Zec

Last, but not the last

I made decision. I won't subscribe for TypePad Pro I tested last month. It doesn't serve my needs at this moment. I feel I don't need it.
Yes, TypePad is great easy-to-use, very powerfull, smart blog tool. I will continue to write my original blog at blogger.com but certanly I am not satisfied with blogger as blog tool. Probably I'll switch to MovableType personal edition in the future.
Should I say something about TypePad? Well, I have my theory but don't know is it important to discuss right here.
Ok, I'll do it. At the beginnig there was email. Suddenly, people realised how easy, quick, cheap they can communicate. Instant communication. Somebody offered web based emails. Just sign up and communicate. Then someone offered desktop email tool with ability of syncronization of mails. For example: how many features we have in MS Outlook or Eudora?
We don't pay for it as stand-alone service. Do we ?
At the beginning there was weblog. Suddenly , people realised how easy, quick, cheap ,with little techno knowledge they can publish their thoughts have their voice heard, have opportunity to build digital identity , collaborate, communicate, share.
All that on the web. With ability to post pictures from their mobile phones , to syndicate content etc.
So, should we pay for it as stand alone service ? Yes, service providers have costs when they host user's blogs with pictures, multimedia content.
There are allways people who will be willing to pay for that pleasure with quality service providers.
But, folks, stand-alone service ? Seriously ? I allways thought weblog/moblog tool should be offered as bundled service. Internet Service Providers or Web Hosting firms could offer it to their customers for example.
And what amaze me more this days is the fact that today's blogosphere , at least when we consider blogging tools, gets more fragmented and segmetation is under way. Light bloggers and hardcore bloggers . Every with their own needs for blogging. Six Apart makes publishing applications most suitable to hardcore bloggers, techo-savy, with lots of experiance in blogosphere, passionate about weblog as medium ( sometimes way to much overhyped ).
I can see their publishing systems are sold to institutions, companies, etc. That's certanly way to make some money not just because thay are funded with VC money.
But is it true that Six Apart is becoming "new Apple" ?
A great tools for techno elite as their main products ?
But, hey, they just offered personal publishing tool for masses, with easy set up, easy customization, web hosting ,lots of features ? How can they be techno elitist ? Confusing, I know.
I think I should stop exploring my thoughts regarding TypePad. Only the time will tell right answers. Users, too. I wish all the best to folks at Six Apart.
They should be making some money out of TypePad for all that efforts in enhancing blogging experience.
And me ? This blog ZecHocusPocus will be shut down in few days. So, this is my last post here. All my blogging will reside at http://zecina.blogspot.com. and it is written in my native croatian language. I still don't know when and how, or even at all, I 'll set up new blog which will be written in english .
I don't know.
Thanks to all of you who read my blog during this beta testing.
Best regards !

UPDATED , AUGUST 15th 2003 :
The Economist article about weblog commmercialization

Lucky

This man had a luck:; ZAGREB (Reuters) - A drunken Croat flasher got more excitement than he bargained for when he pushed his penis through a woman's fence and her dog bit it, local newspapers said on Friday. The visibly drunk man was walking down the street and started swearing and shouting at the woman for no reason. He then shoved his penis through her fence, unaware her dog was on the other side, police said. The bitten man himself reported the incident to the police. The 36-year-old was taken to hospital with light injuries but later sent home. He will be charged with "insulting the moral feelings of citizens" and "violation of public order."

SMS to EMAIL

Finally I figured out how to send SMS on somebody's email. SMS to EMAIL. Very easy. One should type in SMS dialog box as follows ( for example on sending to myself): [email protected]:subject of message:body of message . Thereafter one should send that message on 07171010 ( the number of service by my croatian mobile provider ). Done. I don't know is this standardised SMS-to-MAIL protocol for writing. Only the service number would be different which depends on your mobile phone provider.

The blogger process

Dave Pollard, again. He explains what blogger ( a perfect blog writer) really does . Not only writes and reads. There are different type of bloggers.
I would like to belive that most bloggers are looking to the blogsphere, as Pollard said as well, to provide us with information, feedback, knowledge, entertainment and inspiration. But, seems to me this days still most bloggers on the net are diary type bloggers.

Surfing and learning

Internet surfing as opportunity costs? Hell, yes. There's allways something better to do than surfing the net. Right? Yes and no.
Generally speaking , yes. There's so much thing you need and wish to do in your physical life. Interent surfing is part hobby and part usefull time in hunt for information, communication and KNOWLEDGE. But when allready surfing there seems to be , finally scientifically proven, a benefit. Surfing the web helps kids learn according to some people.

