50,000 Android Apps - Just in time for the Droid Incredible

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=2019&tag=nl.e539
Posted by Christopher Dawson @ 7:21 pm April 26th, 2010
My Verizon Droid Incredible will be here on the 29th. I’m having it delivered to my office because 1) FedEx can never find my house and I’m not taking any chances and 2) like I could wait until 4:15 to break out my new toy. I mean, come on. My BlackBerry is on its last legs and it’s time to upgrade from a mere messaging phone to a serious handheld computing device (that just happens to get and receive phone calls). Increasingly, the Apple-Google war is coming down to iPhone OS vs. Android and a major differentiator of these two operating systems from the rest of the smartphone pack is the availability of thousands of applications to extend the functionality of these phones.
Android just broke 50,000 apps in their Marketplace, according to Fortune and many other outlets. While this seems small potatoes to Apple’s 200,000 apps, it’s pretty likely that I’ll be able to get my Incredible to do just about anything I want. The same can probably be said of an iPhone, unless what I want involves Flash or something that Steve Jobs thinks is too naughty, but I’m a Google sort of guy and I’d need to stand on my roof in a strong breeze to get AT&T reception where I live, so I’m breaking out the Android Apps.
It looks like my choice in Apps may soon rival Apple’s as well. In 2010 alone, Android Apps have doubled, Android phones are exploding (providing incentive for developers), and Google’s Tim Bray cited the “low barrier to entry” for developers in a recent interview. Honestly, I’ll just be happy to move on from the awful BlackBerry Facebook application.
If you, like me, have been waiting for just the right phone on just the right network to jump on Android, have a look at Androlib.com. You can easily search for the application you need and find reviews, videos, and screen shots. Or do what I’m going to do on Thursday: get the phone at work, lock your office door, and start downloading apps. I’ll probably have to get back to work before I hit 50,000.

Copper is dead; are you ready for the future?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/datacenter/?p=229&tag=nl.e539
Posted by David Chernicoff @ 9:45 am April 26th, 2010

With the IEEE on track to approve the 802.3ba standard by mid-summer, what effect will the adoption of 40Gb and 100Gb Ethernet have on your operations? The most obvious answer is based on where you currently stand on your upgrade cycle within your datacenter. Users who are in the evaluation process or planning on purchasing new switching and interconnection hardware should clearly be considering the impact this new technology will have on their buying decisions.  But the adoption of 802.3ba might have a far more reaching impact on existing datacenters; the death of copper cabling.

With the current standard proposal supporting copper cabling (and not UTP) of lengths of only 7 meters, the need for a fully optical cabling platform is quite clear. Unfortunately, current datacenter management is likely considering the history of the adoption of 10GbEl; it took a long time from the point of standardization to the point of widespread adoption. But the looming specter of cloud computing should make datacenter operators reconsider any delays in their time table.
When 1 GbE was the standard server connection it rapidly became a commodity. This meant that a relatively short wait meant that the benefits of the faster networking became possible at a much lower price point.  10GbE has taken much longer to work its way into the corporate networking world, and prices have remained fairly stable, and while 40 GbE products are available from a few backbone networking vendors, the standard has yet to be approved, so that has limited the adoption of these pre-standard products.
But the implementation of widespread cloud computing services being delivered by the datacenter means that the speed of the network backbone within the datacenter is going to be a critical differentiator between the services provided by different datacenters. This means that datacenters with the fully optical cabling infrastructure needed to support 802.3ba will be able to more quickly implement the appropriate switching and routing hardware and offer their customers better service. They will also be able to offer virtualized services and consolidated server environments in a more cost effective manner, as networking bottlenecks will be significantly reduced by the higher speed interconnections.
The release of the 802.3ba standard might well be the next tipping point for datacenter operations. The convergence of the hardware capability (40Gb/100Gb networks) with the newest broad spectrum technology concept (cloud computing) will definitely bring about a major change in the operation of datacenters, from both the technical and business perspective.

The end of USB? Intel demos new Light Peak cable that's twice as fast as USB 3.0

http://blogs.zdnet.com/computers/?p=2130&tag=nl.e539
April 15th, 2010
USB 3.0 is just making a dent in the marketplace, and Intel is already talking about a new cable that may signal the end for USB altogether. At the Intel Developers Forum in Beijing, the chip giant demonstrated the Light Peak cable that it first announced last fall. 

Light Peak has a lot to offer, including 10Gbps throughput, twice that of the latest flavor of USB, along with the ability to run multiple protocols at the same time. That means you connect all of your devices with just a single Light Peak cable. As part of the demo, Intel showed a laptop with a Light Peak cable attached to a USB 3.0 port that simultaneously transmitted a Blu-ray video and HD camcorder footage and drove a second display.

Intel says the Light Peak has a chance to scale up to 100Gbps over the next decade. It plans to have the technology ready for manufacturers to start implementing by the end of the year, with the first devices sporting Light Peak capability becoming available sometime in 2011.

Is Microsoft Docs really a 'Google Docs killer' and four other questions (and answers)

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=5997&tag=nl.e539
April 21st, 2010
Microsoft unveiled today a beta version of Microsoft Docs, its Office Web Apps technology tailored for the Facebook platform at the Facebook f8 conference on April 21. The announcement spurred a lot of questions — by me and others. Here are five questions I asked Microsoft about today’s announcement, and five answers I received via a corporate spokesperson.

Q: I see folks calling this a ‘Google Docs killer.’ To me, this is not that at all. Microsoft’s position?
A: The name expresses the value of the service – the ability for individuals to discover, create and share Microsoft Office “documents” (e.g. “docs”) that they’re already familiar with on Facebook. It’s Docs…for Facebook. Using Office, a Facebook user can easily create, view and share documents with friends and family regardless of whether they have the Office desktop software loaded on their machine.  Those documents will always have the polish and finish of Office as they move easily from the cloud to the desktop to a mobile device and back. No one else provides this type of seamless experience across the PC, mobile phone and browser.

Q: Will MS do similar Office Web Apps spinoffs for other social networks besides Facebook? If so, which ones and when? (LinkedIn? MySpace, Windows Live, etc.)
A: Users have asked Microsoft to make it easier to share Office docs with their social networks. The announcement of the technical preview of the Office Web Apps last September on Windows Live was the company’s first step in this regard – bringing document sharing to Messenger and other social networks that work with Windows Live. As for Docs, we are focused on Facebook and have no current plans to bring this work to other social networks.

