ICTNEWSBD EDTION 29. JANUARY 07.2006
Bangla ICT News
*********ICTNEWSBD EDTION 29. JANUARY 07.2006*********
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*** EDITORIALS ***
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Is Voice Over IP About to Burry Classic Telephony?
***SOFTWARE REVIEWS***
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Anti-keylogger Blocks It All
***GAMES REVIEWS***
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Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion
*** ICTNEWSBD ***
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01. Warid Telecom eyes supremacy in 3-5yrs
02. Designing e-learning courses for the students of developing countries
03. Microsoft defends action against Chinese blogger
04. Guide on higher edn in USA
05. GP subscribers send record 8.5m SMS
06. Banglalink's 'tiger run' in Bangladesh's cellphone sector
07. NBR bags Tk 1.72b sales tax from cell connections in Q1
08. Bangladesh telecom network provides service at Indian border
*** GAME NEWS ***
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01. Codemasters Online Gaming Takes "RF Online" in Europe
02. EverQuest Prophecy of Ro Schedulled For Release in February
03. "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" to Be Published by Aspyr Media
04. TheVideoGameSwap.com Launches Auction Web Site Dedicated to Video Games
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*** ICTNEWSBD ***
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01. Warid Telecom eyes supremacy in 3-5yrs
---------------------------------------------
Dubai-based Warid Telecom, which last month secured the sixth
cellphone operating licence in Bangladesh, plans to climb to the top
of the sector by the next three to five years. According to its
internal documents, the new entrant's initial plan is to acquire over
14 million customers in four phases by December 2007. First, it will
launch services in 26 districts with an aim to net 2.8 million
subscribers by October 2006. In the second phase ending in January
2007, its plan is to expand the service coverage to 22 more districts,
targeting 3.1 million fresh customers. In the third phase, 13 more
districts will come under its network by March 2007 with an aim to
enlarge its subscriber base by 3.35 million. Warid will cover the rest
of the country in the fourth, and last, step ending in December 2007,
during which it expects to add 5 million new clients. Industry
insiders say Warid will have to overcome the unfriendly weather from
April to September as well as the looming political unrest in the
run-up to the national elections slated for January 2007 to carry out
its aggressive network rollout plan. In order to triumph over these
challenges Warid, however, has decided to install microwave links for
rapid deployment of local and countrywide transmission networks. It
has stipulated a few critical tasks like site acquisitions for base
stations and energising these installations as the suppliers'
responsibility. French Alcatel, Swedish Eric-sson, Chinese Huawei,
German Siemens, Finnish Nokia and American Motorola are scheduled to
submit their bids for the supply and installation of the transmission
network on January 14 at Warid's headquarters in Dubai, according to
sources. Warid also has asked them to arrange 80 percent financing of
this several hundreds of million dollars mobile phone project. It has
proposed to repay the principal amount of the credit in 11 equal,
consecutive, semi-annual instalments. The first tranche of the
repayment will be disbursed no later than 18 months from the final
acceptance or 21 months from the provisional acceptance of the
commissioned equipment. Warid will award the contract to the winning
bidder on February 11 apparently to break the news during the 3GSM
World Congress opening in Barcelona on February 13. The only country
Warid has run telecoms business in is Pakistan. Yet, it managed the
mobile phone operating licence in Bangladesh on December 21 last
through a controversially structured licensing process. Bangladesh
Telecom-muni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) stipulated numerous
non-telecoms preconditions for qualifying as a bidder for this
operating licence. Evidently, only Warid could meet these non-telecoms
prerequisites. Experts believe the unusual preconditions discouraged
many world-class operators from participating in the bidding.
Initially, the BTRC planned to award this licence through open
auction, as Pakistan did recently and bagged nearly $6 billion fees
from two licences. The BTRC later abandoned the auction plan
reportedly due to pressure from the alternative powerhouse of the
ruling coalition leader. The BTRC charged Warid only a $50 million
licence fee, whereas this Persian Gulf company had to pay $290 million
to get a similar licence in Pakistan.
02. Designing e-learning courses for the students of developing countries
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In e-learning, people are involved in the process of creating
e-learning materials and making them available to a specified
audience. The People–Process–Product Continuum or P3 Model can be used
to map a comprehensive picture of e-learning. For example, people
involved in e-learning can be referred to as the E-Learning Team
responsible for producing e-learning materials. In this article, I
discuss the stages of the e-learning process in terms of people
responsible for providing various e-learning and blended learning
products. The e-learning process can be divided into two major phases:
(1) content development, and (2) content delivery and maintenance. A
typical e-learning process has planning, design, development,
evaluation, delivery, and maintenance stages. The e-learning process
is iterative in nature. Although evaluation is a separate stage of the
e-learning process, ongoing formative evaluation for improvement
(i.e., revision) should always be embedded within each stage of the
e-learning process. Individuals involved in various stages of the
e-learning process should be in contact with each other on a regular
basis and revise materials whenever needed. Based on the size and
scope of the project, the number of individuals involved in various
stages of an e-learning project may vary. Some roles and
responsibilities may overlap, as many e-learning tasks are
interrelated and interdependent. A large-sized e-learning project
requires the involvement of various individuals. In a small or
medium-sized e-learning project, some individuals will be able to
perform multiple roles. When an e-learning course is completely
designed, developed, taught, and managed by a single individual, it is
clear that the same individual has performed the role of content
expert, instructional designer, programmer, graphic artist, project
manager, etc. This is an example of a small-size e-learning project.
Many of my colleagues have had experiences in developing their online
courses by themselves, with intermittent staff support from their
institutions. In this article, I have tried to identify various roles
and responsibilities involved in e-learning. Some roles and
responsibilities may be relevant to specific stages of the e-learning
process. For example, an instructional designer is generally involved
during the content development process, whereas services from a
technical support person are mostly needed during the content delivery
stage.
Stages of the e-learning process
Next, the following e-learning stages are discussed in terms of what
individuals in e-learning actually do and what they produce or deliver
(that is, the people and the products at each stage of the process):
• Planning
• Design
• Production
• Evaluation
• Delivery and Maintenance
• Instruction stage
• Marketing
Planning stage
At the planning stage, the planning team (which can be comprised of
individuals such as director, manager, instructional designer, etc.)
should develop a project plan by analyzing various aspects of the
people, processes, and products involved in the e-learning initiative.
This plan must be pedagogically and financially sound and should guide
each e-learning team (e.g., production, evaluation, delivery,
maintenance, instructional, and support services) to engage in their
respectively assigned activities. During the planning stage, the team
creates a project plan that clearly identifies the people, process,
and product of each stage of the e-learning process, including,
design, development, evaluation, delivery, and maintenance. The plan
also indicates the estimated completion time for each task. Director,
project manager, research and design coordinator, and instructional
designer are among the people who work together to make the project
plan pedagogically sound. The business developer works with the team
to make sure that the plan is financially sound. The business
developer should also develop a marketing plan by including empirical
data on the institution's course quality, student satisfaction, and
retention rates. The research and design coordinator assists the
business developer in analyzing student data and also provides
valuable research information about e-learning on a regular basis.
