million new telephone subscribers last year.

Lean organisation and high discount rates made the profits of Viettel higher than that of its main rival. Viettel had fixed total assets value of VND45 trillion ($2.2 billion).

Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy general director of Viettel, said revenue from overseas facilities would post a growth rate of 100 per cent.

VNPT Group chief Pham Long Tran said the group was still covering losses from fixed phone services due to decreasing fixed-phone subscriber numbers.

"The number of fixed phone subscribers has decreased by 20 per cent a year while VNPT has invested a lot in promoting fixed phone services and we have to cover losses," said Tran.

VNPT Group cut 5,000 staff from its affiliate Vietnam Post Corporation in 2010 to make the organisation leaner after the group completed the process of splitting its telecom and post businesses in 2008. However, its productivity has been still far lower than Viettel since 2008.

"We also have plan for cutting number of staff working for our Telecom Corporation, however, we have yet arranged funds for that," said Tran.

VNPT is still the country's largest telecom operator, running two large mobile networks, MobiFone and VinaPhone along with its international and domestic transmission business. Viettel runs the country's largest mobile network Viettel and another four networks in Cambodia, Laos, Haiti and Mozambique.

Source: VIR

Developing a “miracle tree” in Vietnam, why not?

2011-01-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

A café in Tokyo, Japan, is selling a kind of coffee called “miraculin” which does not use sugar or any kind of genetic sweeteners. Miraculin is the main element of a tree called “miracle tree” which has been growing in Vietnam for the last 10 years.

In 1725, a French explorer named Des Marchais wrote about a strange custom of the native residents in the western Africa. Their meals were very sour and they did not use sugar. However, after chewing a kind of red fruit, the sourness would be overcome to sweetness, without the use of sugar.

In 1852, the tree was described by Dr W.F. Daniel as having a special feature, and called Synsepalum dulcificum, belonging to Sapotaceae. He also named it “miracle tree”.

According to Pham Huu Hien, MBA from the US South Columbia University, this is a kind of tree which grows up to six meters after 10 years. The tree is suitable for dry soil and bears fruits which turn red when ripening and look very beautiful after the rainy season

Ripened fruits are easily spoiled even when they are preserved in the environment with low temperature. The tree is called “miracle” because its fruits can make the sourness and bitterness of orange and lemon or any kinds fruits become sweet. The local names of the tree are taami, asaa and ledidi. The main element of the tree is miraculin.

Pharmacist Hien said that a café in Tokyo is now offering miraculin coffee with no sugar or any genetic sweetener. The price is relatively high at $15 per glass. The “miracle” fruits are being provided by Namco Company in Japan. Japanese scientists are planning to graft miraculin gene into lettuce tree in order to make production in a large scale after an experiment of grafting miraculin gene into E.coli bacteria failed.

Miraculin is forecasted to dominate the market in the future as a zero calorie sweetener, which can be used in industrial food and used to replace artificial toxic sweeteners. Besides, it can be used to prevent some kinds of diseases, such as weight loss and glycosuria.

The effect of sweetening can last for one hour and it will disappear easily if one drinks a cup of hot tea. Since miraculin has no calories, and it is a natural sweetener, it has been used by African natives for hundreds of years. Many manufacturers hope that the tree can be used widely to treat many diseases which require genetic sweeteners and cannot use saccaroz, such as glycosuria, or obesity.

However, as miracle tree has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration FDA, this kind of tree can only be grown as ornamental tree in the country. To date, only Japan plans to use miraculin in industrial food, though the US was the country which had the idea. Some sources said that the FDA still want to protect genetic sweetener producers, therefore, it still has not allowed the use of miraculin.

In Vietnam, miracle tree has been mainly grown as ornamental tree instead of being used for making medicine or functional foods. Many experts from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, the Vietnam Museum of Nature, and from the Agricultural Genetics Institute and the Vietnam Functional Foods association said that they are unfamiliar with the tree and its effects.

Miracle trees were imported to Vietnam 10 years ago, and the trees have been grown more profusely in recent years in HCM City as ornamental and medical plants.

Minh Nguyen is the owner of an original garden named Ky Dieu in Tan Xuan commune in Hoc Mon district of HCM City. Talking with Tien phong reporters, he called himself the first person who brought the miracle tree to Vietnam. It was the gift of a friend, a Viet Kieu, who gave it to him 10 years ago.

Hearing about the miraculous features of the tree, Minh Nguyen tried to seek more information about the tree on Internet. Now he is the biggest supplier of miracle trees in HCM City. As Nguyen does not have knowledge about pharmacy, he has just been selling the trees as ornamental trees.

The cheapest tree is selling at 30,000 dong which will bear fruits in two or four years. If people want to get fruits after 1-2 years, they have to buy bigger trees, at 100-150,000 dong. The trees with beautiful red fruits are selling at no less than 600,000 per tree and can be displayed to decorate houses on Tet days.

There are 3-4 gardens which grow miracle trees in HCM City. Some months ago, some garden owners in Hanoi asked Minh Nguyen to carry out a project of carrying the tree to Hanoi.

Source: Tien phong