Q: Will Facebook expose the contents of the docs on docs.com to advertisers? What safeguards are/will be in place?
A: Docs utilizes the very same permissioning and sharing mechanisms that Facebook users have grown to know and expect. The same settings that have made the Facebook photos app the most popular in the world will enable users to control how their documents are shared. Furthermore, these same settings dictate not only who can view documents, but who can edit them.
Docs.com only stores an individual’s Facebook ID.  It caches for 24 hours your friends’ list and friends’ names; we do this to enhance the service’s performance and to personalize your  experience. An individual can choose to opt-out of this feature by clicking “No Thanks” on the blue notification bar at the top of docs.com or under her/his Facebook Privacy Settings.

Q: Couldn’t you share Office Web Apps docs with others without making use of the Facebook platform/elements?
A: Yes. The Office Web Apps are online companions to the desktop versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel desktop apps, enabling individuals to view, edit and share their Office documents from virtually anywhere. They extend the familiar Office experience to the cloud. Any user with Office installed can choose to either view or edit a document on their PC or Mac. If they edit, they can save back to docs.com to update the file in the cloud. However, what makes the Office Web Apps so important to the service is that they allow us to provide access to Office capabilities to individuals without Microsoft Office installed on their desktop. An individual without a client version of Office installed on her/his PC, can simply create and edit documents online, using the Office Web Apps. Individuals with Office installed on their PCs benefit from knowing they can share with others who don’t have Office installed.
Integrating with Facebook will introduce Office to many people who may not be familiar with it.  This will drive more interest in Office software.  The power of Office 2010 is the unique ability for individuals to seamlessly access a document from anywhere at any time – whether in the cloud, on their computer, or from their mobile device.  That experience is now being extended to Facebook.

Q: Can you share Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote docs with Microsoft Docs?
A: Yes. Docs utilizes Microsoft Office 2010 “Web Apps” (Word, PPT, Excel). Office 2010 enables editing from both the web AND from PC/Mac versions of Office on someone’s local machine, whichever the user prefers. Office 2010 and 2007 work with Office Web Apps. Users of Office 2003 and Office XP can download a free Compatibility Pack to work with documents saved by the Web Apps.
Other random “fun facts”: The codename for Microsoft Docs is “Felix.” (Yes, for Felix the Cat.) And Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie is considered a Microsoft Docs team member.
What else do you want to know about Microsoft Docs?

Office 2010 vs. Google Docs updates

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=1984&tag=nl.e539
April 18th, 2010
I haven’t made any secret of love for Office 2010. At the same time, Google Docs remains my tool of choice for all of my basic documentation, note-taking, collaboration, sharing, and writing. As I’ve said before, it’s all about what you need, where, and when. That being said, are there some clear advantages or disadvantages to either suite? Check out the gallery below for some direct comparisons.

The basic idea, though? If you want access to all of your documents natively and automatically from any web-connected browser, then Docs is king. If you need publication-quality documents (plus really sophisticated spreadsheets, databases, and other software), Office has you covered.
In many cases, it’s far more important to me for my notes and writing to be available wherever I might be, regardless of the computer at which I’m sitting. Microsoft would argue that Office Live Web Apps would largely enable this same anytime, anywhere access, but Google Apps simply does a better job of letting you create, interact with, collaborate on, edit, and share your documents from anywhere on the Net (and increasingly, from HTML 5-compliant phones). That isn’t the case for everyone and it isn’t the case for me all the time. Take a look at the gallery and let me know if I missed any big ticket items. While you’re at it, let me know if Apps is enough.

貧富懸殊積民怨 粉飾太平枉自欺

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20100422/00186_001.html?pubdate=20100422
人們常說，數字會說話。但是，不要以為所有數字說的都是真話，畢竟數字是死的，而人是活的，讓數字說話的是人，而人可以通過篩選數字來作出最有利自己的解讀。十九世紀英國政治家狄斯雷利曾說過，「世界上有三種謊言，就是謊言、天大的謊言與統計數字」，揭穿了執政者使用統計數字來欺騙輿論的秘密。同樣，在玩弄數字粉飾太平方面，港府也堪稱行家裏手。

最近最低工資立法惹起極大爭議，貧富懸殊成為城中熱門話題，在昨日的立法會辯論中，收入差距的問題再次受到關注，要求重設扶貧委員會的呼聲此起彼落。勞工及福利局局長張建宗顯然是有備而來，為反駁本港貧富懸殊在回歸後持續擴大的說法，他引用統計處的多項數據，其中一組數據是：月入少於五千元的全職僱員數目，由二○○三年約十四萬六千人，減少到二○○九年約八萬二千人，五年間跌幅近四成四。此外，他還自行解釋貧富懸殊的定義，指單計現金收入不能全面反映住戶實質收入，例如○八年最低收入的組群月入平均二千八百元，但計算政府提供的公共服務如教育、醫療、房屋等，經「利益轉移」後這些基層人士的收入即倍增至五千六百元。張建宗據此「理直氣壯」地指出，隨着經濟持續增長，基層人士的收入已有所改善。

有關數據的準確性無從判斷，但即使數據沒有錯，也未必說出事實的全部，因為魔鬼總是隱藏在細節當中。眾所周知，二○○三年香港爆發沙士疫情，人心惶惶，經濟一潭死水，失業率創出逾百分之八的歷史高位；而二○○九年雖然有金融海嘯的影響，但失業率與沙士時不能同日而語，尤其是年底金融海嘯開始退潮，經濟狀況及失業率都有明顯改善。因此，拿二○○三年最差的狀況作為基數來與二○○九年比較，很容易得出基層「收入改善」的表象。

這有如「盲人摸象」的故事，盲人摸到大象的不同部位，有說大象像柱子，有說大象如扇子，雖然說的都是事實，但充其量只是事實的局部，而非全貌。盲人是因為看不見而受到局限，而政府卻是為了掩蓋無能、粉飾太平，刻意篩選一些似是而非的統計數據來糊弄公眾，這等於睜眼說瞎話，既欺人，也自欺。

數據不會騙人，但騙人者常常使用數據，關鍵不在於數據，而在於普羅市民的切身感受。如果本港經濟真的好轉，為何有那麼多市民收入增長追不上通脹？如果收入差距持續收窄，為甚麼還有近三萬打工仔的時薪不足二十元？如果港府以民為本、施政有方，為何中大民調確認香港已不是和諧社會，瀕於動亂邊緣？港府引用的統計數據和市民的觀感與現實相差太大，不能不令人質疑其動機何在。

本港貧富懸殊到了甚麼程度，有多項統計數據可以說明問題。一九九七年，月入低於四千元的打工仔只有約二十三萬人，到去年已躍升逾四十二萬人，證明在職貧窮問題不斷惡化；還有，回歸前本港窮人不足一百萬人，現在增至一百二十三萬人；聯合國公布的數據亦指出，香港堅尼指數高達四十三點四，貧富懸殊程度冠絕全球發達經濟體。同樣是統計數據，哪個反映現實、哪個裝點門面，人們自有公論。