Outside consultants can also be part of the planning process. The
product of the e-learning planning process is a sound e-learning
project plan. The e-learning project plan provides guidance during the
various stages of the e-learning process. E-learning designers,
developers, evaluators, and instructional and support staff should
follow the guidelines of the e-learning project plan to provide a
meaningful environment for learners.
Design stage
At the design stage, the people include the research and design (R&D)
coordinator, who leads the e-learning course design process. With a
comprehensive understanding of learners' needs, institutional
capabilities, and experience in e-learning design and research, the
R&D coordinator is responsible for reviewing course content for
pedagogical soundness and the selection of the appropriate delivery
medium. In this stage, the people involved include instructional
designers, as well as those who work with subject matter experts,
interface designers, copyright coordinators, and evaluation
specialists. The major product of an e-learning course design process
is the storyboard. During the development of the course storyboard,
the design team communicates with the production and delivery teams
for any technical and production related issues.
Instructional designers are knowledgeable about how to use various
attributes and resources of the Internet and digital technologies to
design e-learning activities. Based on the content types, they can
incorporate instructional strategies and techniques best suited for
the selected audience. However, it is important to note that
instructional design services may not be adequately available in some
institutions. With some knowledge of instructional design, many
instructors can design their own online courses. In developing course
contents, subject matter experts may decide to use copyrighted
materials from outside sources. Instructional designers work with
copyright coordinators to negotiate permission to use these
copyrighted materials. Interface designers are responsible for the
presentation of e-learning content. They make sure that the learners
can use e-learning materials in a user-friendly environment. They work
with instructional designers to create a consistent look and feel for
all e-learning contents. Following the overall goals and objectives of
the course, evaluation specialists design various assessment
strategies to measure students' performance in e-learning. Please note
that an instructional designer with skills and knowledge in interface
design and assessment strategies may be able to play the role of
interface designer and evaluation specialist in small- to medium-sized
e-learning projects. However, for large-sized e-learning projects,
services of specific interface designers and evaluation specialists
are critical. Many online universities use outside content experts for
their courses. I provided the content for a course entitled
"Developing and Implementing e-Learning Systems" for the Masters in
Education in e-Learning at the Jones International University (JIU).
As a content author, I worked directly with an instructional designer,
who guided me in the preparation of the course content. While writing
content for the course, I had to provide a list of all additional
readings (e.g., journal articles and books chapters). The copyright
acquisition coordinator at JIU negotiated with publishers about using
their materials in the course. However, one publisher's price to do so
was unacceptable to JIU. Therefore, I had to revise the content to
select another reading assignment.
Production stage
At the course production stage, the production team creates the online
course from the course storyboard created during the design stage. The
production coordinator leads the e-learning production process. Team
members include, but are not limited to these people: course
integrator, programmer, graphic artist, multimedia developer,
photographer/videographer, editor, learning objects specialist, and
quality assurance person. The production coordinator makes sure that
the timeline is maintained for all deliverables. The e-learning
production process is time consuming. It is a collaborative process in
which each member does his or her own specific tasks for a course. For
example, the course integrator cannot put all parts of a lesson
together if each member does not provide his or her part of the task,
on time. In e-learning, members of the development team can be
remotely located. The production coordinator should make sure that
members are in good communication with each other and in compliance
with due dates for their respective tasks. All members must have
patience, as continually emerging issues may demand new changes and
modification in the e-learning, which in turn can be added work for
all members. Members should put their works in designated areas on a
centralized server (which we call a "development server"). The
development server becomes a collaborative work space for the
e-learning members. Recently, I served as a consultant for an
e-learning project at the World Bank, where I worked with the project
manager, instructional designers, graphic artists, and programmers who
were remotely located. Once the course is created, it is important to
do pilot testing with a representative group of diverse learners. For
the pilot testing, learners can access the course at the development
server with a password. These learners can be remotely located. For an
efficient evaluation of the pilot project, the course should be
designed to receive learners' comments on a specific page. For
example, if a learner finds a symbol is culturally offensive on a
page, he or she can attach his or her comments with that specific
graphic or the page. The production coordinator can make these
comments available to responsible team members. Data from the pilot
testing will provide valuable information about what works and what
does not work. Instructional designer and the interface designers can
work with the production team and revise the course whenever
appropriate. The product of the production process, then, is course
materials ready for pilot testing.
Role of individual responsibilities
Director Directs e-learning initiatives. Develops e-learning plans and
strategies. Project Manager Supervises the overall e-learning process,
including: design, production, delivery, evaluation, budgeting,
staffing, and scheduling. Works with coordinators of various
e-learning teams. Business Developer Develops business plan, marketing
plan, and promotion plan. Coordinates internal and external strategic
partnerships. Consultant/ Advisor Provides independent, expert advice
and services during various stages of e-learning.
Content development process
Research and Design Coordinator Coordinates e-learning research and
design processes. Informs management and design teams about the latest
data pertaining to online learning activities and research. Content or
Subject Matter Expert Writes course contents and reviews existing
course materials (if any) for accuracy and currency. Instructional
Designer Provides consultation on instructional strategies and
techniques for e-learning contents and resources. Helps select
delivery format and assessment strategies for e-learning. Interface
Designer Responsible for site design, navigation, accessibility, and
usability testing. Responsible for reviewing interface design and
content materials to be compliant with national accessibility
guidelines. Copyright Coordinator Provides advisement on intellectual
property issues relevant to e-learning. Responsible for negotiating
permission to use copyrighted materials including articles, books
chapters, videos, music, animations, graphics, Web pages, etc., from
copyright holders. Evaluation Specialist Responsible for evaluation
and assessment design and methodology. Conducts and manages student
assessment and evaluation of e-learning environments.
Production Coordinator Coordinates e-learning production process.
Course Integrator Responsible for getting all pieces of e-learning
(e.g., Web pages, chat rooms, Java applets, e-commerce, etc.) working
together under a learning management system. Programmer Programs
e-learning lessons following the storyboard created in the design
process. Editor Reviews e-learning materials for clarity, consistency
of style, grammar, spelling, appropriate references, and copyright
information. Graphic Artist Uses creativity and style to design
graphical images for e-learning lessons. Multimedia Developer
Responsible for creating multimedia learning objects, such as audio,
video, 2D/3D animations, simulations, etc. Photographer/ Videographer
Responsible for photography and video related to e-learning contents.
Learning Objects Specialist Guides the design, production, and
meaningful storage of learning objects by following internationally
recognized standards (e.g., SCORM, AICC, IEEE, etc.). Quality
Assurance Responsible for quality control in e-learning. Pilot
Subjects Participates in e-learning pilot testing. Delivery
Coordinator Coordinates the implementation of e-learning courses and
resources.
Content delivery and maintenance process
Systems Administrator Administers LMS server, user accounts, and
network security. Server/Database Programmer Responsible for server
and database related programming especially for tracking and recording
learners' activities. Online Course Coordinator Coordinates the
instructional and support staff for online courses. Instructor(or
Trainer) Teaches online courses. Instructor Assistant Assists the
instructor or trainer in instruction.