Vau

RSS and blogs are winning combination

Paul Stacey wrote great article in which can be seen first-hand experience with the exitement of discovering RSS feeds and news agregators. It reminds me on my struggle with that little orange button ( XML written on it ). When I first time used news agregator it was really EUREKA. It helps a lot in today's blogosphere and as a tools for information junkies. And as Paul suggest, for e-learning designers of great help.
Paul's EUREKA effect:

That evening I was catching a Translink bus from downtown Vancouver out to White Rock where I live, and by chance had nothing to read on the hour long ride. In the absence of a book or a newspaper I turned on my laptop and opened up the Amphetadesk aggregator. Wow! For the next hour I lost myself in a smorgasbord of ideas, notes, and discoveries as I checked out the rich musings of the educational technology weblogs I had downloaded.

The battle for mobile phone standards

It is not been built wireless network infrastructure for mobile phones in post-war Iraq yet. This week the US led authority will offer tender for three mobile phone licenses. This will be one of the most lucrative contracts beside oil concessions. But, the crucial decision have not been made to this day. Whether it will be used GSM or CDMA standard for operating mobile networks. GSM is european based technology which is recognized all over the world and CDMA is standard applied only in North America. There is HUGE PRESSUREas reported by The Independennt , some companies who are trying to install networks for foreign juornalist and workers to abandon GSM stadard in favor of CDMA. Tho bottom line is clear. In that case US companies tendering for above mentioned contracts couldn't get the licenses. And it is well known that allmost immmediatly after US troops entered Baghdad there was huge lobbying efort by Rep. congressmen Darell Issa, who wrote the letter to Defense Department and USAID agency, that one of their political donors ( 10 million $ ) should get the job in postwar Iraq. The firm name's QUALCOMM. This week this issues should be resolved and we will see who's getting sweet contract and how business logic is applied ( CDMA standard is not in any of middle eastern states ,yet )

Mario Profaca's intelligence portal

Still didn't hear nothing about Mario Profaca and his global intelligence news portal ? Well, it's time. Very cool and rich site with content that can clear up some of your horizonts. Mario is online journalist from Croatia and one of the biggest one-man shows online. Without ads on site. He's not some everyday guy. He's done a lot. Seen a lot. As a professional journalist he has covered NINE WARS. He knows very well how this world works but he doesn't like to force "the truth" upon his readers. He doesn't have any political agenda behind his online work and he's trying to help visitors get usually under-reported news and sources so that they can go for a news coverage comparison
"Read an exclusive interview with him at rediff.com

It is said that the CIA drops by frequently. Does that scare you?

There are thousands of visitors from intelligence communities of many countries worldwide. I don't see anything scary about it. What's more, according to feedback, they all appreciate my work and consider it a great help.

Speaking Globally

What Elisabeth Urech said about croatian people in general ? She wrote a book called "Speaking globally". About Croats:

they are good dressed, trendy sometimes, business people especially ( but not those younger folks who are more casual )

they love putting titels in front of their names like professor, doctor etc

great sense of humor

don't argue with them on political and historically aspects of their war for independence if you're not familiar with the subject

never ever say to them that her language is serbo-croatian, it's croatian, simple as that ( keep that in mind)

if dealt with public administration , public officers expect gifts for speeding up some administrative process ( birocracy)

they are polite to strangers and good hosts

Stephan Roach talks

It's monday. It's time for a new Stephan Roach's essay abut global economy . Stephan Roach is chief economist of Morgan Stanley bank and he made in last few years so much good prediction ( dot.com bubble burst among few) . He's very critical at mainstream financial community although he's part of it but has great editorial freedom in his essays. Basically , he says that the global economy ( and financial markets ) needs painfull check with reality in years to come and those aggenda makers are trying to prolong unavoidable re-alligment . The bomb is ticking but nobody knows when it will be allowed to explode.

Living on interest

This weekend I read the book called "Economics" written by Stephan Slavin. Very user-friedly written book about basic economics. It allways amaze me this days how so many people forget about some basics in economics. Specially those in financial community.
They talk and talk and talk...it's so simple when you get it right. I am not economist but it is one of my interest. I wonder why I didn't study it . Basiclly, what I wanted to say regarding above mentioned book ? Under the chapter about rents, profits, and interest, there was short notice of interesting situation in ancient times ( Grecce). Mosaic laws in the book of Deuteronomy strictly forbid not only usury ( lending money at exorbitant interest rates ) but even taking of any interest.
In those days loans were made mainly for charitable purposes, so the prohibition mada a great deal of sense.
Interesting thoughts of great philosopher Aristotel about same issues:

" The most hated sort , and with greatest reason, is usury, which makes a gain out of money itself, and not from the natural object of it. For money was intented to be used in exchange, but not to increase at interest...Of all modes of getting weath this is the most unnatural. "

Aristotel was wise man but times have changed since then and in our todays's world the most natural modes of getting wealth is by rent, interest, profits.
With the rise of commerce, however, the basic purpose of most loans changed, and the prohibitions against taking interest were dropped. But what constitutes a " fair " rate of interest on consumer loans continues to be debated to this days.