其實，港府高官也不得不承認貧富懸殊是本港的深層次矛盾，可惜他們明知有矛盾卻遲遲不採取實際行動來解決，令問題積重難返。張建宗昨日重申，扶貧不是一朝一夕的事，治本之道在於發展經濟、創造就業和投資教育，他說得冠冕堂皇，實際上卻是阿媽是女人一類的廢話。說到底，張建宗舉出一些似是而非的數據，無非為港府扶貧不力披上一件「皇帝的新衣」。

Google Apps updates: Enough to compete with Office 2010?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=1963&tag=nl.e539
April 15th, 2010

As with most things in tech, that depends. As Sam Diaz pointed out in his coverage of the updates from the Atmosphere event Monday, “Google has been aggressively targeting its cloud-based Google Apps at the enterprise, hosting events like these to spread the word on the strength of the suite.” So has Google made its case?

See Gallery: Office 2010 Beta vs. Google Apps updates

In many ways, the polish and enhancements represented by these updates are just enough to provide the average user with everything they need: more reasonable control of layout, improved formula handling, better previews, and improved fidelity. The very fact that Docs (when enabled as shown in the image below) has a ruler with tab stops, margins, and indents will adequately Microsoft-ize the interface for a lot of users.

Of course, Microsofties take a fairly tongue-in-cheek approach to these new features. Andrew Kisslo, a Sr. Product Manager with the Office group, blogged about the new features on Wednesday, noting, “Rumor is the WordPad Team is very nervous about that leap in productivity gain. (Yes that’s a joke.)” Is it a bad sign that he even quoted me?

…I think last week’s post by Chris Dawson on the Googling Google ZDNet blog says it all, “Office 2010 rocks out loud. I may spend a lot of time in the cloud, but I also often have to produce publication-ready documents. Besides, have you ever tried to do a mail merge in Google Docs? Of course you haven’t, because you can’t.”

I can’t deny that I said it. I can’t even deny that I believe it. You know what else I can’t deny? I’m actually looking forward to the Office/Sharepoint 2010 launch that I’ll be attending in May or that my next computer is going to be a RAM/processor beast so the Windows 7 VM I run will be able to run Office 2010 with complete ease. I might even (gasp!) run Windows 7 on the computer as the desktop platform, all because of two desktop suites: Office 2010 and Adobe Creative Suite. The latter runs quite well on the Mac, too, but is pretty resource-hungry, so I’d rather not be running Windows (and Office) in a virtual machine while I use CS5 at the same time.
As I write this, I can hear the collective groan:

But Dawson, you’re a huge cloud advocate! What’s with all this desktop nonsense? And Windows besides? What happened to Ubuntu? Weren’t open source, web-based tools going to save the world?

This goes back to the original question I posed in the headline of this blog: Do the updates to Google Apps make it competitive with Office 2010? It all depends on how you use the products. The sort of document layout control that Google has added to Docs was never part of the original vision for the online suite. Docs was all about producing content collaboratively, most of which was going to end up online anyway, where document margins and tab stops are irrelevant. However, as it became clear that Docs would need to compete with Office and Sharepoint as an inexpensive cloud-based alternative to the Microsoft ecosystem, features to make Apps look, feel, and behave more like an office suite became necessary. So now Docs has a ruler.

Office 2010 has more features than I’d care to count and will be an invaluable set of tools for power users. It blows anything else out there away. It’s also going to be bloody expensive. The updates to Apps, on the other hand, not only move users closer to the ideal of any-browser, anywhere access to their files (for viewing, editing, and creating, although we’re not quite there yet on all fronts) via HTML 5, but also come at no additional cost.

Is a ruler revolutionary? Of course not, but it’s remarkably handy. I really value the ability to produce and manage print-ready documents from any browser and the growing capabilities to access and modify documents via selected smartphones is incredibly welcome for those of us who make full use of Docs as a repository for what we write and create. Add to that enhancements to spreadsheet functionality and the ability to collaboratively create drawings like the one below (or, more likely, charts, workflows, and whiteboard applications), and Apps becomes very compelling.


However, Apps is not going to steal too many customers who really leverage the power of Office. It’s going to appeal to the same organizations who value ubiquitous, inexpensive access to collaborative documents and who have either already adopted Apps or were waiting for incremental improvements to “go Google.”

Can Apps compete with Office? Not feature-for-feature and even most organizations who go Google will probably use Office, InDesign, or other desktop products to make production-ready documents and websites. However, groups can design highly effective workflows around creation of content in the cloud, with a solid spit-shine on the desktop. Depending on their needs, others can simply push Apps content straight to the web and make use of its webcentricity (yes, I think that’s a new word; expect me to use it more because I like it). In these cases, it doesn’t need to compete feature-for-feature; it needs to make it easy to work in a browser instead of on a computer. In that way, Apps is not just competitive but utterly dominant.

So what do you need from your productivity applications? Until you answer that question, you can’t answer the question of competitiveness.

2010年电讯投诉榜 - 小心中招!

試卷一：保險原理及實務 (19/02/2010)