Tutor Assists learners in learning tasks. Discussion Facilitator or
Moderator Moderates and facilitates online discussions. Customer
Service Provides generic help and points to appropriate support
services based on specific needs of customers (i.e., learners).
Technical Support Specialist Provides both hardware- and
software-related technical help. Library Services Interactive library
services for learners who can ask questions to librarians about their
research, both asynchronous and in real time via the Internet.
Counseling Services Provides guidance on study skills,
self-discipline, responsibility for own learning, time management and
stress management, etc. Administrative Services Administrative
services include admission, schedules, etc. Registration Services
Responsible for efficient and secure registration process for
e-learning. Marketing Responsible for marketing e-learning offerings.
— More to follow
The writer teaches at the George Washington University. Currently he
is visiting Bangladesh to deliver lectures on e-learning and virtual
education.
03. Microsoft defends action against Chinese blogger
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Microsoft was under the spotlight Friday over its blocking of a
prominent Chinese Internet blogger, in the latest case of a major
Western technology firm helping Beijing curtail free speech. The MSN
Spaces-hosted web log, or blog, belonging to Beijing-based media
researcher Zhao Jing was closed down this week after he posted
articles critical of a management purge at the Beijing News daily. 'I
posted three posts about the Beijing News and all posts and articles
were deleted inside China,' Zhao, who uses the pen name Michael Anti,
told the XFN-Asia news service this week. 'MSN Spaces (has) now
deleted all of my articles and I have no backup and I'm very angry.'
Microsoft had already faced intense criticism when it was revealed
last year that its Chinese blogging service restricted the entry of
sensitive terms such as 'demonstration', 'democratic movement' and
'Taiwan independence'. The MSN Spaces operation, a Microsoft joint
venture with state-owned Shanghai Alliance Entertainment, is the top
blog hosting service in China. Microsoft this week defended its latest
action, releasing a statement saying it was acting in line with global
laws when it deleted the web blog. 'In line with Microsoft practices
in global markets, MSN is committed to ensuring that products and
services comply with global and local laws, norms, and industry
practices,' the company said. 'Most countries have laws and practices
that require companies providing online services to make the Internet
safe for local users. Occasionally, as in China, local laws and
practices require consideration of unique elements.' Reports of the
shutdown of Zhao's blog have generated a groundswell of criticism of
Microsoft on the Internet - including from former CNN Beijing bureau
chief Rebecca MacKinnon on rconversation.blog.com. 'The behavior of
companies like Microsoft, Yahoo! and others - and their eager
willingness to comply with Chinese government demands - shows a
fundamental lack of respect for users and our fundamental human
rights,' MacKinnon said on her blog. 'Microsoft, Yahoo! and others are
helping to institutionalise and legitimise the integration of
censorship into the global IT business model.'
04. Guide on higher edn in USA
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A new publication has been released in the United States that provides
information for foreign students about the varsities and colleges of
that country, reports BDNEWS.
The electronic publication, College and University Education in the
United States, http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/1105/ijse/
ijse1105.htm), gives tips on types of colleges and universities,
education costs, campus life, possible sources of financial aid,
accreditation and the grading system, according to a message received
in the city Thursday.
05. GP subscribers send record 8.5m SMS
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GrameenPhone (GP) subscribers have sent a record 8.5 million text
messages (SMS) on the occasion of celebrating the new year 2006. This
is four times higher than the number of SMS sent during the 2005 new
year celebration. SMS usage has increased significantly after GP
reduced the per SMS tariff from Tk two to Tk 1.5 for GP to GP numbers
in October 2005. GP also offers 50 free SMS with each 'djuice' SIM
(subscriber's identity module). In addition, the GP has developed
services so that GP subscribers can also send and receive e-mails via
SMS. The company is also providing various SMS-based push-pull
services through which they can receive news and sports update,
download ring-tones and obtain other useful information.
06. Banglalink's 'tiger run' in Bangladesh's cellphone sector
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"If you think you can, you can, and if you think you can't, you're
right!" Lars P Reichelt comes up with this old adage, adding in the
same breath, "And we thought we can," reports UNB. That's how
Reichelt, the Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink—one of the
country's fastest growing mobile phone operators—would like to relate
what he calls "one of the success stories" in Bangladesh. In only ten
months since its launch in February 2005, Reichelt points out, his
company has achieved two major landmarks: largest network coverage
area in 61 districts, 425 thanas with 88 per cent of the population
covered and a total subscription of more than 1,000,000. "While these
may be figures that mobile operators can only dream of, what makes it
all the more incredible is that Banglalink has achieved all this in a
mere matter of months—only ten to be exact," Reichelt told UNB in an
exclusive interview. He pointed out that at the time of its
inauguration early last year, Banglalink had promised to make mobile
telephony more affordable, more accessible and more useful to the
millions of this country. "Available in only nine districts at the
time and with a subscription base of only a few thousands, a promise
to have Banglalink all over the country and in potentially every
mobile users' hand—all seemed not only overly ambitious but next to
impossible." Reichelt said, "When we launched ourselves, we were a
little tiger cub, hardly able to walk and certainly not capable of
running…but we knew what we wanted." He goes on to add: "And we have
made it…Currently there are 9.2 million mobile phones in Bangladesh
which is 6.5 percent of the population. And Banglalink's market share
is 12 per cent." He said that Banglalink had started from less than 1
per cent market share in Bangladesh. Reichelt has a fascination for
tiger, specially the Royal Bengal Tiger, whose orange and black
stripes his company has taken as its logo. "For the sheer majesty of
spirit, courage, and strength, few images in the world can match up to
that of the tiger. Its grace, its power and its daring are legendary…
And among tigers, the Royal Bengal is the grandest of them all," says
the German-born Swiss chief executive of Banglalink. "In the
perception of our customers," says an upbeat Reichelt, "we're the
'tiger' challenging the old and established operators…and we like that
position." He claimed that Banglalink now has more population coverage
than Grameen, or AkTel or CityCell. "And we have the best prices which
allow you, for example, to call from Banglalink to Grameen for the
same rate as GP-GP. We also have the most exciting value-added
services like 'i-bubble.'" He said his company is now running a major
Eid campaign for 'be-linked' and 'ladies first' packages with an 88
percent discount. "We expect a very good demand for these two offers."
"With everything we did, the tiger always brought in something extra:
an improvement here or an innovation there. This ability to innovate,
to bring in something new and useful, has thus been one of
Banglalink's real defining features," chuckled Reichelt, the
expatriate CEO of Banglalink. Banglalink boasts a global pedigree
through its Egyptian-based parent company, Orascom Telecom Holdings,
which took over the operation of Sheba Telecom (Pvt) in September
2004. Orascom itself had started in 1998, but within a span of few
years the company pole-vaulted into one of the leading global telecom
companies with operations in North Africa, the Middle East, Iraq and
Pakistan. In Bangladesh's mobile industry as well, Orascom leapfrogged
with a stunning speed, taking over some of the well-established
players offering presumably all that was needed and wanted at a fairly
slow pace. "What others did in years we did in months."