Jeremy Irons in Pula

Jeremy Irons was recently guest at Pula Movie Festival. I saw an interview with him and It was funny how he bashed modern movie production ( Hulk, Charlies Angels etc ). He made so much good points at today's world of instant movie production. Currently he's working on new movie called Mathilde.

Filming of the second part of Mathilde starts in Split, Croatia, from the beginning of November, and the word is that local hotels are offering all kinds of incentives to attract The Man In The Iron Mask with the golden wallet.

Croatian ATP tour

Carlos Moya entered final in Umag, ATP tour. Spanish tennis player rocks Umag Open Tour again. He already won three times on Croatia Open. Today is final and he's unstoppable. I think I will watch it later afternoon.

Radio kill the radio star

I was so tired yesterday I hadn't had lust going out. My girl went with friends in Koprivnica. I thought I would go very early in bett but it turn out I couldn't sleep . So, I watched TV , listen my favourite medium- radio. Yep, it's my favourite medium. Not web :-)
But radio programme was yesterday just boring. Now, I feel exhausted and tired. My girl just send me SMS on mobile phone to see how I am doing. Well, It seems I am playing with TypePad. It seems I should get another turkish coffe. Or Nescafe. No, turkish taste better. Yesterday one customer in our local restaurant requested Nescaffe ( xy taste, flavour) and waiter told: "we don't serve it ". I said to her:"Take a pen and make note to buy Nes, you should have it next time when someone asks, and say to customer that next time you'll have it ". It's service. Customers have allways right.

On bicycle in Romania

Crazy guy on the bike rides on. He's now somewhere in Slovakia. Thanks for putting me on email list.
Here's what he wrote latest about trip:

When I go to Nyí²¥gyhạ, I first stopped at McDs to eat. It is shameful to do that in France, but not in Hungary! Then I went hunting for a hotel. That turned out to be a challenge, even though I saw a sign for the hotel I am staying at near McDs. It said 800 M, but I wasn't sure in what direction. Eventually, after asking several people for help, I made it here.
This a Hotel Europa which is chain of good value hotels. This one will cost me around $30 with breakfast. When I got here, the lady at the reception desk was kind of sullen, but she did what was needed to be done. When I asked about internet access, she was confused, but when I said internet cafe, she pointed to a door in the lobby of the hotel!

Question, question !!!

This is explosive poll. Finally someone dared to ask that kind of question. Die Zeit, famouse german newspaper conducted a poll . Question to 1000 Germans: "Do you belive US government may have sponsored the September 11, 2001 ?". Answer of those under 30 years old: 31 % said YES. ( overall 20 % ). It's every third German, my god !
And at least 68 % percent thinks media didn't reported full truth behind attacks.
Yes, this is how looks perception from this side of Atlantic. Nice, ha? It's all now about CREDIBILITY. House of cards could go down.
11. september 2001. Great tragedy. The hole world expressed condolence to families of the victims that died that day. When I watched with friends collapse of Twin Towers on CNN, there was one thought : This shouldn't happend. 3000 people dead. Have they really need to be killed ? I just feel we do not got hole truth. And probable never will. Someone said than ( a friend of mine ): "The world and USA foreign policy will never be the same." True. But we underestimated thoughts of those who were moved to fight so called " War on terrorism ".
Are they made the world more secure place for living with Afghanistan and Iraq attack and new pre-emptive security? I think not. And that's all what's count , in my view. And instead of fighting terorism, Bush administration ads fuels on fire and I think It's exactly what they want. A mess. They rule under mess. You need mess to build up Empire.They are messy Neocons, but smart and dangerous. And it works. Spin . Lies. A brave new political landscape.
Let's go fishing.
For those who wish to make feedback on poll, here's reference:
Elke Bunse
DIE ZEIT Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Tel.: 040/ 3280-217
Fax: 040/ 3280-558
E-Mail: [email protected])