題號	問題	答案	參考章節
1	風險的定義是： a) 造成損失的影響 b) 保單保障的損失成因 c) 與潛在損失有關的不確定性 d) 與潛在利益有關的不確定性	C	P1-1.1.1
2	以下哪項有關風險的陳述是正確的？ i) 所有類型的風險在商業上都是可保的 ii) 保險人在使用保險一詞時，通常是指它們的營業成績的不確定性 iii) 有些風險是商業保險人視為不可保的 iv) 帶來財務後果的風險是可保的 a) i , ii b) ii , iii c) i , iv d) iii , iv	D	P1-1.1.1
3	由難過及悲傷的感覺所帶來的潛在損失： a) 必然可保 b) 只會有可能因這情況可保 c) 不大可能受保 d) 只有在受保人死亡時才會作出賠償	C	P1-1.1.1
4	以下哪些事項被描述為「純風險」而非「投機風險」？ a) 意外失足導致喪失肢體 b) 兩輛汽車相撞 c) 雷電擊中了建築物導致嚴重損毀 d) 以上所有皆是	D	P1-1.1.2a
5	按照風險的影響，風險可以分為基本風險及: a) 純風險 b) 特定風險 c) 投機風險 d) 一般風險	B	P1-1.1.2b
6	很多時候，保險人在使用「風險管理」一詞時，是指下列哪項的管理？ a) 公司承保及要求承保的風險 b) 危險的風險 c) 投資及其他投機的風險 d) 機構內主管核保部門的行政人員	A	P1-1.1.3(b)
7	以下哪項或哪幾項是保險的主要功能？ a) 風險轉移 b) 提高就業率 c) 以人壽保險及年金作為儲蓄 d) 以上各項皆是	A	P1-1.2(a)
8	大部分的保險合約屬於： a) 簡單合約 b) 契據 c) 一定要以書面形式訂立的合約 d) 口頭合約	A	P1-2.1.2
9	「明示權限」的明示是指： a) 與明示合約條款中的「明示」的意思相同 b) 於迫切或危急情況發生後必要的授權 c) 委託人已明確地指示代理人 d) 委託人對代理人的指示必須是書面的	C	P1-2.2.3
10	以下哪一方或多方精神錯亂可構成終止保險代理合約理由 a) 委託人(自然人) b) 法團代理人的董事 c) 保險公司的常務董事 d) 以上任何一方	A	P1-2.2.6(e)
11	在香港，每一名對下列哪項人士的生命不具有可保權益﹝為個人本身的利益購買人壽保險﹞ a) 自己本身 b) 個人的配偶 c) 自己兄弟 d) 18歲以下的子女或受監護人	C	P1-3.1.3
12	以下哪項不構成法律責任的可保權益？ a) 自己本身的疏忽 b) 承擔某人的僱員的疏忽 c) 第三者的疏忽 d) 盜竊得來的汽車所做成的第三者的疏忽	D	P1-3.1.4(c)
13	根據法律，投保人需要遵守最高誠信責任 a) 直至該合約訂立為止 b) 直至保險人向他交付保單為止 c) 遍及整段合約效期為止 d) 僅至簽署投保書時為止	D	P1-3.2
14	以下哪項是投保險人毋須披露： a) 與常識有關的資料 b) 投保人已知或會影響是否承保風險的事實 c) 投保人過往的索償紀錄 d) 以上所有各項	A	P1-3.2.3(b)
15	以下哪項不屬於違反最高誠信？ a) 非欺詐性不披露 b) 非欺詐性不透露 c) 非欺詐性失實陳述 d) 欺詐性失實陳述	B	P1-3.2.5
16	下列哪種不屬於決定一項損失的近因時，須予考慮的危險種類？ a) 受保危險 b) 不保危險 c) 額外危險 d) 除外危險	C	P1-3.3.2
17	一批貨物已經購買商業火險單，大廈發生火災，貨物受濃煙損壞，損失是： a) 不會得到保障的，因為損失係由非受保危險引致 b) 不會得到保障的，因為損失係由除外危險引致 c) 得到保障的，因為損失係由受保危險引致不保危險 d) 得到保障的，因為損失係由受保危險引致	C	P1-3.3.3
18	在保險索償中的近因應用： a) 永不會以由保單條款修改 b) 往往可以由保單條款修改 c) 有時可以透過保單條款修改 d) 是強制性的，一點也不會給私人協定所凌駕	C	P1-3.3.4
19	彌償是一項重要的保險原理，它通常應用於以下哪種業務類別？ a) 人壽保險 b) 火險 c) 人身意外保險 d) 以上所有各項	B	P1-3.4.2
20	一部於火災出現損失時已有5年的冷氣機，在出現燒毀後需要$8,000的維修費，保險公司的保單列明負責全數的賠償，意味著這賠償方法是？ a) 「以新代舊」 b) 重置保險 c) 「以舊代新」 d) 不扣減方法	A	P1-3.4.4
21	多種財產保險中的保單條款都規定，如果發生損失時不足額保險仍在，保險人的責任便會按不足額的保險價值的百分比遞減，這一項條款通常稱為？ a) 代位權 b) 分擔 c) 比例分攤 d) 保單免賠額	C	P1-3.4.7(a)
22	下列哪項及哪些保單的保障，可以提供超越彌償的索償結清： a) 定值保單 (水險) b) 重置保單 (火險) c) 約定價值保單 (非水險) d) 以上所有各項	D	P1-3.4.8
23	一間保險公司需向一名私家車車主賠償13,000,000，但因部份責任限額，他只有權取得10,000,000的賠償，。但其後保險公司向第三者索償，第三者亦需為事件負上百分之六十的責任，而獲得$8,000,000的賠償。誰有權取得這筆金額？這筆金額將會如何分配？ a) 保險人獲得而已 b) 保險人獲得5,000,000，被保險人3,000,000 c) 被保險人獲得而已 d) 保險人獲得60%，被保險人獲得40%	B	P1-3.6.4
24	下列哪項業務較可能與產品開發部有關？ i) 公共關係 ii) 產品研究 iii) 產品組合開發 iv) 個別產品開發 a) i, ii b) iii, iv c) i, ii, iii d) ii, iii, iv	D	P1-4.1
25	以下哪三方面有可能屬於客戶服務部門的職能範圍？ i) 文件的提供 ii) 公共關係 iii) 索償的談判 iv) 一般的聯絡 a) i, ii, iii b) i, ii, iv c) i, iii, iv d) ii, iii, iv	B	P1-4.2