07. NBR bags Tk 1.72b sales tax from cell connections in Q1
------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has earned around Tk 1.72 billion
in the first quarter of the current fiscal from sales tax of nearly
2.0 million new cell phone connections. Grameen Phone (GP), country's
largest private cell phone operator paid over 62 per cent of the
amount during July-October period of the 2005-06 fiscal, followed by
Banglalink chipping in with 19 per cent. Sales tax on cell phone
connections has been introduced from the current fiscal amid
criticisms from the country's private operators, which claimed that
the move would stunt the progressive growth of the sector.
"But in reality, statistics suggested that the move did not hamper the
dynamic growth significantly," NBR chairman Khairuzzman Chowdhury told
the FE. On the other hand, it has boosted the revenue earning of the
government. The NBR can easily now attain between 6.0 and 8.0 per cent
of its annual target from the Value Added Tax (VAT) head by virtue of
this move, he added. Though the government initially slapped Tk 1,200
sales tax on each cell connection, it was later lowered down to Tk 900
on demand from the four private operators. During the July-October
period, GP sold nearly 1.1 million connections and paid Tk 1.07
billion to the national revenue basket. Banglalink provided 0.35
million connections and paid Tk 330 million. AKTEL managed to connect
0.15 million new subscribers and paid Tk 140 million as sales tax.
Teletalk, the state-owned cell operator and CityCell, country's first
private mobile operator, added 0.1 million new connections and paid Tk
10 million each, sources said. Sources said the revenue earning from
the sales tax against cell phone connections would increase in the
coming months.
Going by a rough estimate of the last two months - December and
November- sources added that the average monthly collection of Tk 430
million might double.
Commenting on the NBR forecast, an official of a private cell operator
told the FE that this was possible because GP had crossed the 5.0
million mark in November and Banglalink crossed the 1.0 million mark
in the following month. Besides, other operators made various
attractive offers during the months on occasion of the Eid-ul Fitr and
the New Year, the official added. The NBR that earned nearly Tk 5.0
billion in 2004-05 fiscal, charging 15 per cent VAT on call charges
hoped that the amount too would increase in the current fiscal. Target
of the VAT wing has been fixed at Tk 126.75 billion for the current
fiscal, up by some Tk 20 billion from last fiscal. The contribution of
the wing to annual NBR revenue target is more than one-third.
08. Bangladesh telecom network provides service at Indian border
---------------------------------------------------------------------
India's Home Minister Shivraj Patil was shocked when he found mobile
phones in the country's eastern frontiers functioning, courtesy of the
sophisticated rural telephone network of Bangladesh instead of the
Indian communications network coverage.
The home minister on Monday experienced the bizarre incident when he
visited the Bangladesh border along the northeastern state of Assam. A
senior Assam government official said the Indian Border Security Force
Director-General Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary took out his mobile phone
and showed the home minister the frequency and network code on his
handset, courtesy of Bangladesh's Grameen Phone (GP). A bemused Patil
was curious to know why was it happening and was told by officials
accompanying him that Indian mobile phone service providers were yet
to have the network's footprints over the border areas. "The home
minister was literally shocked at this and said the Indian
communications network need to be strengthened to provide coverage of
the services in the border areas," the official, who wished not to be
identified, told IRNA Tuesday. "The minister said he would take up the
matter with the concerned department on his return to New Delhi."
Grameen Phone is Dhaka's highly popular and sophisticated rural
telecommunications network and the network covers almost the entire
rural areas of Bangladesh with the sole idea of providing service to
farmers and it earns revenue as well. "We were witness to the incident
and it was a shame being in India and having to use a Bangladesh
network for calling someone within our country," Sammujjal
Bhattacharyya, leader of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), said.
The minister was on a visit to the border along with a team of AASU
leaders to inspect the progress of border fencing aimed at preventing
illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. New Delhi has for long prevented
Indian mobile phone service providers from expanding their network in
the northeastern region saying it would help separatists communicate
with their leaders with ease.
----------------------------------
***GAMES REVIEWS***
----------------------------------
Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion
----------------------------------------
Good / Bad:
+ Further tactics development (in the spirit of the violent clashes
from Mindscape's Warhammer). New, top-notch battlefields.
- Unbalanced (too many exploit gaps), innacurate, repetitive, "attack
of the clones syndrome".
Version reviewed: 1.6
System requirements:
Minimum:
Pentium III 1.0 GHz (or AMD equivalent)
64MB RAM 3D DirectX 9.0b compatible card
98SE/ME/2000/XP 256MB RAM
By now, we have been accustomed to expect an invasion with every Total
War title. This time, barbarians are those who will throw overboard
all those tactics we have learned throughout the main game.
History
This expansion/invasion pack is somehow inspired from the first phase
of the migration (fourth century A.D.) period. However, Barbarian
Invasion barely reflects the historic truth. The game starts from the
year 363 A.D., with the Roman Empire fractured in two: The Eastern
Roman Empire (Byzantium) and The Western Roman Empire. Both are
suffering from corruption, lack of military force, and civil war.
Things got even worse when the Huns came knocking at their doors.
Actually, things were not all like this. The Empire broke between
Honorius and Arcadius in 395, when their father, the last Roman
Emperor, Theodosius I, died. Rome fell to its own weight. The income
of the empire came mostly from its conquests. By 235, the imperial
Crisis commenced. This was accounted for three simultaneous crises of
external invasion, internal civil war and economic collapse. The worst
of all was that the Romans had no budgetary system. The Empire relied
on booty from conquered territories. With the ending of Roman
territorial expansion, this source of revenue ended, of course. With a
pattern of tax collection that drove small-scale farmers into
destitution or into dependency upon elite land owners' exempt from
taxation, the economy of the empire crumbled. Meanwhile, the costs of
military defense and the pomp of Emperors continued. Financial needs
continued to increase, but the means of meeting them steadily eroded.
One of the most profound and lasting effects of the Crisis of the
Third Century was the disruption of Rome's extensive internal trade
network. The widespread civil unrest made it no longer safe for
merchants to travel as they once had, and the financial crisis that
struck made exchange very difficult. This produced profound changes
that, in many ways, would echo the character of the coming Middle
Ages. Large landowners, no longer able to export their crops over long
distances, began producing food for subsistence and local barter.
Rather than import manufactured goods, they began to manufacture many
goods locally, often on their own estates, thus beginning the
self-sufficient "house economy". Driven to desperation by economic
necessity, many of the former city dwellers, as well as many small
farmers, were forced to give up basic rights in order to receive
protection from large landholders. The former became a half-free class
of citizens known as coloni. They were tied to the land (they could
not leave the lands of their lord without his permision) and, thanks
to later Imperial reforms, their positions were made hereditary. This
provided an early model for serfdom, which would form the basis of the
medieval feudal society. The future viability of the Empire, by all
reasonable standards, should have ended. Only through a series of
tough soldier emperors and the measures of Diocletian in 284 to split
the empire in half and other reforms allowed it to continue,
eventually entering a new phase known as the "Tetrarchy" (the rule of
the four). He divided the Empire in four prefectures: Gaul, Italy,
Illyricum and Oriens. An Augustus and a Caesar (junior Emperor),
Maximian and Constantius Chlorus (father of Constantine The Great)
ruled the first two. Diocletian as Augustus and Galerius as Caesar
ruled the other two. In 305, at the age of fifty-nine, after almost
dying from a sickness, Diocletian retired (he has been the only Roman
Emperor to leave the throne by will). Overall Diocletian's reforms, in
particular those of the military, civil administration and Roman
bureaucracy, were sound, and would help extend the life of the empire
for centuries longer. However, his Tetrarchy would prove a formula for
civil war, as he would see before his death. The Tetrarchy only worked
when he was directly involved with it. Once he gave up the Imperial
Purple to grow vegetables on the Adriatic shores, the system soon
collapsed upon itself, with a new, single strong ruler eventually
emerging triumphant. The new Roman Emperor was Constantine the Great.