Globalisation goes further

There's a trend among world's mulitinational corporations to move not only production facilities in developing countries but headquarters as well. UNCTAD, United Nations Agency for Trade and Development, says nearly quarter of those HQ were established in developed coutries in last 15 months.
Unctad says the most common strategy is to set up regional headquarters in places that have a strategic position in international production systems.
Where all this headquarters go ? Mostly in UK ( 181 in 15 month to march 2003), US (126), Australia ( 54 ) , all industrialised nations. But more and more developing countries are getting on significance. They are: Singapore, Hong Kong, China.
I think I heard that IBM and Microsoft had set up big regional HQ in Singapore.
The economic logic and strategy forced them to do that in the increasingly brutal and competitive economy where main mantra goes- slash costs at every price.
Some of this countries will be winners in the years to come and some of them will be losers in terms of higher unemployment and greater social insecurity. For the host nation it 'll bring local employment opportunities and transfer of skills from western countries. I'm seeing that almost every day here in Croatia (still slow process)
Although we are not main target of those big corporate players for huge invesments because Balkan region has still it's own problems, they are opening subsidaries and transfer know-how to our people who suffered 45 years under different economic models ( colective economy). And there are opportunities for new growth for them and new employment opportunities for our people. But it wan't last forever, I am afraid. We must lean on ourself somehow, small and medium enterprises that can build value for long term , not only on big players. Few years ago our politicians hoped Zagreb ( croatian capitol) could be hub, or business center for the southeeastern Europe. Still, we are far away from that but more and more there are regional HQ in Croatia that could turn that dream into possibility.
As UNCTAD says, countries that get most that sort of investments these days meet these criteria ( I ll compare it to croatian situation):
location ( yes, we have good geo-locations for the region), international accesability ( not good enough yet ) , skilled multilingual workforce ( skilled yes, but not multilingual yet, but it can get better ), high quality of life ( in terms of infrastructure yes, but not by disposable income), low taxes ( getting better but not enough ), excellent communication ( mobile yes, internet fucked up because of fixed line monopoly ), well-developed business support ( accounting , law, PR, Marketing- hell yes, that's good enough ), low risk( no, not at all, politics is still elusive and unpredictible), proximity of customers ( yes, but... I dont know )

So, evil sons are killed, right?

Didn't completly look at the story but I heard what happened. Looks like to many trumphete at just right time for Mr.Bush. They killed Uday and Qusay. Hip, hip huray. All the troubles will be gone. You bet. But, hey they are not just killed those evil guys , their bodies are burned and not so recognisable. So It is up to some people to prove that they are right. Or...another spin. Some people who read much more about that story , find it hard to belive that they were such an easy target for US forces. Probably killed again.

RocketNews

Wuhuu, this sounds perfect for news junkies. And I'm the one. News , fast like rocket. Nothing revolutionary but it filters not only mainstream news sources but weblogs ( 45.ooo of them ), books, market research, white papers, corporate information. Although I'm not so much fan of so called "breaking news". Application has desktop tracker, too.

< Via Moe's blog >

Blogging in year 2010

Dave Pollard on what blogging will look like in 2010.
Bottom line according to Dave:

So, bottom line, blogging's going to get easier, more interesting, and more ubiquitous. But it will still be lonely, and hard to become popular. Some things never change.

Scampi Buzara

I am hungry, but still I am playing with this great tool ( typepad). I should go and eat something. Scampi buzara would be now just fine. But, damn I can't have them right now. Arggh! I should look at my cookbooks.

RIAA subpoena

There's a war going on, you know. The world finds out just recently about new bloody tactics of RIAA for hunting file sharers. Subpoenas is keyword. And law suit. But how subpoenas are looking in real life? How are they crafted with words, which explanation are there, which information exactly they contained ? Lawyers are familiar with this "beauty"
Here's great real life example of it. This is one of several hundred similar subpoenas issued by RIAA recently under the DMCA. Most have been filed in US District Court in the District of Columbia. Let the battle begin !

Forged Niger Documents

Do you want to see how forged intelligence documents are looking ? Take a look !
Here are reportedly portions of forged documents on supply of uranium materials by Niger to Iraq and were allegedly provided by Italian intelligence, SISMI, to British intelligence, MI6.

Stop

I am tired from blogging and not just because of blogging. Stop.

Give me break !

Today is the day for break with blogging. Well done !

The Bomb ( Atomic , of course )

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this file is strictly for academic use alone. Zec ( me , author of this blog) will bear no responsibility for any use otherwise. It would be wise to note that the personnel who design and construct these devices are skilled physicists and are more knowledgeable in these matters than any layperson can ever hope to be... Should a layperson attempt to build a device such as this, chances are s/he would probably kill his/herself not by a nuclear detonation, but rather through radiation exposure. Here at zec.blogs.com ( me , author of this blog) I do not recommend using this file beyond the realm of casual or academic curiosity. And provocation. I am pacifist after all.

Download file (word)

secure business, secure money, fuck the people

Thank god I am living far away from USA. Regarding their national security system, a"great" news comes from US Federal goverment.
"According to The Register (as well as Reuters and News.com), 'The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has signed a deal for Microsoft software worth something in the region of $100 million, covering servers and over 140,000 desktops.
This does not however mean that Microsoft and its hench-OEM Dell are poised to hoover up all of the Department's lovely IT budget, nor indeed that this is all new money for them; largely, it seems to be more a case of Microsoft holding onto business it's already got.'" This shouldn't be much of a surprise -- remember the Federal government is already Microsoft's biggest customer. ( via slashdot.org )
I feel secure here in Croatia.:-)) At least for now.
This news I found through Google News who pointed me on slashdot.org story. One comment I found funny reading slashdot debate and comments. Someone posted :

I can see the Onion headline:
Terrorists applaud selection of Microsoft for Department of Homeland Security.
Information Technology consultants for Al Qaeda were pleased with the the US government selection of Microsoft to supply the Dept. of Homeland Security with servers and over 140,000 desktops. Mohammed Al'Hacker beamed, "Microsoft systems allow for unmatched file sharing and remote access. We will save millions of dollars by simply being able access Homeland Security databases over the internet, rather than having to pay for bribes and expensive operatives. We are so pleased that the infidels chose 'open data' over 'open source.'" ....