26	一般保險中的「目標風險」是？ a) 沒有價值的財產 b) 為大的、甚高的風險 c) 投保合意的對象 d) 每年保費數額	B	P1-4.5(d)
27	在人壽保險中，理賠部門不需要考慮以下哪項？ a) 保單紅利 b) 尚未清還的保單貸款 c) 可能出現的保單轉讓 d) 遺產策劃	D	P1-4.7
28	最可能協助保費率，儲蓄及債務估值方面計算的部門是: a) 精算支援 b) 保單處理 c) 培訓及發展 d) 會計及投資	A	P1-4.9(c)
29	《保險公司條例》對保險業務的分類為： a) 長期及一般業務 b) 長期及非長期業務 c) 人壽及一般業務 d) 人壽及非人壽業務	A	P1-5.1.1
30	保險人通常會將取得的保險業務分類,並分為三類，以下哪項不是？ a) 由代理人提供的 b) 由經紀提供的 c) 由公眾人士提供的 d) 由已存在的客戶推薦的	D	P1-5.1.2
31	以下哪項或哪些有關本港「保險中介人」的規定的陳述是正確的？ a) 他們必須正式註册或獲授權 b) 這個詞界定為包括銀行、汽車交易商和旅行社 c) 他們必須符合若干規則 d) 只有Ａ和Ｃ正確	D	P1-5.4
32	香港汽車保險局的經費是來自 a) 香港政府的資助 b) 汽車保險人的自願捐獻 c) 對汽車保險保費徵收費用 d) 對汽車保險索償徵收費用	C	P1-5.5.3(b)
33	以下哪三項內容包括於本港《承保商專業守則》的索償部份? i) 不應不合理地拒絕賠償 ii) 應公平、有效率及迅速地處理索償 iii) 損失與違反保証兩者之間應有因果關係 iv) 在不涉及欺詐的情況下，應作出通融賠付 a) i, ii ,iii b) i, ii ,iv c) i ,iii, iv d) ii ,iii, iv	A	P1-6.1.2c
34	下列哪項較可能是保險索償投訴局的職權範圍？ a) 保費退還糾紛 b) 索償金額不超過30萬港元 c) 由第三者造成的損失 d) 索償金額不超過200萬港元	B	P1-6.1.4b
35	根據《保險代理管理守則》，保險代理登記委員會可以隨時解釋本身運作的意圖，用以發表這種解釋的方式為： a) 指引 b) 給個別保單持有人的信件 c) 在憲報刊登的正式通知 d) 刊登於中文及英文報章中的通告	A	P1-6.2.2b(b)
36	保險代理登記委員會必須將保險代理人的登記或取消登記的事宜，於七天時間內知會： a) 保險業監督 b) 香港保險業聯會 c) 香港保險學會 d) 香港保險顧問聯會	A	P1-6.2.2c(d)
37	根據《保險代理管理守則》(守則)，針對保險代理人的條文包括以下哪項或哪些聲明？ a) 必須以書面形式委任代理人 b) 代理人必須遵守該守則 c) 必須受書面代理合約的約束 d) 以上各項皆是	D	P1-6.2.2c(g)
38	上訴裁判處是負責處理某委任保險代理人涉及投訴而作出的上訴，以下哪三項是有關這個機構的陳述是正確的? i) 裁判處作出的決定是最終的 ii) 裁判處可自行決定上訴的程序 iii) 它可以改變或推翻保險代理登記委員會的決定及本身作出裁判 iv) 保險代理登記委員會的決定直至出現上訴結果才生效的 a) i, ii, iii b) i, ii, iv c) i, iii, iv d) ii, iii, iv	A	P1-6.2.2d(e)
39	一名保險代理人必須年滿幾多歲 a) 18歲 b) 21歲 c) 25歲 d) 30歲	A	P1-6.2.2e ( c)
40	保險經紀的業務代表必須為: a) 18歲或以上 b) 通常完成中五課程或具有同等學歷 c) 一般通過保險中介人資格考試中的相關試卷 d) 符合以上所有各項	D	P1-6.2.2e(c )
41	以下哪項或哪些有關香港保險業經紀的陳述是正確的 a) 他們必須經保險業監督授權權是經保險業監督認可的保險經紀團體的會員 b) 他們的活動受<保險公司條例>規限 c) 他們只需自稱條款顧問而非保險經紀，便可避開法定規管 d) 以上A及B都正確	D	P1-6.2.3
42	下列哪項有關保險專業彌償保險的陳述是正確的 a) 最低為三百萬 b) 最高賠償為七千五百萬 c) 經紀可安排更大額保險 d) 上述各項皆是	D	P1-6.2.3d(c)
43	針對保險經紀備存妥善的簿冊及帳目的要求，以下哪一項是適用的？ i) 備存的紀錄可以易於審核 ii) 備存的紀錄必須為電腦化格式 iii) 備存的紀錄必須足夠解釋所作的交易 iv) 備存的紀錄必須足夠反映業務的財務狀況 a) i, ii, iii b) i, ii, iv c) i, iii, iv d) i, ii, iii, iv	C	P1-6.2.3d(e)
44	有關財務期限完結後的六個月內，保險經紀團體必須向保險業監督呈交核數師報告，聲明： a) 是否已經妥善地收到其會員的財務報表及核數師報告 b) 其呈交之財務報表「真實而公平」地顯示業務財政狀況 c) 其會員是否已經清盤 d) 其會員是否違反專業守則	A	P1-6.2.3e
45	以下哪三項可被描述為保險代理人及保險經紀向保單持有人履行的責任？ i) 不向客戶加諸不必要的影響 ii) 所有行動符合法律的精神及條件 iii) 知道違反某些責任可能構成觸犯法定刑事罪行 iv) 由保險中介人作出什麼是最適合的客戶的決定 a) i , ii , iii b) i , ii , iv c) i , iii , iv d) ii , iii , iv	A	P1-7.1
46	以下哪項或哪些屬於保險經紀的特點？ a) 被視為保險業中的專家 b) 必須獨立於任何一位保險人 c) 保單持有人期望取得經紀不偏不倚的建議 d) 以上所有各項	D	P1-7.1.1
47	《個人資料(私隱)條例》，「資料」定義包括？ a) 任何方式表示的資訊 b) 意見的表達 c) 個人的特徵 d) 以上各項皆是	D	P1-7.2.1
48	以下哪些事宜不是平等機會委員會的目的? a) 宗教歧視 b) 殘疾歧視 c) 家庭崗位歧視 d) 以上所有各項	A	P1-7.3.1