He not only restored the Empire (with its seat of power at
Constantinopole), but convoked the bishops of the Christian Church to
the first ecumenical (from Greek oikumene, "worldwide") conference,
known as the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) where the Christianity
became the official religion of the Empire. The Council of Nicaea was
historically significant because it was the first effort to attain
consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of
Christendom. In the mean time, tribal confederations were pouring down
into Europe, battering along the Roman borders. The migration included
the Goths, Vandals, and Franks, among other Germanic and Slavic
tribes.
Gameplay
The forced expansion of the Germanic tribes into France, England,
Northern Italy, and Iberia indicates the energy and dynamism of those
so-called "barbarian" peoples. Barbarian Invasion successfully
simulates their movement, and some of their military abilities. This
means that strategies that successfully worked in Rome will not do any
good here. I might say this is a new game. Funny thing, as there are
not many obvious changes in this expansion. This time, many of the
factions you may choose from start as a horde, or may transform into a
horde if their last settlement is conquered. The horde consists of
some distinctive units (that are marked with a wheel symbol), usually
ordinary, but overwhelming due to their numbers. As soon as the
faction settles, its horde disbands and its units turn into the
population of the settlement. Mutatis mutandis, if the faction is left
with only one province, it can return to its nomadic form. The
consequences of this new feature is that conquering step-by-step and
fortifying as you gain new ground will prove useless against an
invasion as no stronghold is inexpugnable against the siege of a
horde. According to this, the wise thing is to let the hordes settle,
as they will become sufficiently vulnerable for you to get on with
your business. According to this state of things, the victory
conditions will resume to a dozen of provinces for most of the
barbaric factions. Still, the Imperial factions will have to keep
around 30 provinces or so. Besides this, each faction will have to
control two or more specified historically representative settlements.
Another important fact is that rebellions do not end as unclaimed
territory. Every time a province/city rebels, it may rejoin the
faction from which was conquered, or become a stand-alone faction,
powerful enough to fallow its own purposes. For example, provinces
opposing the Western Roman Empire join under the faction called
Western Roman Empire Rebels, or Goth opposing cities rally under
the banner of the Ostrogoths. You will be surprised how hard it is to
maintain your conquered territories. Religion will play an important
role in keeping order in your provinces. However, this does not resume
to building some shrines/temples, or other peacekeeping constructions.
Beyond the limes, east of the Euphrates, the Sassanid rulers of the
Persian Empire (Zoroastrian) had usually tolerated their Christians.
With the edicts of toleration (Edict of Milan, 313 A.D.) in the Roman
Empire, Christians in Persia would now be regarded as allies of
Persia's ancient enemy, and were thus persecuted. Inside the empire's
borders, Christians wrecked havoc upon all the other confessions. The
decrees of emperor Theodosius I forbade public observances of any but
Christian rites. Theodosius I had progressively made the sacred feasts
into workdays (389), had forbidden public sacrifices, closed temples,
and colluded in frequent acts of local violence by Christians against
major cult sites (The Serapeum, for example). The decree that went out
in 391 (Christianity became state religion), stating that "no one is
to go to the sanctuaries, walk through the temples", resulted in many
temples throughout the Empire that could be declared "abandoned" and
the universal practice immediately began of occupying these sacred
sites with Christian churches. The funny thing is that, in the long
run, the Empire's survival will be assured by the will of the
Christian Church.
Barbarian Invasion covers rather well the conflict between Christians
and the two other confessions (Pagan and Zoroastrian). Public Order is
greatly affected by religion, thus the official religion of a province
must correspond with the faith of its citizens and with the state
religion in order to prevent any uprising. In addition, the
shrines/temples must represent the faith of the citizens. The first
turn of the Eastern Roman Empire will be a demolish campaign as its
population is Christian, and there are pagan shrines everywhere.
Otherwise, the Empire will split with devastating consequences, as a
new Eastern Roman faction will rise and join the fight (aside the
Huns, the Goths, the Slavs and the Persian Sassanids) for the jewel
city of Constantinople. The battlefield tactics also changed, as
commanding an army made up exclusively of infantry – porcupine style -
in an open field is pure madness. A smart cavalry charge with two or
three detachments backed up with an equivalent formation of horse
archers will always deliver the bittersweet taste of death to any
infantry general. The warfare of the classical age is on its knees.
Huns – although it was never clearly confirmed by historians – may
have won many battles because of the use of stirrups. Stirrups changed
the basic tactics of mounted warfare and made cavalry more important.
Braced against the stirrups, a warrior could deliver a blow with a
lance that employed the full weight and momentum of horse and rider
together. Nothing could stand against such impetuosity. (In addition,
Cataphracts have returned, but as full-fledged warriors, firing arrows
to disrupt enemy rows as they are charging. Words are not enough to
describe the combat force of these knights in "shining hauberks"). The
overall time to conclude the victor was reduced, as units rout faster
and the melee combat is much fiercer than it was in Rome. Still, heavy
mounted units may still die by the forks of peasants and many
unarmored units refuse to die by arrow. Otherwise, units with a
defense rating greater than 30 are extremely resilient to projectiles,
which is a good thing. It is closer to our intuition to accept that
when dealing with archers, cavalry is like a tank division facing a
7.62 caliber rifleman. In terms of warfare, there are two new
additions: light units are able to swim and night combat is possible.
There is not much of a deal with the night combat, the line of sight
is not affected. Night combat only improves the value of those units
able to fight at night and it is supposed to be at the advantage of a
wise general - but isn't he always in advantage? As for unit
abilities, except the cantambrian circle and the wedge formation, all
the other are gone, as the units who empowered them, are gone. The new
ones are the hedgehog (spearmen form a circle of frightful spikes) and
the shield wall (very effective against any missile attack, but an
irresistible fruit for any cavalry unit as this formation is
vulnerable to a rear/side attacks). With all these changes, the Horse
Archers (HA) exploit remains available for those players who find it
irresistible. In short, an army formed exclusively by HA is unbeatable
as they are fast, ranged units. Not even the whole Feng Shui in the
world will bring you victory over such military forces. Luckily, the
AI is not able to overuse the HA. However, the chance of losing your
generals to such a military force is high when fighting Sarmatians or
Huns as the backbone of their armies is the HA. Generals and their
bodyguards can be recruited like any other unit. A recruited general
will have the same atributes as a faction heir (can be city governor
and can obtain character traits), but he cannot become a faction
leader. However, it takes a long time to train them comparing to the
HA-s, and the boosters they gain are, in most cases, irreplaceable as
in this expansion some of them represent – besides retainers - relics,
weapons (the lance that killed Jesus Christ), titles or offices. Most
of them may be passed by inheritance only. In BI, roman generals have
a new attribute. Loyalty represents the chance of a general to rebel
or join a rebellion under the banner of a newborn faction (Roman
rebels) that will contest your right to rule the Roman Empire. The
factions in the game are entirely different. However, although they
seem to be many, the lack in terms of differentiation between them
reduces their number to an insubstantial six (roman, hunnish, nomadic,
eastern, barbarian and northern African. Note: not all are playable).