Anybody for war ?

Somebody trying start the war.

South Korea exchanged machine gun fire with communist North Korea Thursday along the Demilitarised Zone, the divided peninsula's heavily fortified frontier, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. North Korea fired four shots at a South Korean army position along the DMZ around 6:10 a.m. (5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday). The South answered with a warning broadcast and returned fire, the statement said, adding no one was injured on the South side. Shooting incidents are rare along the DMZ.

Who needs it most ? It would be another "distraction" as Al Gore cynicly called agression on Iraq. But, no! They can't have war right now.
There won't be any war with North Korea so soon. War is seriouse business ! You need preparation for it, but if it is greater demand for distracting the true and reality ? Who knows ? Only Wolfowitz and Cheney , probably.

Moblogging for masses

Look at the great article published in the Feature magazine by Mark Fraunfelder. He writes about moblogging. I am deeply enthusiastic for moblogging in years to come. Simple said, moblogging allows you to make blog far away from your desktop. It is not deskbound.
Moblogging isn't about surfing the net, writing links and comments onto you weblog, but it has A REAL WORLD ON THEIR RADAR. Street near by, people around you, events you are attending. Smart people will do instant reporting and experience, skillfull people will show possibble features, creative people will make opinion, context, experience, dicoveries.
Moblog and weblog, broadband connections, video streaming, audio- all that mixed together can be described as internet broadcasting . A brave new media world is coming, and new media heroes. Everything could be documented and good content (amateur microcontent) will show up . As I see it, two things are crucial: "the platform "( service providers with storage,hosting, softvear ), the terminals ( mobile phone, laptop, PDA, with enhanced features ).Unfortunatly, we haven't here in Croatia not even one weblog service provider, yet ( Iskrica isn't worth discussing at all )).
Don't know what will happened with moblog service. Probable not so soon and it wil come from mobile operators their service. Not the best options , in my view. Well, I would like to make some people around me more enthusiastic for weblogging, and moblogging. Then we could try to get things going ( Yes , with our private money )
Here are short comments and notes from Gen Kenai at 1st International Moblogging Conference in Tokyo. Many firsthand experiences from those early adopters. Great insight.

Digital Identity

Joi Ito makes in his latest post a lot of points about digital identity and privacy issues. Very good start for very long discussions in years to come. He sees as a great problem centralised ID systems which could be linked and put in context from the institutions and people who can abouse it . The notion of "data protection" and "control" has not sense anymore.
He talks about some realities this days:

With ubiquitous computing, decentralize databases, information stored and disseminated everywhere, it is exceedingly important to know that
1) once information is created, it exists forever and can not be "erased",
2) data ming will become cheaper and easier,
3) transborder data flows will become seamless,
4) profiling will become a common way for businesses and governments to efficiently focus their attention on people and groups that meet certain criteria.

Confusion with design

I changed design on this blog. Don't know is it good . Now, it's about grey-yellow style combination. I am not sure I like it but from the perspective of usability , it's much more eye-friendly look. I don't like how pictures appear on page. They are not in harmony with template. Maybe I should return white-orange-grey style combination ! We'll see ! Maybe I will.

Saddams blog

Now, this is great. Saddam Hussein, a great dictator with mustache, writes blog. Obviously, someone writes a great satire and has a lot of fun.
And this Saddam , called " Catch me if you can " is angry at his collegue Bush cause Saddam ends up losing their job over this collossal intelligence fiasco? Not they- Bush and Blair.
Here's excerpt:

Now let me make sure I got this straight: In his State of the Union address last January, President George "The Great Satan" Bush declared that my peaceloving nation had attempted to buy uranium from Niger. He did this despite his own Central Infidel Agency saying that the information wasn't credible. Bush, however, made the statement because the British had uncovered the alleged evidence. But the British now say they couldn't verify the information, but they nonetheless believed it because the Americans did!!!
So who ends up losing their job over this collossal intelligence fiasco? ME!!!!!
Forget Bush and Blair. I feel like I'm matching wits wtih Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe.