試卷三：長期保險 (19/02/2010)

題號	問題	答案	參考章節
1	人壽保險的最初目的是: a) 於某人死亡時為其家人提供一筆金錢 b) 於某人到達退休年期時提供一筆金錢 c) 在一名士兵在戰爭死亡時提供一筆金錢 d) 於指明年期屆滿時提供一筆金錢	A	P3-1.1
2	根據可保權益，一個人可為以下哪三項人仕購買保險？ i) 配偶 ii) 自己十歲的子女 iii) 欠自己錢的人(債仔) iv) 自己欠他錢的人(債主) a) i, ii, iii b) i, iii, iv c) i, ii, iv d) ii, iii, iv	A	P3-1.2.1
3	如果對人壽保險有短暫的需求，所需的財務金額在該段時期都不會增加或減少，並且該需求會在指明的期間後便消失，就以保險本金為一重要的考慮因素，以下哪一項最不可取? a) 定額定期壽險 b) 終身壽險 c) 分紅儲蓄壽險 d) 非分紅儲蓄壽險	C	P3-2.1
4	純粹終生壽險： a) 只提供死亡保障而不能附加其他額外保障 b) 提供保障至指定日期 c) 繳付保費直至死亡為止 d) 保費繳付至終身後，保障便會告終	C	P3-2.1.3(a)
5	萬用壽險的保單所有人每年均會收到一份年報，下列哪項是年報內的資料？ a) 選定死亡金選擇 b) 指定的有效保額 c) 已加入現金價值的保證以及額外的利息 d) 以上各項皆是	D	P3-2.2.1(f)
6	保單所有人經過一段期間供款，然後一次過收款的是： a) 年金 b) 公積金 c) 退休金 d) 儲蓄壽險	C	P3-2.3.2
7	準備團體保單文件時，有關的技術系統通常會印製下列哪份或哪些文件? a) 總保單 b) 每名受保人的保險憑證 c) 每名受保人的成員登記卡 d) 以上所有各項	D	P3-2.4
8	核保以下哪類保單，一般不用個人詳細健康資料？ a) 定期壽險 b) 團體壽險 c) 終身壽險 d) 儲蓄壽險	B	P3-2.4(e)
9	「豁免保費」附約規定？ a) 如果受保保單所有人完全傷殘，保險人會豁免傷殘期間的保費 b) 如果在受保保單生效6個月以上，保單所有人完全傷殘，保險人會豁免傷殘期間的保費 c) 失業期間豁免支付保費 d) 如其他保險人提供較低的保費率，保險人便會退回保費	A	P3-3.1.1
10	下列哪項不是豁免保費的除外責任？ a) 蓄意傷害自己身體造成的殘疾 b) 在從事違法活動時導致的殘疾 c) 保單生效前既存的狀況 d) 第三者的刑事責任而引致的損害	D	P3-3.1.1(d)
11	根據殘疾收入保險利益附約，收入保險利益通常與該保單的保額掛鈎，並且支付的頻密程度為： a) 每週 b) 每月 c) 在保單年度終結的時候 d) 在殘疾期間結束的時候	B	P3-3.1.2(b)
12	確定雙倍賠償利益的原因可以是重要的，這涉及什麼保險原理？ a) 彌償 b) 分擔 c) 近因 d) 最高誠信	C	P3-3.2.1(a)註
13	根據死亡意外或肢體喪失的情況下「肢體喪失」是指? a) 嚴格地指喪失雙臂 b) 必須喪失一雙肢體(雙臂或雙腿) c) 往往適用於單目失明(同時適用於喪失肢體) d) 通常適用於雙目失明	D	P3-3.2.1(b)
14	在決定是否支付雙倍補償利益時，由於必須確定受保生命死亡的原因，下列哪項保險原則變得很重要： a) 彌償 b) 近因 c) 可保權益 d) 最高誠信	B	P3-3.2.1註
15	假設一份保單加有提前支付死亡保險利益的附約，根據該附約的條款及受保保單所有人的病情，很有可能必須支付。如果該保單已經設有一名受益人，情況會是怎樣？ a) 該受益人可於適當時候收取全部金額 b) 該名受益人必須在利益支付時簽署一份棄權聲明 c) 不能就提前支付死亡保險利益附約支付任何利益 d) 如受保人能活多兩年，就不能影響受益人的權利	B	P3-3.3(c)
16	終末疾病保險利益附約支付利益的支付方法，會因為不同的保險人而有所不同，但一般會是? a) 一筆過支付 b) 分期支付 c) 在受保人昏迷期間支付 d) 在受保人死亡時支付	A	P3-3.3.1
17	已購買保證可保選擇的保單所有人在指定的備擇日期沒有作出增額的選擇，會： a) 保單所有人有權在指定的備擇日期購買增額保險 b) 備擇日期沒有作出購買增額保障的選擇，就會喪失該項約定的權利 c) 增額保險的金額不能超過原有保單的面額 d) 以上上述各項	D	P3-3.5.1(c)
18	以下哪項是對生活指數調整附約的正確描述？ a) 適用於所有人壽保險 b) 它提供對被保人的殘疾收入增加的保障 c) 當被保人遭致殘疾期間，其殘疾收入會隨特定指數(例如消費者物價指價指數)增加 d) 被保險保單持有人於殘疾後，其殘疾收入會定期增加	C	P3-3.6.1
19	一個典型的人壽保險中「完整合約」條款，以下哪項或哪些是正確? a) 合約中包括保單及夾附的投保單的複印版本 b) 只有由指明保險公司高級職員才可修改合約 c) 除非得保單持有人同意,否則不得更改合約條款 d) 以上各項皆是	D	P3-4.1
20	下列哪項或哪些不屬於壽險保單的賠付選擇？ a) 即時整筆支付 b) 定期支付選擇 c) 定額支付選擇 d) 投資於有關保險公司的股份	D	P3-4.11
21	人壽保單中通常具有一些條文，把保單的現金價值即時用於支付尚未繳交的保費，從而避免保單失效，部分保險人不認為這是不能作廢條款，而稱之為? a) 一筆強制性的保單貸款 b) 一筆自動的保單貸款 c) 一項延續保單條款 d) 一項自動保單復效條款	B	P3-4.5
22	以下哪項正確描述保單抵押貸款？ i) 保單所有人有權向保險人借入款項 ii) 貸款的用途無一定限制 iii) 需要以保單現金價值作為抵押 iv) 貸款可於保單生效期內或外償還 a) i, ii, iii b) i, iii, iv c) ii, iii, iv d) 以上各項都是	D	P3-4.6
23	以下哪項不大可能符合壽險保單中的復效條款： a) 保單於去年失效 b) 保單兩年前失效 c) 保單八年前失效 d) 以上沒有一項符合保單復效條款	C	P3-4.7
24	就誤報年齡或性別方面，人壽保險單通常： a) 也適用於自願變性的情況 b) 只容許保單利益向上調整 c) 只容許保單利益向下調整 d) 調整保單條款以符合確定情況	D	P3-4.8
25	如果進行壽險保單的轉讓，獲轉讓保單的人士是 a) 轉讓人 b) 承讓人 c) 被轉讓人 d) 轉讓受益人	B	P3-4.9
26	營利股份保險公司中股東「完全清繳」是指： a) 營利公司可以進行交易 b) 營利公司不能發行股份作進一步集資 c) 營利公司的股東須要承擔未來的責務 d) 營利公司的股東對未來債務再沒有責任	D	P3-5.1(b)
27	在非人壽保險中，「暫保單」提供短暫保障，保險人可於稍後時間取消該保單。而在人壽保險中，有類似功能的稱為： a) 立約保費收據 b) 保險憑證 c) 附條件保費收據 d) 現金收據	A	P3-5.2.2
28	以下哪項或哪些能夠提高客戶服務的效率： a) 以客戶為本的公司文化 b) 把合理及適當的權力下放於前線僱員 c) 設有監察客戶滿意程度的系統 d) 以上各項都是	D	P3-5.2.3(b)
29	「所有獲得認可的與投資有關的人壽保險計劃都必須發出一份文件，其中所刊載的資料應足以令有意參與計劃的人士就建議投資作出有根據的決定」。這份聲明在投資者簽署欄上方，這份文件被稱為： a) 儲蓄壽險退保說明文件 b) 終身壽險退保說明文件 c) 相連保單退保說明文件 d) 定期壽險退保說明文件	C	P3-5.2.6a(a)
30	為何在人壽保險保單中，正確地評核風險是非常重要呢？ a) 因為人壽保險保單的保額一般較高 b) 因為人壽保險保單的風險核保只能進行一次 c) 因為人壽保險保單的賠償一定會發生 d) 因為受保人在保單更改前已死	B	P3-5.3
31	以下哪項屬於財務性的核保，而非技術性的核保： a) b) 同一受保生命已累積購買的保單計劃 c) 預期受保保單所有人給付保費的能力 d) 以上各項皆是	C	P3-5.3.1(a)
32	保險人在核保時對某特定的風險，由於投保人的健康或其他因素使這些投保不可能被接受，此類核保稱為： a) 不承保風險 b) 拒保風險 c) 不可保風險 d) 不接受風險	B	P3-5.3.1(b)
33	保險人會提供保險憑證/登記卡予下列哪種產品的受保人呢？ a) 團體保單保險 b) 儲蓄壽險 c) 個人壽險 d) 以上各項都是	A	P3-5.4