Somehow, I was expecting this. For some unknown reason, Creative
Assembly avoids diversity concerning the differences between the
factions' troops employed in their Total War games. The major
differences between the Barbarian Invasion's factions are given by
their geographical position, official religion, and objectives. From
this point of view, there are three types of factions from which you
may choose to play: settled (Romans, Sassanids, Alamanni as they may
not horde if conquered), nomadic (they start as settled but, if
conquered, they may form a horde) and barbarian/unsettled (they start
as horde). Only the settled faction may develop an advanced building
system. The rest will have to struggle with squalor and muddy roads.
What bothered me most is that the Goths are nothing more than backward
barbarians. In 476 A.D., a Gothic King deposed the last Western Roman
Emperor. Goths have always had a weakness for the Roman Empire as
their culture was one of the richest of late antiquity Europe. In
Barbarian Invasion, there will be no senate. By 292, Diocletian
through his new title – "Dominus et deus" - removed any democracy
facade, installing himself as a supreme overlord. Another important
addition is that a conquered settlement may be sacked. This way,
wandering hordes may gather enough resources to assure their existence
once they settle. In addition, the sacked provinces will never
entirely recover. Therefore, these provinces may be occupied later
with ease. Economically and administrative, excluding the religion
factor, the game did not suffer any improvements. I somehow expected
to see a self-sufficient economy based mostly on latifundias (great
land ownership) in the West, a flourishing trading in the East (it is
hilarious to see a desert covered with packs of silk), a nomadic way
of life in the North. A final note: Like in Heroes 3, the great number
of battles will eventually wear the player down. The auto-resolve
combat system is lacking in many ways. It is unacceptable to win a
battle on the very-hard difficulty setting (ranked Heroic!) and loose
it badly when auto-resolved.
The agents (Spies, Diplomats, and Assassins) did not earn their place
in the game. They are still more of a mess while your victory over the
other factions cannot be secured through diplomatic actions as well as
covert operations. Everything lies on the tip of your sword.
Video
The world has moved on, and so the military. By the 4th century the
Gladius (60 cm, wrought iron, leaf shaped, used for trusting) was
abolished from the Roman army. Creative Assembly should have known
that Spatha (80 cm, being constructed using a form of pattern welding
employing layers of iron and steel - in effect, a composite material
-, with a rounded tip, used for slashing, as the lorica hamata/hauberk
became to strong to be easily pierced by hand-to-hand attacks) was by
this time used also by infantry, not just cavalry. Furthermore, I
doubt that Huns were using blades as their main melee weapons, while
most of their military equipment was of Chinese origin. Well, most
warrior bands in Barbarian Invasion hardly resemble the way they
looked like in the 4th century Europe. Night clashes look very well,
as burning projectiles light the landscape and the horrified faces of
your enemies. Bodies floating down stream bring some grimness in your
heart as their deaths reflect a failed outflanking maneuver. The
Northern Europe has been covered with ancient forests. Here foot
soldiers are kings as cavalry charge is ineffective and Horse Archers
may not shoot pass the trees of majestic sizes that fill the
landscape. Furthermore, infantry troops – standing ground – may not be
spotted even from ten feet away. This means patience in these areas
may snatch victory from your archenemies defying overwhelming odds.
Multiplayer
Army configuration (preset armies) may be saved. This way, your ideal
army will always be at your disposal - no more pencils and notebooks.
Besides this feature and some new maps, the multiplayer remains the
same as it was in the main title (Rome Total War): online/LAN
historical or customized battles.
Conclusion
To be honest, I was expecting something more than dynamism: a step
further, the courage to confront with the ill vision of how games
"must" avoid reality to be worthwhile. The principle of any fiction is
that distorts reality by altering the laws and phenomena on which we
all approve, by augmenting or minimizing the consequences of an event,
and/or by providing exceptions to verified laws. Ignoring basic laws
or acting as you reinvented boiled water when dealing with somewhat
historical simulations is one step closer to what we -humans – define
by mediocrity and triviality. Actually, as the past taught us, C.A.
was never interested in being accurate - at least with the names of
the units employed in their games. A good example (not to mention
names of military units or buildings, or the fact that many factions
are identical) is the Battle of Catalun (Chalons), were Atilla was
actually crushed by Aetius' Feoderati Army (not a single regular roman
soldier took part at that battle). Moreover, Atilla was barely alone,
as a large number Ostrgoths and Gepids (at least twenty thousand men)
joined him. I am not yearning for realism, but at least the
information accompanying the battle could have been more accurate. It
is arguable that maintaining some level of accuracy does not affect
the playability of a game. Changing a name or some textures, or some
visual concepts does not affect in any way the gameplay. It is, after
all, OUR history, not theirs.
Appendix
Barbarian comes from the ancient Greek word barbaros, which meant a
non-Greek, someone whose (first) language was not Greek. The word is
imitative, the "bar-bar" representing the impression of random hubbub
produced by a language that one cannot understand. Plato rejects the
Greek–barbarian dichotomy as a logical absurdity on just such grounds:
dividing the world into Greeks and non-Greeks tells you nothing about
the second group. It is not the case that Greeks automatically
despised all alien cultures. They were aware of the greater antiquity
of the much more developed civilizations of Egypt, the Levant, and
Mesopotamia, from whom they borrowed extensively. The Romans - and the
Creative Assembly - indiscriminately regarded the various Germanic
tribes, the settled Gauls, and the raiding Huns as barbarians all,
referring to them as backward people. A non-pejorative, simply
functional concept of "barbarian", depends upon a carefully-defined
use of "civilization", denoting a settled, urban way of life that is
organized on principles broader than the extended family or tribe, in
which surpluses of necessities can be stored and redistributed, and
division of labor produces some luxury goods (even if only for gods
and kings). The barbarian is technically a social parasite on
civilization, which depends on settlements as a source of slaves,
surpluses, and portable luxuries: booty, loot, and plunder. In this
limited sense, without cities there can be no barbarians. The culture
of the nomadic tribes is not to be confused with a barbarian one.
"Culture" should not simply connote "civilization": rich, deep
authentic human culture exists even without civilization. The nomad
subsists on the products of his flocks, and follows their needs. The
nomad may barter for necessities, like metalwork, but does not depend
on civilization for plunder, as the barbarian does.