:-)

Crazy guy reports

In one of my previous posts I wrote that I met Mark Boyd. Crazy guy on a bike. He posted update on his website, which is actually travel-log. Nice to see all this pictures and comments he made during his tour with bicycle here in Croatia. On one of these could be found my face too. It was shot in front of the restaurant. Who knows where he's right now. Probably in Romania. Here's how he described our conversation:

In the last village before Durdevac, I stopped at a restaurant to ask if they would take Euros. I'd spent the last of my Kroners for a snack while riding on 28. They wouldn't, but, as I was getting ready to leave, a customer called out to me and asked about my tour. Then he invited me to sit, have a cup of coffee, and talk about internet related things. He runs two weblogs and we talked, for a long time, about the web, Linux, etc. It was enjoyable, but it also made me quite late getting into Durdevac

Sorry, Mark, It was enjoyable for me I couldn't resist asking about all those things. Sorry to hear that he had a not so nice breakfeast and sleep in our hotel. Well, it's continental part of Croatia and customer service isn't on the level one should expect. Those hotels on croatian cost are much better. I think that someone from croatian tourist board should read what Mark said, after all he had firsthand experience.So, here's what he said about Durdevac hotel:

The sun came up at 6, shining directly into my room. Speaking of rooms, this one, at the hotel in Durdevac, is OK, and supper here last night was pretty good, but the mattress is like a box spring and breakfast was not great. Hotels are not cheap here, and they aren't very good either

Advanced mobile solutions

Yesterday I read annual report of Estonian Telekom. It's the biggest telecommunication company in Estonia. I found some nice data about their business. Specially related to their mobile telecommunication unit. They are innovative indeed.
Look at some products and services they are offering to their customers. M-commerce is area where they made significant achievements. Mobile parking sevices, mobile lottery services, mobile ticket buying services , multi SMS services etc.
We have some of this features in Croatia too. Mobile parking is very widespread here in Croatia. It is paying your parking place with short message made from mobile phone.
It's interesting to look at m-ticket solutions. They offered in Estonia paying with mobile phones public transportation system . Ticket for concert could be bought as well. In that case you need to call short number and corresponding ticket is activated and an SMS confirming the purchase of the ticket is sent back. Then, ticket controllers can quickly check the validity of passenger's m-ticekt using electronic card ( RFID card) connnected with telephone number.
We in Croatia still don't have m-ticket but just few days ago I heard advertising on radio that it could be bought tickets via mobile phone for Robbie Williams concert. So, it seems it starts here as well. Estonia is far away from Croatia ( geographiclly and technologicaly ), but still we have something in common. Postcommunist countries that are building market economy from the bottom ( so called emerging economies). And mobile phones seems to be fetish for their citizen because of high penetration of mobile phones among citizens. And it is amazing how Estonia quickly become new economy's country where's having internet connection a human right.

Croatia- home of the tie

As you can see on that picture on the sidebar I am not wearing tie. Yes, tie ! Why should I ?
Ties are close associated with today's business world. It's very imprortant dress code for many important people ( and unimportant too ). Well, of course some of you still prefer doing business without tie and more casually dressed.
I am using tie only for special events. But I am Croat. I am coming from Croatia. Croatia is the home of the tie, just as France
is the home of high fashion, Brazil of coffee, Switzerland of cheese and watches, Portugal of porto...
So how had the story about ties developed ? EWho is guilty for those grave looking businessmans with ties? We, croats.:-)

The story of the tie first appeared among Croats several hundred years ago. According to legend, girlfriends and wives, when seeing off their boyfriends and husbands to many imposed and detested wars, used to give them kerchiefs to remind them of their girlfriends and wives and to give them strength and courage in difficult moments while far from home.
The rest of the world got to know the tie in the first half of the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War, in which many Croatian soldiers took part. In light, fast horses, Croats developed an unusual way of fighting. Heavily armed soldiers of the time had great difficulties in defending themselves against attacks by Croatian soldiers. All of Europe soon started to talk about the feats of the Croatian cavalry. The French Emperor himself wanted to include Croatian cavaliers in his ranks

Further reading >>>>
or check this : Alan Flusser article
and this: anoher history of tie

The Economist about weblogging

 
Very interesting article appears last month in The Economist magazine. It's the Economist, stupid. They meantioned weblogging in their writings about traditional publishing and online publishing. Wow ! It's clear that even those mainstream media these days can't avoid blogosfere as community of all sorts of blogs. Good and bad. But, hey for those of you who don't know that The Economist makes very influential comments ( based on the best business intelligence available ) on everything , this article is perfect for those of you who still think blog is revolution. :-)
Why all these media are so slow in incorporating blogs into their everyday newsmaking? Is it because of business model that doesn't exist ? Well, blogs weren't intended to bring money at all. It would be best to remain so. After all , it is for us ordinary and extraordinary people.
The Economist concludes:

So what do big media groups stand to gain from adopting a format that delights in promoting competitors' content, and relies on relinquishing editorial control? Such a question, say bloggers, misunderstands the force of weblogs. “Traditional publishing is about putting on a show; building a network of weblogs is like hosting a party,” says Simon Waldman, head of digital publishing at the Guardian.
For all the costly and failed efforts by media companies to create and charge for online material, blogging suggests that the web works best as a link to other people—and a way of finding and raiding their content. As InstaPundit's Glenn Reynolds says, “the threat to big media is not to its pocketbook but to its self-importance.”