Google 買 DocVerse 劍指微軟

Google上週末再度出擊，將網上辦公 軟件DocVerse公司收歸旗下Google App陣營，希望催谷更多人使用基於Web的應用軟件，矛頭直指微軟。
DocVerse幫助用戶在Word、Excel和PowerPoint桌面軟件之間進行協作，其創辦人DocVerse、Shan Sinha和lex DeNeui創業前在微軟任職。而Google今次出手收購這公司前的幾星期，已買下Picnik、Remall 和Aardvark三間公司。
這項交易據悉價值約2,500萬美元，而這宗交易完成後，Google可以把DocVerse的微軟Office外掛軟件，加入到Google App裡面。DocVerse的軟件和服務，讓Office使用者可以在網上和同事分享檔案並追蹤變動。Google方面期望，能夠讓越來越多人習慣使用 者網絡版的程式，來跟微軟開展更激烈的競爭。
【編輯觀點】：在Google作為主力推動下，市場開始習慣應用各類雲運算方案，若用家漸漸適應使用網上辦公軟件，一方面微軟只能加快將 Office軟件結合雲運算，避免在辦公軟件的影響力減退；但另一方面用家則可望從競爭中得益。

When management causes IT failure

http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=9213&tag=nl.e539

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 6:21 pm April 4th, 2010

Project teams just don’t get enough respect.
We usually blame the team when a project to go down the tubes. However, often enough, management is really at fault for the failure.
This sad situation is so common that even Dilbert suffers his manager’s shortsighted, incompetent, and blame-ridden hubris.
Click the image to see a larger version:

Ever seen management pull this kind of stunt? Tell us about it!

March 3rd, 2010

Why Linux still 'sucks'

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7532&tag=nl.e539

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 12:16 pm March 3rd, 2010

Over the past few months I’ve been getting increasing amounts of feedback from people who have expressed an interest in Linux, taken the operating system for a test drive, but who then decided that it’s not for them. Here I’m going to share with you some of that feedback.

How times have changed. Wind the clock back a few years and people who were willing to take a Linux distro for a spin were few and far between. Nowadays, partly down to how easy it is to try a Linux distro (download the ISO file, burn a disc and boot up off of it) and partly thanks to the recession, people do seem to be taking the time to try out this operating system.

As someone who writes a fair bit about Linux, I get a lot of feedback from users. I also seem to get more than my fair share of people venting their frustrations at me, partly in hope that I’ll help them, and partly because they just feel they want to vent at someone.

So, what I’ve done here is gone through the Linux-related emails I’ve received over the past few months and distilled the feedback down into the most common reasons why people end up feeling that Linux sucks.

• No gaming support
  This is the number one complaint.
  Here people are usually talking about their existing library of Windows games, but a related complaint is that new games don’t support the OS.
• Little/no OEM support
  Second most popular reason why people think Linux ’sucks.’
  How many Windows users are there who would have trouble setting up their PC if it arrived at their home totally blank? A lot. Being able to buy a computer that’s pre set up with Windows (or Mac) is a massively strong selling point that simply shouldn’t be overlooked. The hurdle of having to set up Linux on a system is too much for many to handle.
• No iPod support
  This is changing, but for now, it’s a big sticking point.
• No migration tool
  For most people, there’s nothing scarier than starting from a blank slate.
• Driver/hardware confusion
  Upgrading to a free OS like Linux is great, but if you have to buy new hardware, or run into problems getting your existing hardware to work, it’s better to stick with what you know.
  Also, the fact that there’s no such thing as a “works with Linux” logo for new hardware means that people who might like to upgrade feel totally in the dark as to what future hardware they could buy.
• Free tech support dries up
  There are a lot of people out there who are only able to keep their PCs running thanks to the kindness (and tech know-how) of others. Switching from an OS that has +90% dominance to one that has a 1% usage share means that much of those support avenues dry up.
  Note: This used to be an issue for people wanting to switch to Mac too.
• Confusion about distro differences
  What makes one distro different to another? Since price isn’t there to help people decide (as it is with different editions of Windows), it’s difficult for people to understand the why there are so many distros, and what the differences between them actually are.

The good news is that people are increasingly aware and interested in Linux. The bad news is that there are still a number of big obstacles preventing people from being able to switch to the OS.

78% of adults believe Internet access a fundamental right; 50% want no regulation

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=31649&tag=nl.e539

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 6:28 am March 8th, 2010

Four of every five adults believe access to the Internet is a fundamental right, and more than half believe it should never be regulated, according to a new survey.

In a BBC World Service poll of 27,000 adults in 26 countries, 78 percent of Internet users believed the Internet is a fundamental right — with particularly strong response in South Korea and China.

Nine in 10 adults said the Internet was a good place to learn.


Respondents in the U.S. ranked comparatively above average in believing that the Internet offers greater freedom. Americans were also more confident than most in expressing their opinions online.

That’s in contrast to Japan, where 65 percent of respondents said they did not feel they could express their opinions safely online. That feeling was echoed in South Korea, France, Germany and China.

Across all nations, more than half agreed that the “Internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere.” South Korea, Nigeria and Mexico responded particularly strong to this point, while Pakistan (12 percent), Turkey (13 percent) and China (16 percent) were the least likely to agree.

More than 70 percent of respondents in Japan, Mexico and Russia said they could not live without the Internet.

More data points:

• Almost 50 percent said they most valued the Internet’s ability to find information.
• More than 30 percent valued the Internet for their ability to interact and communicate with others.
• 12 percent saw the Internet as a source for entertainment.

Fraud was the greatest concern for users, according to the survey, ranking ahead of violent and explicit content and privacy threats.

