The Future of Web at WebCamp KL 7th Edition

It’s really nostalgic (yet freaky) to remember the times of blinking text and graphics. Then there was the time, Flash introductions in splash pages were the big ‘wow’ factor. But right now, where are we heading with the web? How does website design move forward or most importantly, what’s the next step besides improved user experience?

All in the 7th edition

This’ll be one of the topic of discussion at the upcoming WebCamp KL series. Which will be in it’s 7th edition while hard to believe, it’s now in its 7th month since it started. Kudos to Wu Han who’s seriously driving this, including the speakers and attendees who’s supported this event.

Some of the presentations in this edition:

• Mike Reining, MindValley Founder
  The Future of Affiliate Marketing
• Hilmy, Producer & Game Designer at Titoonic A/S
  Social Gaming and How the Web Media Has Advantages in Games over Consoles
• Aizat Faiz, Software Engineer at Facebook
  Facebook Open Graph (tbc)
• Wu Han
  What’s Next for Web Design? (time permitin’)

WebCamp KL event details

Date: August 26, 2010 (Thursday)

Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pm

Venue: Hall of Awesomeness; MindValley HQ, A-23A-13A Menara UOA Bangsar, Jalan Bangsar Utama 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Lately there’s been a lot of web related events happening, SMCKL, Tweetups, Foursquare meetups, WebCamp and others. So it’s unavoidable to find a clash at times.

But if you can’t make it to the event, you can always follow the updates with the Twitter hashtag #wckl later. We’ve a couple of live reporters normally at the event.

Or, if you’d like to know when the 8th edition will happen, join the WebCamp KL Facebook group.

TMNet Slows Down Video File Downloads

Just got word over Twitter, TMNet is throttling Streamyx user connections on video file downloads. It’s now a proven fact thanks to Low Yat forum members who benchmarked download speeds between video file and compressed file downloads. See the proof and join the discussion at Low Yat.

Instead of wreaking havoc on our undersea cables, the orange creature has come to land and mess around with our video file downloads.

Don’t they know it may affect other services?

I skimmed through the forum discussion and noticed some users were sharing how this move are affecting other services like YouTube, iTunes and possibly other services streaming videos online.

Sigh. TMNet, what have you gotten yourself into this time.

Innovation Awards 2010 by Malaysia Domain Registry

The Malaysia Domain Registry is organizing an innovation awards contest opened to SMEs and individuals using a Malaysia Top-Level Domain (TLD).

Pre-qualification Criteria

Another pre-qualification is your website must be registered under one of the Malaysia TLDs:

• .my – for Malaysian individuals and organizations
• .com.my - for commercial organisation/activities
• .net.my - for network-related organisations/activities
• .org.my - for organisations/activities which do not qualify for other categories
• .name.my - for Malaysian individual’s personal use only

Definition of a Malaysia SME

Industry / Size	Micro-enterprise	Small enterprise	Medium enterprise
Manufacturing, Manufacturing-Related Services and Agro-based industries	Sales turnover of less than RM250,000 OR full time employess less than 5	Sales turnover between RM250,000 and less than RM10 million OR full time employees between 5 and 50	Sales turnover between RM10 million and RM25 million OR full time employees between 51 and 150
Services, Primary Agriculture and Information & Communication Technology (ICT)	Sales turnover of less than RM200,000 OR full time employees less than 5	Sales turnover between RM200,000 and less than RM1 million OR full time employees between 5 and 19	Sales turnover between RM1 million and RM5 million OR full time employees between 20 and 50

Source: Malaysia SME website

They only stated it’s prizes worth upto RM100,000. Therefore, you’ve no idea what really are they putting up for winners. And I’m wondering, isn’t it legally required to say what are the prizes offered?

You find out more details at the Innovation Awards 2010 website.

Recommended Website Improvements

Besides the design, I personally find it weird to have the registration enabled if registration is only opened August 1, 2010. Right now, when you try to register it’ll alert:

* Competition starts 1 August 2010. Please register on that date onwards.

They should also have included a registration button or link on the sidebar above the Important Info section. Currently, you can only get to the registration page from the homepage. *slaps forehead*

I also personally think they should also rewrite the copy of the website. Right now, it’s so boring and reads like there are unfilled holes to questions which’ll pop into your mind.

On a different note, I can’t grasp why they’d need a member registration and login for this contest. Is it for participants to get consultation from the judges on how to improve their works? Or maybe, they’ve created a Facebook-like network behind there. LOL!