Yes, it's me on that pic

Finally, I posted my picture on the sidebar. So, now the world can see who's behind this blog. In the course of my blogging on my original blog I didn't liked idea of posting my picture cause I thought It would be way too much ego.
By the way , thanks to my friend Mironitzky who shot that picture with his digi-cam.
I write under my nick name. Only my friends and those who are really interested in my blog knew my real identity and name.
That was my approach to blog identity. I am nobody improtant to preach on internet under my real name . In case I would blogging for some official and more purposefull reason I would use my real name.
I think that the best strategy for running blog would be: use short amount of time for writting, don't waste money on that, be polite to the people, have fun and don't take yourself too seriously.

Weekend

I'll be off this weekend. So, maybe some light blogging or perhaps not a word. I was planning to go to Osijek, eastern part of Croatia watching street races with my friends./ acctually I don' like watching them but it's about meeting with friends and some family I have in Osijek - I graduated on Osijek Law University / But I changed my mind because, as I call it, "financial construction" does not allow me so much expenses. So, I'll be going with my girl to some night club in Pitomaca tonight.
And on Sunday I'll go visited my grandmom in hospital. I hope she's better right now .
Speaking about tonight , little reminder :-))) :

Crazy guy on a bike

I had a great afternoon. Today I met Mark Boyd. He's the man called " crazy guy on the bike ". He teaches computer science at the university of North Carolina. We discuss so many things today I do not know where to start describing. He is on the trip with his bicycle troughout Europe and he's currently here in Croatia heading for Hungary.
Today he was here in my county. I've learn so much about him. He knows so much people I was enjoing listen to him. You know, he' s the guy who knows Richard Stallman, a father of open source movement. He even wrote the book called Emacs. Mark says that Stallman was mad as hell because they ( friend with whom he wrote)published the book and made money. Stallman is really extremist. :-))
O, Mark knows Linus Torwalds too. Great. I am not techno guy so this names wasn't familiar to me until year ago. We spoke a lot about United States goverment ( he is admire of Noal Chomsky ), about the state of the US media today ( Mark was in 80s managing public radio station in Kansas ), about Microsoft and Gates, universities in US-a, computer science, Linux, about Bush, about Croatia, his trips (every year he travels )
He made so many interesting points and quotes. Basically , he says Microsoft makes bad software and spoke about back door in Microsoft as a service for US goverment ( no, he's not conspiracy theorist )and thinks US goverment and Gates made a deal.
He is sad because of all that what is happening in USA. He look at me and said : " Have you heard about neocons ? " . I responeded:" I know much about them- those are folks behind idea of Pax Americana, new imperialistic policies that are trying to shape the world by American rules. " Yes, those bastards- Wolfowitz, Perl, Cheney, Laiden.
It was sooo sooo great speaking with him today that I am still excited !! We were drinking cappucino in front of restoran here in my village. He parked his bicycle in front of the restaurant. It's blue bicycle special made for long trips. And, he made big trip. All the way from the coast of Portugal to this point here in Croatia. And where he's heading ? First, Hungary, then Romania to Black See and then back via Hungary, Slovakia, Czech, Poland and Germany. And after two months he'll be back in USA. And I am waiting on those picture he made today. Yes, he will published it on his web site dedicated to his trip. I am looking for it.
And who knows where is Mark Boyd and his blue bicycle at this moment . Probably on Croatia-Hungary border. Crazy guy on the bike !

Problem with comments on blog

Comment system seems not working on this blog. I reported that to developers of TypePad and waiting to hear more from them. Don't know what's wrong with comments. Well, OK this tool is after all in beta testing so it is expected to have problems with some features with blog behind the hub. I hope comments will be repaired soon. Just little patient please. Oh, I will add finally my picture on the sidebar. Soon.

Croatia prepares for European Union

Yestreday I watched Dnevnik , on croatian TV. It's prime time information news source. Main news: European President Romano Prodi visited Zagreb ( croatian capitol). Prodi meething with this, Prodi mething with that group and so on...He's imortant guest here. We are still not part of European Union but it's main goal in the years to come. We must make many economical and political preparations and fulfill many aims of international community to be able being part of EU.
An we are making great progress toward that goal.

Moblogging and journalism

Howard Rheingold writes interesting piece about moblog and journalism in the future. How this new tools and technology can change journalism. He points out that no matter how good hardware and software we have ,it will be critical applying old fashioned standards to earn people's trust.
He predicted in his book " Smart Mobs -The next social revolution" that

that advances in technology would soon give everyone the tools they need to publish independent reports of news events as they are happening directly to the Web and other platforms.