10 golden rules for building successful web apps, from Fred Wilson

http://blogs.zdnet.com/weblife/?p=1361&tag=nl.e539

Posted by Andrew Mager @ 6:39 am February 23rd, 2010

Editor’s note: Andrew Mager is reporting from the Future of Web Apps (FOWA 2010) conference, held in Miami from February 22 to 24. Click here to read all of his coverage.
Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures opened up Future of Web Apps in Miami this morning with his top ten tips for creating a successful web app:

Speed

Speed is more than a feature, it’s the most important feature. This goes for power users and mainstream users. Power users will give more sympathy for you if you are slow, but make it as fast as grandma can stand. Use Pingdom to keep an eye on your speed.

Instant Utility

This means the service is instantly useful to you. If you build a service and the user has to spend an hour configuring the service, importing contacts, and data entry, people aren’t gonna wanna use your web app. There are lots of tricks to use for instant utility like Facebook Connect or letting the user import data from LinkedIn.
When Youtube first started there would be a message saying, “come back in a week or so”

Voice

Software is media today. Just as media has a voice and personality, so does your software. The failwhale is a good example of this; it gives the company personality, attitude and it made Twitter media-saavy.

Less is more

Over time, you can grow the utility of your service, but start simple. Think about Facebook in 2004. Union Square invested in Delicious because the service was simple, but powerful. If you can do one little thing really really well, then you are building a successful web app.

Programmable

Make your application programmable. You have to give others the ability to build upon your software. If you launch without a read/write API, then you are living in the dark ages. More users developing on your software makes the experience richer for all.

Personal

You want want to infuse your application with your user’s energy and personality. The more they can contribute, the more ownership they have in it. Make your app more personable for everybody. Let people customize everything if you can. This can also be a bad thing though, don’t let your users have too much control.

Make it RESTful

Everything in your application has a clean, comprehensible URL. Think Twitter lists: http://twitter.com/mager/design. It’s really simple. This makes your app way more portable because the namespace of your application is memorable. LinkedIn does a poor job of this.

Discoverable

There are millions of web apps out there, so you better understand SEO. You have to build your application from the ground up to be optimized for Google. It has to also be discoverable by social media; this is more important than search.

Clean

The application cannot be busy on the page. You can’t be bothered with a bunch of crap. Big fonts, inviting, and people should know right away what they need to do. Tumblr’s login is perfect.

Playful

Mobile, social, global, playful, and intelligent. Playful is the fun part of making software. Your users want to have fun.
The ability to play in an application is very important. The game mechanics will lure people back in. Think about how Weight Watchers works; it’s a game. You establish goals, measure yourself against those goals, and get rewarded for executing on those goals.
Your web application should have some fun baked in.
Extra tips: don’t hire a marketing person. It’s gotta come from your team. Keep product marketing and guerilla marketing separate.

If you're stupid, it's not Google's fault

http://www.cw.com.hk/content/if-youre-stupid-its-not-googles-fault?section=breaking_news&utm_source=lyris&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=cw_daily
By Sharon Gaudin | Feb 24, 2010

If you're stupid, you can't blame Google.

 

Three out of four people surveyed said they think using the Internet is making us smarter, not more stupid, according to a study jointly done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center. The question was posed in reaction to tech author Nicholas Carr's cover story in a 2009 issue of the Atlantic Monthly -- Is Google Making us Stupid?

 

The study polled 895 technologists, business executives, scientists and analysts as part of Pew's fourth annual Future of the Internet study.

 

Carr's article, which ran last summer, contended that the ease of online search and the distraction of browsing could be limiting his mental abilities.

 

"The kind of deep reading that a sequence of printed pages promotes is valuable not just for the knowledge we acquire from the author's words but for the intellectual vibrations those words set off within our own minds," wrote Carr. "In the quiet spaces opened up by the sustained, undistracted reading of a book, or by any other act of contemplation, for that matter, we make our own associations, draw our own inferences and analogies, foster our own ideas."

 

Most of the people in the survey disagreed, however.

 

According to the study, 76 percent of everyone polled said that by 2020 intelligence will be enhanced by the ease of access to information. People will become smarter and make better choices. Only 21 percent said the Internet could be lowering the IQs of avid users.

 

Carr, responding to the survey, said he hasn't changed his position.

 

"I feel compelled to agree with myself," he wrote in a response that was attached to the survey's findings. "But I would add that the Net's effect on our intellectual lives will not be measured simply by average IQ scores. What the Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence, away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence. The price of zipping among lots of bits of information is a loss of depth in our thinking."

 

Peter Norvig, research director at Google, also wrote a response, noting that skimming countless sources of information and having good concentration can co-exist.

 

"My conclusion is that when the only information on a topic is a handful of essays or books, the best strategy is to read these works with total concentration," wrote Norvig. "But when you have access to thousands of articles, blogs, videos, and people with expertise on the topic, a good strategy is to skim first to get an overview. Skimming and concentrating can and should coexist."

 

Computerworld (US)

Generation Y: 'Banks, do better, and we want an easy life too'

http://blogs.zdnet.com/igeneration/?p=4285&tag=nl.e539

Posted by Zack Whittaker @ 3:26 am March 11th, 2010

The Generation Y are taking the high ground in light of the recession and inevitable further downturn that the world faces. With banks collapsing, personal finances being shot to pieces and the state bailing out our major institutions, the Generation Y trust banks less and are losing faith with the system altogether it seems.

The budding generation of students and younger people have learned how the economy ticks over as a result of it being on 24-hour rolling news, in every newspaper for nearly a year and a rise in price for eggs, bread and milk. But with this is the increased awareness that banks and the financial institution are not reaching out at the younger generation enough - using technologies like mobile banking and communicating through social networks - when this isn’t enough whatsoever.

Bearing in mind that the economic crisis didn’t really affect students, the Generation Y carried on spending as if nothing was really happening. That makes the case, as students are often in debt (knowingly or otherwise) and don’t have savings or investments in anything other than their own education. Students will feel the pinch in a year or so when the almost-inevitable tuition fee cap will be lifted and their respective universities will take their economic troubles out on its students.

That said, a BNET report shows the Generation Y look at future career possibilities and see little change in how the baby-boomers saw the career market. There appears to be no difference in how we see society and the jobs which benefit society the most are not seen with any more importance.

Students nowadays, perhaps used the “luxurious lifestyle” of university life (which on a personal level after battling the most evil essay known to man, it’s not all drinking and partying I can tell you that) would much rather to “have their cake (big salaries) and eat it too (work-life balance).”

No wonder the iGeneration arent’ being treated seriously anymore. And we’re the ones who are expected to ‘take over’ in the next few years.