Well, great effort from the Malaysia Domain Registry and I hope there’ll be more online campaigns by similar departments. Especially the ones related to the Internet industry in Malaysia.

Last Chance to Buy 4G Wimax-ready Laptop from RM99

Updated Information on W1MAX-1NSiDE 4G Laptop Introductory Sales

Right now, they’re asking consumers to fill in a registration form. And if your form is picked from the ballot box, then you qualify to buy the Wimax-inside laptops. More details on the promotion page.

Stop kicking yourself in the butt, if you missed the 1st crazy Wimax-inside laptop introductory sale at Berjaya Times Square. Intel and P1 is giving you the last chance to grab the Wimax netbooks from RM99 and notebooks from RM999.

Venue: Entrance of Low Yat Plaza (Queue Number Distribution) / ICT Utopia @ Level 4 (Sales & Payment)

Date: July 17, 2010 (this Saturday)

Time: 12 noon until 2:00pm

Pay special attention to the promotion mechanism below. Because, you’ll not be able to buy the Wimax-inside laptops by camping only at ICT Utopia.

Promotional Mechanisms

• Queue number will be issued from 12 – 2pm at the entrance of LYP. You must obtain your queue number before being qualified to purchase the WiMAX-Inside 4G laptop @ ICT Utopia.
• Sales and payment will take place @ ICT Utopia (Level 4, LYP).
• If demand exceeds supply, special draw will be used to determine the purchaser

Wimax-inside Laptop Product Details

Brand	Model	Platform	Promo Price Range
Acer & MSI	Acer Aspire One 533 MSi U135	Netbook	RM99 – RM499
Lenovo	Lenovo V360	Notebook	RM999 – RM1,599

I’m not sure if you’re eligible to purchase a 2nd unit on this day.

Maaduu Malaysia Korean Drama Website

Updated: July 15, 2010

The CEO; Dennis Lee, stopped by in the comments and said all readers here can use the invitation code: 3716

Have fun! Maaduu, fighting!

Caught news from the little bird at K-popped that there’s a new website focused on Korean dramas. I’m still trying to figure out why they called it; Maaduu. Anyone knows if it means anything in Korean?

Free Video Streaming of Korean Dramas

The website is owned by the company; PlayTV Asia Sdn Bhd. Google couldn’t dig up information about them and I’m guessing they’ve not built their own website yet. So far, this is the only Malaysian website I’ve heard offering free streaming of Korean dramas.

The website is built-on Flash but thanks to its minimalist approach, it loads decently quick.

Supported and monetized by advertisements

Before each Korean drama preview is loaded, there’ll be an advertisement in front of it. I suppose it’s a fair trade since you get upto 60 minutes of viewing.

The preview ad was a brand for lady’s sanitary pads. Plus, I don’t believe this ad was aired on the TV. Which made me wonder, will we see more creative video ads from this website? Or, does the content still have to be approved by the Malaysian advertisers board. Well, I hope not.

Good video quality with accurate subtitles

The crappiest thing which could happen to a drama or movie you got is the inaccurate subtitles. Ones which have been directly translated by a robot. Ones which phrase this, “Brother, she no love for you longer.” What the hell is that?!

Thank goodness this wasn’t the case.

Beta testing is still ongoing

Based on the signup form, it looks to me the website is still in its prototype. There’s a field to fill in your invitation code which I’ve no idea how d’you request for one. I remember Gmail did something like this but the evolution of this mechanism is now email data mining. They ask for your name and email if you’d like to beta test this new service.

Well, I’m really liking the whole Maaduu idea and hopefully, someone from PlayTV would contact me to pass along an invitation code. In addition, I want to know what’s the difference between logging in and more details on how this service will continue.

Keeping the Malaysian Korean drama fans tight

Besides the viewing experience, PlayTV has incorporate community tools like comments, rating and sharing. Good move, since a number of fans may debate on their favorite characters being removed from their favorite series. LOL!

And yes, it’s still monetized by ads. Maybe the PlayTV team could’ve made the ads here less intrusive. An eyeblaster concept perhaps?

Nonetheless, I applaud the bold move by the company to setup a service such as this. I’ll not be surprised if it does become a paid subscription service. Just like what became of Naruto and Bleach at Crunchroll.

Will the subscription cost around USD 59.95 (RM 191.50) annually like Crunchyroll? Or, more? Or, less?