But he says that people should keep in mind that amateur journalist and would-be journalist need keep this close to attention:

Journalism, if it is to deserve the name, is not about the quality of the camera, but about the journalist's intuition, integrity, courage, inquisitiveness, analytic and expressive capabilities, and above all, the trust the journalist has earned among readers. Good journalists discern compelling stories in events, cultivate and mobilize networks of sources, double check and triple check facts, develop reputations that can only be won by getting the story right week after week, year after year

Imagine that Ernesto Hemingway, famouse writer and adventurist had at their hands some of this tool availaible today. Camera-phone , laptop, PDA, weblog, moblog , email. Wow ! It would be interesting to see what would be result of his personal blogging production. :-)) Ernesto was journalist as well. And he was hero. Old fashioned hero. Today we do not have many of those. Maybe one day when there will be millions with tools and technology that will enable distributed news and documentary production. Then we will have first heroes. O , what about Salam Pax, iraqi blogger ? Isn't he acctually first of that sort ? I think we in Croatia have great potential for moblogging cause we treat our mobile phones like fetish. ( good penetration of mobile phones into everyday life ) :-))

This man is liar

Things are getting complicated on US political scene. Now, it is obvious that Bush adminstration lied to their own people about immediat treat from Saddam Hussein. The world now knows that CIA-a warned president of United States he'll be using false information when he made case for " weapons of mass destruction ". So what ! Americans are in denial. Nobody will ask for Bush impeachment anyway. But one voice is now standing up. Howard Dean called for the immediate resignation.
And next week will be interesting too. A long-awaited final report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will be released in the next two weeks, containing new information about U.S. government mistakes and Saudi financing of terrorists. Wil they make huge case against Saudi Arabia ? It's all now about credibility.

Chess IQ

I am not good at playing chess. When I was younger I never liked acctualy that game. My uncle from Osijek plays great and he's the best chess player I ever personally met. I never won against him. Later on I understood what's the beauty:-) Strategy and tactic. It's great tool for training a perception. At least that 's my opinion. Here and there you get pissed off because you didn't saw obvious. Why I didn't see it coming? Why my "lady "needs to die ? Just one wrong move and you're gone.
I allways taught Kasparov or Fisher ( famous chess players ) have great sense for logic and are very intelligent. They are indeed. But according to Sheng He, Ph.D, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, chess strategy may rely more heavily on spatial processing than on logic and computational skills.
And further conclusion goes:

Researchers at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis used functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of novice players during a match and found a flurry of activity in the parietal and occipital lobes, areas not associated with general intelligence.

Wi-Fi realism

Great article by Peter Howe who says

that wireless "is rapidly becoming a dotcom-style bubble waiting to burst, with service providers throwing far more money at expanding services than consumer demand will warrant any time soon."

Needless to say something. I mean , I read somewhere when someone said that Wi-Fi is simple commmodity which will be available as something ubiqoitus. When you stay at summer in hotel you'll like that you have air condition available. Pretty the same could be with Wi-Fi. We pay for rooms not for air condition per se. It is build in overall price after all.

New Deal

Now, this sounds like New Deal. In Britain. The british goverment is planning huge roads scheme for England. That means a lot of jobs in building and construction. Is this huge sucking sound of deflation looming over western economies ( watch for house price plunge in the months and years to come) ? Is this backup plan for the world economy after more economic mess to come ?
This is an extraordinary plan which means huge goverment expenditure.

Microsoft valuation

Shareholders of Microsoft ? Watch this ! No more stock options for employees but stock grant which means that the cost of shares will appear in the books. What it means for their profit ? You bet ! It will go down. What about their price-to-earnings ratio ? Should go down and valuations is one more time- fake. Dan Gilmore thinks it positive for Sillicon Valley.

Weapons Magic Show

Gee ! The hunt goes further. Some voices are coming that WMD wan't be found in Iraq. Where then ? Nasa launched recently space shuttle full of Sadam scientist to try to research whether it is somewhere near Pluton. :-)) This is joke, naturally ! Well, Rumsfeld says he has no proof of pre-war weapons destruction.( Remember what Rumsy said few months ago? "we know where it is-in the area near Tikrit" ) So, maybe they should look just more west at Israel's yard. They are full of it and treat to the region. And then quickly they call it anti-semitism. Nonsens.

A new approach

I am seriously considering to abandon my croatian written blog and focus my writing on english written blog.( who knows, maybe it will be on TypePad platform) Is it smart move ? I feel I didn't get much feedback last year and half on my croatian blog. I didn't looking for attention but for collaboration, communication and learning. So, no one actually cares in Croatia ( constantly ignored even from tech journalist ) about possibilities that can bring blog community into everyday life. Not even my friends whom I explained what weblogs could be. And I tried. Year and half !! So, why not connect myself deeply with international bloggers then trying to do that here with croatian people. One reason is obvious: language. It's easier for me writing croatian blog. Now, my english isn't perfect but hence I can train it through english written blog.
Blogosphere, my old friends where ever you are... are you with me ?
This isn' me on that picture. I am almost 25 years old. ;-))