-------------------------------
*** GAME NEWS ***
-------------------------------
01. Codemasters Online Gaming Takes "RF Online" in Europe
---------------------------------------------------------------
Codemasters Online Gaming today announces that it has secured a
license agreement from CCR of South Korea to extend the distribution
of RF Online to mainland Europe.
The title, already one of the most successful massively multiplayer
online games in the Far East, will be published simultaneously in the
U.S. and Europe in Q1 for PC. RF Online (Rising Force Online) delivers
a supremely rich gaming experience that has already attracted over 1
million players in the Far East since its launch last year and was
recently identified as the "most anticipated MMORPG". David Solari,
Director of Codemasters Online Gaming, stated: "The response we've
received from the RF Online community has been amazing and it has
already attracted a surprisingly large following throughout Europe.
Given that, until now, the title was not promoted across mainland
Europe indicates there is a huge market for RF Online. This extension
to our distribution agreement ensures that the game will be a major
event in the Western MMO calendar when it launches in 2006." With
stunning in-game visuals and jaw-dropping character and environment
detail, RF Online is an incredible next generation MMO game. It
features a unique blend of magical fantasy mixed with futuristic
science-fiction action and sees players engaging in the most epic
battles ever seen in a MMO role-playing game.
02. EverQuest Prophecy of Ro Schedulled For Release in February
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sony Online Entertainment announced EverQuest Prophecy of Ro, a new
expansion for the PC Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game,
EverQuest. EverQuest Prophecy of Ro is scheduled to be available at
retail and for digital download
from Sony Online Entertainment in February. "EverQuest Prophecy of Ro
will give players the opportunity to interact with and transform the
online world of Norrath like never before," said Chris Sturr, Sr.
Brand Manager, Sony Online Entertainment. "In addition to a variety of
new features, EverQuest Prophecy of Ro continues the fascinating
storyline as new and old players alike explore, battle and adventure
through EverQuest on more than 30 new missions encountering new
creatures and environments throughout the journey." Players will be
able to interact with the world thanks to three new features. The
first, spheres of influence, can be used to thwart your enemies or aid
allies. The second feature is a trap system that will let players
deceive opponents with player-set traps. And for the first time in
EverQuest, players will be able to destroy objects in the world; doors
can be bashed in, walls can be toppled and towers can be destroyed,
leading to a new level of interactivity within the game and opening up
a new realm of design.
03. "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" to Be Published by Aspyr Media
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funcom announced today that it has signed an exclusive publishing
agreement with Aspyr Media to publish Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
in North America. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, winner of multiple
E3 awards as the best game in its genre, is the continuation of a saga
that began in the award-winning The Longest Journey, considered to be
one of the finest adventure games ever made. In Dreamfall, players are
taken on an epic journey of exploration and adventure as they venture
through a thrilling and emotional storyline. Dreamfall features a
fully interactive world where beautiful music, stunning graphics,
fascinating characters and unparalleled gameplay variety promises to
bring the adventure genre into a new era. The game is to be released
for Xbox and Windows in spring 2006. "Aspyr's enthusiasm and
dedication to the game combined with their historic focus on quality
made them a perfect partner for Funcom when it came to Dreamfall, and
we feel certain we have found a publishing partner which will aid us
in greatly expanding our sales reach in USA and Canada," said Trond
Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "We firmly believe that gamers are craving
fantastic stories in games. The amazing feedback we have received on
Dreamfall so far shows that it's one of the most anticipated adventure
games in years, and we truly look forward to delivering the entire
journey this spring." "The first time we saw Dreamfall, we were
captivated by the art direction, pulled in by the gripping storyline,
and impressed by its sophisticated gameplay variety" said Michael
Rogers, president of Aspyr Media. "There is nothing like it in the
market place. It is the next generation of adventure games." In The
Longest Journey players took on the role of April Ryan, an 18-year-old
girl whose destiny was foretold in the prophecies. Having to save the
balance between the twin worlds of science and magic, April`s journey
took the genre by storm and redefined what an adventure game could be.
In Dreamfall, which takes place a decade after The Longest Journey,
players can finally revisit the epic universe. Not only will those who
enjoyed the first game find out what really happened to April, new
players can start afresh by following the new protagonist, Zoë
Castillo, as she becomes involved in a conspiracy threatening the very
future of mankind.
04. TheVideoGameSwap.com Launches Auction Web Site Dedicated to Video Games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Video Game Swap today announced the launch of its new
auction-based web site TheVideoGameSwap.com. TheVideoGameSwap is one
of the first of its kind offering gamers an opportunity to buy, sell,
or even trade video games for Xbox 360, Xbox, PSP, PS2, PS1, Game
Cube, Game Boy, and PC along with accessories and consoles in an
online auction format. "TheVideoGameSwap.com gives the video gamer
more value for their game." said Erik Nilsen, owner of The Video Game
Swap "I so often hear gamers upset that when they trade in their game
at a local video game store that they never get the real value of what
they thought it was worth. Then I see it on the shelf the next day for
double or sometimes triple what they gave me." The Web site offers
free listing of products for a basic submission. There are fees for
additional features when posting adds.
Here are some of the features you will see when logged into
TheVideoGameSwap.com:
- Completely free listings through January 31st.
- Stores – Build an online store complete with your product and customized logo.
- Auction options that include a "Buy Out" feature, reserve price,
even a swap item feature.
- Easy to use interface with clean look.
- Wanted Ads – Trying to buy a specific item? Post a want ad to let
users know what you're looking for.
- Rating System – Feedback is made up of comments and ratings left by
other members you've bought from and sold to. These comments and
ratings are valuable indicators of your reputation as a buyer or
seller. They are included, along with an overall feedback score, in
your member profile.
- Bulk uploading –Cut down on time by uploading multiple items at one time.
- Monthly Newsletter keeping you up to date with website news as well
as industry news.
- Monthly free game giveaways for buyers and sellers.
- Because we are specifically marketing towards Video Gamers we
maximize our advertising efforts.
---------------------------------------
***SOFTWARE REVIEWS***
---------------------------------------
Anti-keylogger Blocks It All
---------------------------------
Product description:
Anti-keylogger for Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP is the FIRST
product of its kind in the world that can provide every computer with
strong protection against most types of unauthorized activity
monitoring software, both KNOWN and UNKNOWN.
Anti-keylogger is a software that detects and blocks activity monitor programs.
Anti-keylogger is a program designed to combat against various types
of intrusion and monitoring programs currently in use or presently
being developed worldwide. Unlike the typical antivirus approach, it
does not rely on pattern-matching, so it may work on new or unknown
types of monitoring programs. Our applications are the result of
extensive mathematical research and modeling carried out by in-house
specialists. They are based on operating principles common to all
types of keystroke monitoring programs running under full range of
Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Version reviewed: 7.1
Some features:
No signature base;
Full UNICODE support;
Multiprocessor & hypherthreading architectures support;
Windows(r) 2000/XP support;
Transparent "on-the-fly" protection;
Instant and constant protection;
Protection against keystroke capturing;
Protection against windows text capturing;
Protection against clipboard capturing;
Fast and easy installation and configuration;
Free upgrades and lifetime support;
Multilanguage interface;
30 Days money back guarantee.
Still Thinking About Internet Security?
You already know that the Internet is a dangerous place when it comes
to identity theft, personal information and hordes of other things
that people want to get their hands on. Phishing and key-logging have
been one of the ways that they've been able to do exactly that. The
recent release of Raytown Corporation's Anti-keylogger is something
that you can use to fight back against all of these constant threats.
If you're tired of constantly thinking about potential threats, you
might as well give Anti-keylogger a shot.
What's Inside
Anti-keylogger's kernel is based on "heuristic algorithms and the user
needn't interfere into making the decisions about disabling any
'suspicious' programs or their modules". So when it's activated, the
monitoring programs are disabled at the very moment the OS starts even
before the user logs in the system. The program consists of about 5
main icons (About, Protection Policy, Options, Contacts and
Languages), but only two of those are what you're going to be
interested in (Protection Policy and Options). When it comes to the
program itself, you're pretty limited with the amount of control you
have over the whole thing. Your options menu consists of two tabs; for
your computer and advanced. In your computer's tab, you get to choose
from a few things, mostly the ability to display a splash screen on
startup or switching on/off sound effect or visual effects. The
Advanced tab gave me a little more to play with. Here was where I
could set up my overall preferences (if I wanted to launch protection
when my system started). Among other options, I have the ability to
prohibit the switching off of the protection if some users don't have
admin privileges. I thought the good part about it was that they did
in fact include the option to give non administrators the privilege to
run the program. The Protection Policy is the other thing you need to
take a good look at since this is where you see what's accessing your
computer. Here's where you can enable, and disable certain
applications. You can also set them into your 'White list' if you feel
that these apps. can be trusted. Anti-keylogger is also very adamant
about giving you the necessary help you may need. They have tons of
support from your regular email addresses, to telephones to even live
technical support. For the more online motivated users, Anti-keylogger
even has ICQ, AIM and Yahoo Messenger support. This was one of the few
programs that I've seen trying to help its customers. If you want a
more personalized look, you need not worry since Anti-keylogger has a
few skins that you can choose from (classic, compact, future and
safari). The Safari one is a bit of a stretch, but hey, whatever
floats your boat. I have to say that yes, it is skinnable, but if you
do have this program running, it'll probably be in your system tray
anyway. Yet I'm still glad they included it for those users that like
to complain about programs that don't match their desktops. The thing
I wished that this program would do would be to tell me a little more.
I had a tough time finding my log files, I wish that they were more
accessible. The interface is nicely laid out and I had no real trouble
in what I was doing. When I put it to the test again 4 different types
of key-loggers, Anti-keylogger performed splendidly. Every piece of
information was stopped from being logged, but it still recorded an
entry. I had no problem with the key-loggers adding blank entries as
long as they were blank.
The Good
The great thing about this program is that it's pretty much rock
solid. It runs quietly in the background, you don't really get to see
it. It's a powerful program that does the job right.
The Bad
I didn't like the fact that I couldn't disable it in the Task Manager.
Although I understand why this feature is there, I'd prefer to have
something more controllable (and so would the people trying to hack in
my system). I can't really complain too much about this fact since
it's essentially for my benefit. An easier way to my log file would be
great.
The Truth
The truth is that this program is awesome. I can't give it the full
4/5 stars that I'd like to because there are still some things that
could be changed and improved, but when you want a program that does a
job well and right, Anti-keylogger is the program you want for you.
When you want to prevent identity theft, prevent Internet banking
fraud, secure email communication, instant messaging and chat, you
can't go wrong with Anti-keylogger.
-------------------------------
*** EDITORIALS ***
-------------------------------
Is Voice Over IP About to Burry Classic Telephony?
---------------------------------------------------------
Unless you live in a cave in some deep forgotten forest, you've
probably heard of Voice over IP, the technology which requires only a
decent broadband connection and a headset in order to call landlines
or mobile phones, even international calls, all with lower costs and
better quality than classical landlines offer. Actually, VoIP also
offers better monitoring options once a computer is attached to this
schematic and allows users to track call times and also record
conversations. If need be, standards can be raised even more by
introducing a webcam to this scenery, and thus leaving classical
telephony in the dust. Even landlines which offer video-calling
options are not as advanced as VoIP applications. And when adding up
all expenses required by each communication technology, VoIP comes up
as the winner in offering the best possible prices. So... how long
until landline operators realize that this technology is to be taken
very seriously as it could soon dethrone fixed communications. Experts
announced earlier that 2005 will be the year VoIP really takes a stand
in the communications scenery. This technology and 3G networks were
announced as the major threats for landlines and the main culprits for
raising the bar from what alternative communication could offer. Video
calling with greater image quality and the possibility to record calls
as well as much lower fees to have all that are pretty good signs that
something big is about to change the communication hierarchy in favor
of VoIP. Communication specialists' estimates about VoIP were based on
excellent results this technology had in 2004 worldwide, but
especially in developing countries. According to a TeleGeography
report, the international VoIP traffic grew by 35 percent to 30.8
billion minutes in 2004 and usage was estimated to increase
considerably. If this trend was to be continued throughout 2005,
international VoIP use increased by 38 percent. What's even more
interesting about these figures is that they don't include the world's
most popular VoIP application, that's Skype of course, which has over
70 million subscribers worldwide. And just to make things clearer, the
above statistics also exclude a few other peer-to-peer services and
calls over private networks. So, where exactly is VoIP most popular?
And based on last year's reports, why are certain regions more willing
to adopt VoIP than others? According to the same TeleGeography report,
Brazil is the undisputed winner of worldwide 2004 VoIP communication,
followed by Nigeria and Bangladesh, and the statistic remains
unchanged for the first six months of 2005. The reason behind this
ranking is mainly the fact that developing countries are much more
interested in these cheap but reliable and high-quality communication
solutions, and VoIP fits this description perfectly. The exact
opposite of this "economical" attitude is what Americans think or know
about VoIP. In a recent poll by Harris, for example, one in five think
VoIP is a European hybrid car. Another 10 percent of the 1,006 people
questioned said they thought VoIP was a low-carb vodka. Still, those
who realized the benefits of going for this new technology which
doesn't restrict quality but cuts down on expenses, were able to save
important amounts of money. The most supportive of VoIP were the
Brazilians, where the industry was deregulated beginning in 2002 and
inbound international VoIP minutes grew 112 percent in 2004, according
to TeleGeography's recently released yearbook. Nigeria saw a growth of
103 percent that year, and inbound minutes to Bangladesh grew 97
percent that year.
So, what is it that powers VoIP? It all comes down to transforming
analog phone signals into digital signals that can be sent over the
Internet. This function can either be included into the phone itself
or in a separate box like an ATA. To establish a VoIP connection it is
required to either purchase a compatible phone with embedded
technology or to adapt an analogue phone. The means connect it to an
analogue telephone adaptor, plug an Ethernet connection, the signal
goes through the Router and is sent online to the VoIP provider. It is
also possible to bypass the VoIP Service Provider and directly connect
to another VoIP user, but, if the VoIP devices are behind NAT routers,
there may be problems with this approach.
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